Dear Friends,
Let me start this humlbe missive with the comment that I truly believe that
there exists in the
vast genetic code a small microscopic protoplasmic mechanism that establishes a
subtle
predisposition to lightning strikes.
As an example....When I was a young lad, my Dad used to love to tell me the
story about his
experience with a lightning strike that (per Dad) burned his pants and singed
his hair, but
otherwise left him unscathed. Well Dad's number 3 son --- ME--- has had more
than his share of
lighning stories.
While I was in high school and playing in a summer baseball league, I was
positioned at first
base and witnessed our pitcher get fried by a lightning bolt that wanted to
pass through the
pitching rubber. Poor Dale was left lifeless and quite disfigured by that
blow. Later on
while in college, I came home one early Sat. morning to find my parents home in
ashes as it was
hit by lightning and promptly burned down before the erstwhile volunteer fire
department could
arrive.
Of course that same house had been hit twice while I lived in it!
As an adult, I found myself living in the Peninsula just south of San Francisco
in California.
One early Spring while the Bay Area was having a very rare thunder storm (about
1 every 3 years)
my tower took a direct hit while we were all sleeping. The hit managed to do
about $25,000
damage and took its toll in shattered nerves and destroyed wiring and equipment!
Well I finally moved to Ithaca on top of a hill and it took less than one year
before my first
direct hit. However, thanks to Polyphaser and ICE I had minimal damage to my
installation. I
was standing on the porch with my son Joshua and I noticed in very quick
progression that the
top of tower had a blue/green ball that soon enveloped all the tower and with
the enormous clap
I had my first NY state lighning hit. The only damage that I had was some of
the galvanizing
had been blown off the tower. My antennas were not bothered at all!
My installation in NY has 3 10' ground rods outside the base of the tower and
bonded with a
large copper strap. This is all tied together to a 120' length of the same
strap that goes to
the nearby wetlands and is connected to another 10' ground rod. I then have
ICE boxes for the
coax lines and the rotor cables. The coax is also connected to an Alpha
Delta-4 coax switch.
Just prior to this storm and for all others, I disconnected the coax from the
radios and pulled
the plug on all the AC sources. It actually worked. Read the stuff from
Polyphaser as they
seem to have a good handle on what happens.
Moral --- be prepared to do what is needed to protect your CONTEST STATION and
as soon as
genetic engineering science progresses...I am going to have a gene job!
73s
Natan, W6XR/2
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