I set up Saturday evening to operate some in the
CQ WW SSB contest on 160. Calm wx allowed
me to get the balloon up. Pretty noisy, but
worked the Carribean ops and HC0E.
I tuned up out of the low part of the band looking
for a Canadian to work. Heard a loud CQ on 1.868 and
then 8R1K signed. He was booming in, an honest 20/9.
No one answered him. Called and worked him with
100w. 8R1K called CQ a few more times then was
gone. About 10 min. later I heard a loud hissing on
my receiver and lots of static crashes. I un-hooked
the antenna coax and had a spark an inch long!
Went outside and saw a thunderstorm approaching
Wichita. So much for the wx forcast of no rain!!
I got my balloon antenna - lightning rod down pronto!
Maybe the lightning helped 8R1K's signal?
On a more serious vein, I monitor the wx closely
when the balloon antenna is up. An approaching
storm miles away can cause significant charges to
build up on the wire. These voltages can knock you
down if they discharge through your chest cavity.
I have a "spark gap" wire loop around the antenna
wire to help prevent high voltage charge build up.
Jon NO0Y
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