Hi Bill,
I'll have to agree - the damage incurred compared to the loss of a home
is absolutely minimal. The hard (read "frustrating") part is getting
things back in running condition, straightening out the computer
software/hardware, and those other time consuming things. I consider
myself lucky!
Joe Hannigan - WDØM
Pagosa Springs, CO
http://home.centurytel.net/WD0M
http://pagosarocks.com
Bill Parry wrote:
> I too had a lightning strike and unlike you I had not done nearly as much
> prevention as you had. As a result, I got to replace the following:
>
> 1 FT1000MP
> 3 computers
> 1 new HP printer
> 1 Alpha-Delta coax switch w/ arc plug
> 1 MFJ Keyer
> 1 telephone
> 2 150 foot runs of Belden RG213
>
> I had a couple of fried Ethernet connectors - must have gotten into my local
> network somehow.
>
> Even if you have insurance pay for everything, it is a major pain to get
> everything replaced and working again. It could have been worse and burned
> my house down. I guess I need to think about the safety stuff a little
> harder!
>
> Bill W5VX
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: towertalk-bounces@contesting.com
> [mailto:towertalk-bounces@contesting.com] On Behalf Of WD0M
> Sent: Tuesday, September 18, 2007 4:37 PM
> To: towertalk@contesting.com; SteppIR@yahoogroups.com
> Subject: [TowerTalk] Lightning Strike - Post-strike analysis
>
> It was a heck of a way to get your heart going from about 60 beats per
> minute to full throttle in about 1 microsecond. About 2:00 AM a couple
> of days ago, we were treated to an incredibly loud blast, just outside
> our home. I'm not certain if the lightning bolt hit the tower, or hit
> just really close by.....there was no delay between the flash and the
> blast. Here are the results of what seemed to have happened.
>
> Early the next morning, I fired up the ham gear (Icom 756 Pro, Alpha
> 87a, SteppIR 4L with the 40/30M add-on), and everything worked! That's
> great news! I was concerned about all the gear, naturally, and
> especially curious about the SteppIR - but it came through without
> incident, stepper motors and the controller as well.
>
> I had to restart my computer, since it had gone off line and powered
> down. Turns out that it wouldn't work...sorta. After playing around
> with it for some time, I realized the 7 internal USB ports on the Dell
> 9100 had all been fried. I have an old V1.0 USB 3-port PCI card that I
> installed, and I was able to connect the keyboard to it and check it
> out. Every time I now start the computer, it proudly tells me it can't
> find the keyboard....then it goes right ahead and starts up and all is
> well....except the 7 fried USB ports. I also have a data backup
> external USB hard drive that runs every night, and all the data was
> there. Good - no data loss.
>
> The next thing I noticed is that my less than 10 month old multifunction
> printer/scanner/FAX was dead. That led me to check the telephone on my
> desk - it too was dead.....and that gave me the idea that the lightning
> had found it's way into the shack through the phone line. Our telephone
> service company says there is a surge arrestor in the junction box
> outside the home, which is right outside my shack, just a foot or two
> away from the gear.
>
> The phone company is coming over to check their surge arrestor, and
> replace it at my request. I'm also purchasing an uninterruptible power
> supply (UPS) with network, phone and DSL surge suppression
> features....and hope that will take care of the ancillary equipment,
> should old Thor decide to take another shot.....an event we oh so
> devoutly hope doesn't recur.
>
> I spent lots of time, effort and money to install a lightning protection
> system, and it had worked - for the ham gear. What I forgot was the
> telephone/DSL line that needed protection. I removed the DSL filter
> from the phone line and found that on the filter, the line leading to
> the telephone had been turned into toast. That explained why the phone
> and the multifunction printer/scanner/FAX were no longer working - the
> path from the telephone line went right to the printer.
>
> Why the fried USB ports? I can only assume that the telephone line's
> passing within inches of the USB cables induced a voltage in them that
> caused the sensitive parts of the USB chips in the Dell terminally to
> release their smoke in a fit of protest toward my failure to protect them.
>
> The bottom line is that if there's a way inside, lightning will find
> it. Don't forget the phone/DSL line, or for those with cable TV, that
> line as well. My web site <http://home.centurytel.net/WD0M/home.html>
> has a description of my attempts to prevent any "extra" electricity from
> finding its way into the shack, for those interested (or, see the link
> below the signature below).
>
> Due adulation and high praise is to be given to the ARRL, ICE, and
> Polyphaser, whose advice I followed, and ICE, whose protectors I
> use.....but don't forget the phone line, as I did....and have the phone
> company verify that their suppressor is in place and functional.
>
> Some reference material:
>
> Thor's Hammer <http://www.arraysolutions.com/Products/thorshammer.htm>
>
> Polyphaser - Protecting an Amateur Radio Station
> <http://www.polyphaser.com/NR/rdonlyres/C1565001-F81A-4AC2-A98F-E88B8037F988
> /182/TD1016.pdf>
>
> ARRL Lightning Protection - Part 1
> <http://www.arrl.org/tis/info/pdf/0206056.pdf>
>
> ARRL Lightning Protection - Part 2
> <http://www.arrl.org/tis/info/pdf/0207048.pdf>
>
> ARRL Lightning Protection - Part 3
> <http://www.arrl.org/tis/info/pdf/0208053.pdf>
>
> ARRL Lab Notes - Lightning - Part 1
> <http://www.arrl.org/tis/info/pdf/109481.pdf>
>
> ARRL Lab Notes - Lightning - Part 2
> <http://www.arrl.org/tis/info/pdf/129445.pdf>
>
> Stay safe out there....
>
> 73,
>
> Joe
>
>
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