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Topband: Lightning makes antennas vanish

To: <Topband@contesting.com>
Subject: Topband: Lightning makes antennas vanish
From: "Tom W8JI" <w8ji@w8ji.com>
Reply-to: Tom W8JI <w8ji@w8ji.com>
Date: Sun, 8 Jul 2012 09:34:27 -0400
List-post: <topband@contesting.com">mailto:topband@contesting.com>
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 

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UR RST IS ... ... ..9 QSB QSB - hw? BK

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