Having the biggest station in the lightning capitol of the US, I am pretty
well qualified to talk about lighting hits and such.
For years I, and lots of my buddies in the FCG, have been plagued by lighting
hits. All of the big stations with towers 100 feet or more have been hit,
sometimes multiple hits.
Three years ago, I tackled the problem in earnest. Among other things, I
redid a bulkhead in the wall now contains a wide flat piece of copper to the
grounds. But the biggest improvement I made was to install Polyphasers on all
incoming coax lines. With twelve lines, it was a big investment.
In addition to doing the above, I use quick disconnects on the coax coming
from the bulkhead, and quick disconnects on the control cables coming from the
bulkhead. All lines stay disconnected unless I am on the air including the
power cables. Also, I disconnect the cable Internet connection, by quick
disconnect, when lightning is heard.
These measures may sound like overkill, but even though I am the heart of the
thunderstorm capitol of North America and have three 200 footers, I have not
sustained any damage in the last three years....a record for me!
By the way, a couple of weeks ago my brother's sailboat, ten miles away from
here, took a direct hit while it was anchored next to his house. He now has
about $7000 worth of electronic goodies which he can now use as emergency
anchors, including a very nice Kenwood rig. Luckily, he was not on the boat
when
it was hit.
Bill K4XS (in the land of lightning and 'canes)
_______________________________________________
See: http://www.mscomputer.com for "Self Supporting Towers", "Wireless Weather
Stations", and lot's more. Call Toll Free, 1-800-333-9041 with any questions
and ask for Sherman, W2FLA.
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