[TenTec] TenTec's SUmmary of Lightning Strike Damage

[W.D. (Doc) Lindsey]

Kim OM:

Well I sadly join the que as #2. Th ought I had somehow *not* been struck
directly, mebbe only gotten damage from nearby strike or strikes,
hopefully.  The laptops and a desktop had all needed major repairs, mother
boards and hard drives, that kind of things.  Never will be able to get
back to normal with them, of course.  All my newer Ten Tec rigs went truly
squirrely (is that a word?), and I sure hoped maybe resets would take care
of it.  All antennas had been disconnected, lead-ins actually thrown
completely away from the house at least 100+ feet, all AC power turned off,
all grounds removed.  Everything I thought I knew from 47+ years of
hamming.  Even 27+ years in the Army, lots of it with the SigCorps. Not
good enuf, tho. We have all kinds of insurance, special riders for
electronics and ham gear, that kinda stuff.  But we really don't know what
we will finally receive, because we have not received any checks yet. 
Kinda like the unemployment rate = if *you* don't have a job, it is
actually 100% for you.

But now looks like we musta got struck directly after all.  And not only my
newer Ten Tec rigs.  Mebbe not my prized ARGO 515 with all the collectors'
stuff [g], luckily.  I had them completely in another place, in a storage
unit about 15 miles away, thank my lucky stars.  But the OMNI VI+ suddenly
is almost deaf, and has zero out ever since the strike, not even QRP
levels. Same with the OMNI-C/D. Same with the OHR-500, the NC-40a, even the
ATS-3a. So I am outta business. Today I eye-balled my so-called antenna
farm, sorta looks okay, but I guess mebbe something is fried, becus I get
no calls in the last 3 or 4 contests.  

Oh, last nite finally Bob N4BP finally got my data in the FQRP, but it
seemed to take forever on 40 Metres.  Setup was the K1 at ~4 watts.  Don't
know if he ever QSLed the info or not as he finally began calling CQ FP
again.

So I figure I will have to have the claims adjuster out again.  Boy oh boy,
what a mess.  Gotta tell ya, this lightning is a genuine threat at this
altitute.  We are ~ 6850' or so.  I have never been struck in 47 years of
hamming, and even when I lived in Bismarck ND I never got hit.  And up
there I had a 560' horizontal loop held up with four 60' telephone poles. 
Kim very sorry for your troubles, and hope your insurance will cover your
losses, for sure.  Best of luck, my friend.

73,
--Doc/K0EVZ


> [Original Message]
> From: Kimberly Elmore <cw_de_n5op at sbcglobal.net>
> To: <tentec at contesting.com>; <orion565 at yahoogroups.com>
> Date: 6/18/2007 2:32:44 PM
> Subject: [TenTec] TenTec's SUmmary of Lightning Strike Damage
>
> I just spoke with Paul at TenTec and the weekend test revealed multiple
problems with my O II and TenTec deems the radio irrepairable. They will
draft a letter to that effect for my insurance..
>
> Thanks to all who responded to my query about the lightning damage to my
O II. Had it made it through the weekend, I would have accepted the repair
and taken my chances. As it is, I'll get to try out my ARRL insurance
policy.  Bummer, dude...
>
> 73,
>
> Kim Elmore, N5OP
>
> _______________________________________________
> TenTec mailing list
> TenTec at contesting.com
> http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/tentec