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[TowerTalk] Sparky Pays a Visit

To: <towertalk@contesting.com>
Subject: [TowerTalk] Sparky Pays a Visit
From: "Dennis O'Connor" <k8do@mailblocks.com>
Date: Tue, 2 Aug 2005 08:39:08 -0400
List-post: <mailto:towertalk@contesting.com>
Having been through two lightning strikes ten years apart at two different QTH, 
I sympathize with you.. My experience is that the only rigs that survive are 
those that are on the bench with their cables wrapped around them and not 
connected to anything, and especially not grounded  (right after field day and 
the IC706 laying on the bench in front of the Omni 6, is just fine, thank you)  
Everything else in the shop was fried, as was the well pump, some 180 feet 
down, and even the wall clock exploded it's motor windings and flew off the 
wall...  Now, none of the radios in the shack had antennas hooked to them and 
the 110 / 220 power breaker to the radio bench was off/open (it fried also)... 
But the current surge rode in on the rotor wires to the rotor boxes, arced 
across the cases of the rotor box(s) to the cases of the radios and amps 
blowing chunks of paint off the cases, none of which had antennas hooked up but 
were always GROUNDED for safety, and everything fried of course.
 ..  
My employees who were in the shop at the time said they were blinded by the 
glare of the arcing inside the building (no fires)... Consumers Power Company 
came out an inspected the damage for the insurance claim and said I was 
properly grounded and that a hit of that magnitude, estimated in excess of 
60,000 amps by them, is uncontrollable...

denn
_______________________________________________

See: http://www.mscomputer.com  for "Self Supporting Towers", "Wireless Weather 
Stations", and lot's more.  Call Toll Free, 1-800-333-9041 with any questions 
and ask for Sherman, W2FLA.

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