[TenTec] Orion 2 lightning rule

Duane A Calvin ac5aa at juno.com
Mon Nov 21 00:17:15 EST 2005


Along those same lines, a good friend here had his computer and Yaesu
FT-1000MP connected together, but both were disconnected from both power
and antennas.  Still, a direct hit on his antennas absolutely fried the
MP.  Didn't bother the computer at all.  He has Polyphaser incoming panel
and antennas were disconnected there.  Really weird.  It's just
impossible due to induced currents to know what is going to happen to
gear!

        73,  Duane   (and now he has an Orion II on order)


On Sun, 20 Nov 2005 18:38:04 -0600 Robert & Linda McGraw K4TAX
<RMcGraw at Blomand.Net> writes:
> I think Steve's account of the lightning damage is clear, very 
> logical and 
> detailed.  Case and point: disconnected antennas is not adequate.  
> One must 
> disconnect the ground and the AC line too.  From his description it 
> reads as 
> though this was pretty much a direct strike.  As I said before, to 
> handle 
> that much current it would take a conductor the size of a truck.
> 
> In one project to which I was affiliated related to lightning damage 
> 
> control, we measured some 6000 volts between the bottom and top of a 
> 
> standard 7 ft Bud equipment cabinet during one strike.  This equated 
> to some 
> 120,000 amps or roughly 720 megawatts of energy.  There were several 
> new 
> holes in the cabinet after the strike.  Thank goodness for remote 
> instrumentation.  I don't think the engineer and his trusty Simpson 
> 260 VOM 
> would have survived.
> 
> Just be sure that all grounds and ground sources on the property are 
> 
> connected together.
> 
> 73
> Bob, K4TAX
> 
> 
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Bill Rowlett" <kc4atu at hotmail.com>
> To: <tentec at contesting.com>
> Sent: Saturday, November 19, 2005 4:23 PM
> Subject: Re: [TenTec] Orion 2 lightning rule
> 
> 
> > Rule #3:  UNPLUG the power supply/power strip when not in use 
> during the
> > storm months.
> >
> >
> > kc4atu
> >
> >
> >>From: "Stephen M. Shearer" <wb3lgc at verizon.net>
> >>Reply-To: Discussion of Ten-Tec Equipment <tentec at contesting.com>
> >>To: "'Discussion of Ten-Tec Equipment'" <tentec at contesting.com>
> >>Subject: Re: [TenTec] Orion 2 lightning rule
> >>Date: Sat, 19 Nov 2005 12:33:04 -0500
> >>
> >>You asked: This is what I supplied to the insurance companies 
> (note ARRL
> >>insurance was purchased 6 days before the strike).  I was at the 
> BSA
> >>Jamboree at the time. My wife and cat were at home at 5am when the 
> strike
> >>hit.  I had two (2) leaks in the gas stove.  One was a 1/32" hole 
> in the
> >>flex gas line.
> >>
> >>DETAIL of Lightning Strike:
> >>
> >>The lightning strike hit the center [actually one end] of the 
> WB3LGC/G5RV
> >>antenna in the back yard and vaporized the ladder line feeding 
> both sides
> >>of
> >>the antenna [the steel copperweld wire was vaporized, but left the 
> plastic
> >>jacket].  The lightning followed the coax cable to the free end of 
> the
> >>cable
> >>in the basement shop/radio shack.  On the way to the basement, 
> the
> >>lightning
> >>took a side trip [blew a hole in the coax and house] to the 
> power/circuit
> >>panel, via the house wiring. This same discharge path also found 
> the
> >>underground cables feeding the detached garage.  The circuit panel 
> had
> >>breakers tripped for the kitchen and the bathroom.  One likely 
> discharge
> >>path, via the ground wire in the romex cable, is the kitchen 
> circuit
> >>feeding
> >>the stove and the path to ground via the black pipe gas line.  
> This could
> >>[did] account for the small gas leak at the stove.  In the 
> basement, the
> >>lightning discharged through a metal workbench with a metal top 
> [the coax
> >>was on the concrete floor].  A portable TV on top of the bench 
> became 
> >>fried
> >>[a number of holes zapped in the bench] and the major source of 
> smoke that
> >>set off the smoke detector in the shop and at the top of the 
> basement
> >>stairs.  The TV and everything that was plugged into the common 
> power 
> >>strip
> >>also became "toast".  The power strip fed both UPS's, a wireless 
> >>telephone,
> >>a power supply for the Orion radio, a computer and monitor 
> [replaced with 
> >>a
> >>nice laptop].  The final path was through the heavy ground strap 
> attached
> >>to
> >>the Orion radio to the 5/8" copper water line feed for the house.  
> The
> >>phone
> >>line in the basement is a direct feed to the office computer on 
> the second
> >>floor.
> >>
> >>73, Steve WB3LGC
> >>The Orion took its hit via the 12V power line and the case 
> (jumping from
> >>the
> >>workbench to the UPS to the Orion).  New Lightning Rule #2;  
> Ground the
> >>un-used coax in the shack or before it gets to the shack [it might 
> have
> >>helped].
> >>
> >>-----Original Message-----
> >>From: tentec-bounces at contesting.com 
> [mailto:tentec-bounces at contesting.com]
> >>On Behalf Of Peter Burbank
> >>Sent: Saturday, November 19, 2005 11:53 AM
> >>To: Discussion of Ten-Tec Equipment; 'Discussion of Ten-Tec 
> Equipment'
> >>Subject: Re: [TenTec] Orion 2 lightning rule
> >>
> >>
> >> >
> >> >Btw: New Lightning Rule #1;  A well grounded rig will provide a 
> path for
> >> >lightning even if the antenna coax is disconnected from (and 
> separated
> >>from)
> >> >the radio.
> >> >
> >> >73, Steve WB3LGC
> >>
> >>Steve, have you been able to trace the lightning path or any 
> particular
> >>reason why
> >>it hit your rig?
> >>73 Pete NV4V
> >>
> >>
> >>--
> >>No virus found in this outgoing message.
> >>Checked by AVG Anti-Virus.
> >>Version: 7.1.362 / Virus Database: 267.13.4/175 - Release Date: 
> 11/18/2005
> >>
> >>
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--------------------------------------
Duane Calvin, AC5AA
Austin, Texas

http://home.austin.rr.com/ac5aa


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