[TowerTalk] Lightning and Coax

[john at kk9a.com]

It sounds like you have been very lucky until now.

Coax is easy to check. It is most likely OK unless the jacket was damaged. I
am sure that you'll get a lot of suggestions to minimize future damage.

GL
John KK9A


Phil Coley K4MPE

I haven't had any lightning hits (that I know of) in my 60 + years as an
active ham until Hurricane Ida came through earlier this month. I've had
large towers and beams, verticals, etc over the years so I'm sure I've had
some hits but noticed no damage. 
The hit was about 100 feet from my house and damaged satellite, cable and
internet services as well as electronic devices (TVs, routers, modems, etc).
My now modest station (transceiver and 130 ft. Inverted L antenna took a
hit. Some visible damage to the antenna, transceiver and switching power
supply. Other accessories were ok. Most of my other sensitive electronic
devices were toasted. 
Coax feed to protected setup looks OK but arrestor and grounding coax switch
were zapped. Coax was just replaced (LMR-400) a few months ago. Simple
testing seem to show it's not shorted and does receive signals. 
When rebuilding my setup, should I replace the coax as well? Would hate to
get everything set back up and learn the coax that is buried in ground has
issues.
Thanks for your input. 
73, Phil K4MPE

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