[TenTec] Lightning Strike Results...

[ac9s at mchsi.com]

OK guys - I guess I'll weigh in with my lightning stories, even though they 
aren't particularly TenTec oriented.  My conservative approach to lightning 
began when I moved to Boulder, Colo for grad school.  We lived in the 
mountains at about 8000'; my wife taught at the local school and I commuted to 
CU.  I kid you not we had a thunderstorm form over the divide and move our way 
about 1:00 to 3:00 every, (ok - how about 4 out of 7 days).  Our very first 
day in our little mountain cabin (as newly weds) a ball of lightning came down 
the TV feedline, went off with a cannon blast and burst of blue light  - 
destroyed the TV and power supply for my EICO 753 - now that was mighty fine 
junk!  The first lesson of my married life was radio oriented - unplug 
everything if I wasn't sitting at the rig.  During our last 35 years in 
Illinois (in the middle of the red zone on the NWS map) our house has taken 4 
very close hits.  We have had fires twice and never a single loss of ham 
gear.  I unplug everything when I am not in the shack - feedlines, AC, 
Computers, use a LAN for internet connections, I even isolate from the 
ground.  

Once around 10 years ago I was fried (bad metaphor) at work and came home 
early under a clear sky with nothing but nice in the forcast.  One isolated 
little black cloud followed me home and threw an enormous bolt into our 
house.  All the lights went out, my dog wrapped herself around my legs and I 
though that was a close one when I smelled smoke.  I grabbed a flashlight and 
checked downstairs where the radios are located.  No need for the flashlight! 
The floor joists had ignited where the feedlines come through the sill and 
there was plenty of light.  I grabbed one of my fire extinguishers, took what 
seemed like an eternity to pull the safety pin from the trigger, and went to 
work on the fire.  It did not take long to knock it down, but what a mess - 
smoke everywhere, burned craft paper floating in the air and now a real need 
for the flashlight which I had dropped in the off position on the floor.  Then 
I had to hunt up a spare telephone to call the fire department. All the 
normally connected phones had been fried.  We had a lot of collateral damage, 
but not too much structural.  All consumer electronics were history as were 
the garage door openers, and most of the lights and much of the house wiring. 
Iy took a long time for the professionals to rid our house of smoke.  Fire is 
a scarry thing! I think I used up a years allotment of adrenalin.

NO DAMAGE TO THE RADIO GEAR OR RADIO COMPUTERS!!  They were about the only 
things electrical that survived intact.  Morals of my story - Never leave work 
early, unplug if you aren't operating, fire extinguishers are very nice to 
have.

Keith
AC9S