[TenTec] OT: Lightning and Grounds

[Carl Moreschi]

I completely disconnect all my equipment when a storm comes.  That means
disconnecting all my electronic equipment from the antennas, power, phone
lines, and GROUND.



Carl Moreschi N4PY
Franklinton, NC
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "John Rippey" <w3uls at 3n.net>
To: <tentec at contesting.com>
Sent: Thursday, June 30, 2005 10:13 PM
Subject: [TenTec] OT: Lightning and Grounds


> K4TAX wrote:
>
> "George, I do hope you have those driven grounds bonded to the AC mains
> ground and all other driven grounds around the property.  Failure to do so
> will produce a step voltage between two different ground during a near-by
> lightning strike.  Equipment connected between the two different grounds
> will then share the current flowing between the two different grounds.
The
> result is that one can observe extensive equipment damage or worse."
>
> 1. I've often wondered what would happend with a lightning strike nearby
> and everything connected together (as at my QTH): coax feed line ground
> block; phone; AC main; AC outlet strip for radios; radios' bus bar ground.
> This may be dumb, but why would not the electrical charge from lightning
> come bounding into the shack via the common grounds? Disconnecting the
> antenna leads at the radios does not seem to be a protection since the
> radios' grounds are common with the outside grounds.
>
> 2. The local power company told me a couple of years ago that the code
> around here anyway no longer requires installation of a ground rod at the
> Main for a new house. What gives here?
>
> 73,
> John, W3ULS
>
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