Topband: Lightning makes antennas vanish

[Merv Schweigert]

Only once in a beverage, but have seen it many times on telephone drop
wires from the pole to a home,  the two  copper clad steel wires
would be "evaporated" and just the rubber insulation left hanging in the 
air._

_Merv K9FD/KH6
> I've never experienced this before a year or so ago, when I had a Beverage
> antenna melt in two from a nearby tree getting hit.
>
> About a month ago I had about 300 feet of a Beverage just vanish from a hit
> on a tree next to the wire.
>
> Now it happened again this week, and long stretches of two Beverages just
> vanished. This is cad plated #17 electric fence wire.
>
> Anyone else have this happen? My copperweld #14, that clearly has arc
> pitting where it passed over other wires, shows no damage other than the arc
> pits. The cad-steel fence wire must get so hot it just vaporizes. I can't
> even find any pieces of it.
>
> Since the 1960's or 70's, this is the very first time I've seen this happen.
> Are thunderstorms more violent now, or is wire cheaper?  :-)
>
> I'm not fixing my antennas until October or November.
>
> 73 Tom
>
> _______________________________________________
> UR RST IS ... ... ..9 QSB QSB - hw? BK
> .
>