[SEDXC] Easter storms

[Tom W8JI]

I leave my stuff connected and have for years. I leave a lot of it 
running.  I have antennas over a hundred acres and three towers over 200 
feet the tallest 318 feet.

I basically have no lightning protection devices.

A couple months or so ago lightning hit a VHF/UHF antenna on top of a 
200ft tower. The radio was on and running. It blew the antenna in 
pieces, nothing was left on the tower. The radio is still good.

This is primarily because all my cables come in through ground panels 
that are bonded to the mains, and I bury the cables for some distance as 
they come up to the buildings.


On 4/15/2020 1:17 PM, Dave Thompson wrote:
> Gang,
>
> I disconnected my antennas separately before the storms and hooking them back up all are working except the 40 meter beam.  Will have to track that one down.
>
> Please read the article by N4GG on static electrcity and grounding.  Guess I have been luck over the years.  I did have a neighbor 3o years ago tell me he saw a lightening strike go down one of my guys.
>
> You don't have to even hooked to AC power or antenna.  Several years ago I had my old Icom I use for testing antennas merely sitting on the work bench across from the radio table.  After a bad storm the receiver section showed unmistakably signs of static electric
> damage.  Bill who ran the electronic repair shop took and had to rewind the RF coil. The radio works fine now but he was amazed at the damage even though it was not hooked to anything.  Bill has moved his repair shop to Gainesville to be closer to his home. His family has been in the repair business since the 1960's.
>
> Hope everyone's antennas came through the storms OK.
>
> 73 Dave K4JRB
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