N7mal wrote:
> Jerry have you ever taken a 'direct' lightening strike?? I suspect not
> otherwise you would not have made this statement: "" You have a large amount
> of damage that should have not happened. "" I had just as much damage
> because like Jim we had no warning of an impending storm, so I made no
> precautions like disconnecting ant etc.
>
Since the big tower went up and the grounding system completed the tower
has taken 17, visually verified, direct hits with no damage over about 8
years. (things on top of the tower are pretty well etched though) The
neighbors call it the "neighborhood lightning rod", or have ever since
the one was looking right at it from his back deck when it took a direct
hit only about 250 feet from him. To say he found it impressive might be
an understatement.
I rarely disconnect anything as it's currently too difficult to get at,
so even If warned, the storm is usually past by the time I can get
things disconnected any way. I do not normally disconnect the computers
or network unless I'm going to be gone for a while and I'm not going to
touch any of that if there's a storm within 10 miles. I've seen
lightning come out that far horizontally from cumulus.
On one flight with a friend along, we were passing a huge towering Q
about 12 to 14 miles off to our left. He had just asked me how close we
dared get to something like that when a bolt came out the side of the
storm at our altitude (5000') straight at us, but curved down to the
ground about 2 miles from us. The sun was shining where that bolt
struck the ground about 10 miles from the storm.
Once we finish remodeling, the den where I am now, will end up with a
readily accessible patch panel installed.
In all the years I've been a home owner (50 years this summer) I've only
had two claims. One for a newly installed TV antenna and one for a brand
new computer shortly after moving here. There were no problems dealing
with the company or adjuster.
However this reminds me that many, many years ago my folks house would
get hit nearly every storm They finally discovered the house had a
floating neutral out at the pole. The power company fixed that and they
had no more problems.
73
Roger (K8RI)
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