All you have to do is get the correct Polyphaser stuff, do the grounds
correctly and you have a very minumum risk...almost 0 (never 0).
Most don't even have close to the correct grounding and surge
suppression setup.
If you can remember to unhook everything ( I have 6 radio setups here)
your good, but forget once at the wrong time...lookout.
Just as an example...if you have a tower...you will need about 20
ground rods, copper strap to hook it all together, a Polyphaser at the
mains, a ployphaser on each coax and a plyphaser on your rotor cable.
Don't forget the telephone line if you have a land line. All tied to
your ONE point of ground for the main power for the house.
Oh...LOVE the OII, I have had it since they came out, never had any
problems with hardware.
73,
Lee
-----Original Message-----
From: Stuart Rohre <rohre@arlut.utexas.edu>
To: Discussion of Ten-Tec Equipment <tentec@contesting.com>
Sent: Fri, Sep 9, 2011 8:26 pm
Subject: Re: [TenTec] Count to Ten B4 Cussing Ten Tec
re the NEW O2! (that replaced the one lost to lightning)
DON"T ever leave any ham radio plugged into the AC line and on an
antenna when you are not using the shack! That is so basic, to not
have
the damage described. Of course, it might have been so great a surge
that it would have jumped across a Master Switch, so unplugging
everything is about the best you can do. There are quick slip on type
UHF plugs you can get, and you could have a master AC plug you pull to
take off line the AC distribution power strip, and that might have
saved
your other O2.
I have been a ham 54 years. From my first year to last year, I have
seen damage to ham rigs, or surges. (No lightning this year). Back in
the tube days, we kept a neon lamp across the Antenna connection, and
the lamp would flash when a Thunderstorm was within 5 miles and had
lightning. That was a minimum of 65 volts going into the fine wire of
the receiver input coils. I learned from that to disconnect it all.
I have seen a storm 10 miles away generate out flow winds that put
greater than 600 volts of wind static on my large loop antenna one
summer. Those I only use now with permanent static dissipating high
value resistors across the feeders to a ground rod.
With the push on PL 259, you can withdraw your antenna leads and put
them onto a dummy panel of grounded SO 239's for safety, to ground your
feeders. Better still, to have a large manual disconnect switch
outside
the shack, as well.
Think about lightning. It can be a stroke 10 miles long or more in
air.
When it hits your house, do you think an open AC power switch is
going
to protect anything connected to it? The distance across a power
switch
is no barrier to the flash or surge that has traveled 10 miles downward.
Now, if you are in a lightning prone location, on a hill, etc. it pays
to install lightning dissipation rods on the buildings. Have the tower
or antenna support grounded well on EACH leg. Run feeders inside a
tower, if coax. Use spark plug arrestors on open wire lines on the
side
of a tower before the line leaves the tower and again before the line
enters the shack. Bring control and feed lines into the shack low to
the ground. Put a halo ground around your shack or home, bonded to all
other ground rods.
Put surge suppression on each leg of your electrical service, at the
main panel entry.
While these measures are no guarantee, they can go a long way toward
easing your mind when a new storm comes up. And will put you on the
air sooner, afterwards, even if another lightning event hits your
electric service.
After a surge event, it is good to take loose the AC to everything, and
add items back one at a time, while the power is on, to make sure
something is not damaged or shorted such that it locks up a rig.
An ohm meter check from each side of a power cord to chassis will spot
internal damage without opening the case of an item. If you have a
good
sense of smell, put your nose close to an electronic enclosure, and any
burned insulation is often readily noticed. Sealed items like wall
warts need to be tested on power, as the smoke does not readily leak
out
of those.
Glad the new O2 was not at fault and that you were able to get on the
air so soon. Hope the insurance co. comes through, but remember you
can
appeal their ruling to your State Board of Insurance as a complaint, if
you don't get what you have paid for all these years.
GL and 73,
Stuart
K5KVH
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