[TowerTalk] Lightning Arrestors

[jimlux]

Marinus Willemstijn wrote:
> Basically protect my radios to such an extent that I do not have to unplug
> for every stray bit of lightning. I have insurance but un plugging becomes a
> drag for me in our rainy season (Summer). Basically first line of defense
> for the radios. 
> 
>
Is insurance an option? Seriously... in the US, the ARRL insurance is 
1.5% of the replacement cost.  And it would cover a direct hit, which a 
polyphaser type transient suppressor might not.  What do people in your 
area do with external TV antennas? How many TVs get destroyed from 
lightning?

Assuming you want to do more than just "recover" from a problem

What about a grounding antenna switch or relay at the place where the 
cable comes into the house? When you're not using it, you flip the 
switch, and it's grounded.  A lot easier than connecting and 
disconnecting cables.  Hook the relay up so power has to be applied to 
unground the line, and it's pretty failsafe (i.e. when no power is 
available, the feedline is grounded)

The next step is various sorts of transient suppressors and careful 
attention to the bonding/grounding paths.  The transient suppressor will 
limit the voltage between center conductor and shield to a few tens or 
hundreds of volts: it's up to your receiver to deal with that level of 
transient. But the real concern will be whether the shield is at the 
same voltage as the powerline grounding conductor, or your network 
cable, or your phone line.