Jack,
Don't feel too bad. Until one has had his first lightning hit incident, you
don't realize the things that may break from it and those that survive.
There is a very old axiom in lightning damage, computer hardware like
modems, TNCs, etc. make teriffic fuses! Maybe it is the smaller gauge wire
that connects them to the main radio. Maybe it is just the proliferation of
the modem chips 1488 and 1489, which were the RS 232 mainstays, and which
seem to act as lightning grounds time after time. (most likely in modem
service where they cross connect the computer world and the telephone
world.)
The basic troubleshooting step is to disconnect everything from the main
instrument or radio in this case, and add back one thing at a time until the
problem appears. Never overlook incidental cable electrical or mechanical
failures, so never trust the interconnection of coax jumpers, power cables,
etc. until proved to be problem free.
Wiggle things. Many problems come and go, but will appear if a connection
or cable is wiggled. Watch out for adpaters, I have had the center pins
come out of coax Tees, and spent hours trying to find the bad cable never
thinking to also look carefully inside the adpator!
Welcome to the world of experience; and now you can mentor the new hams on
what to do first after any apparently massive failure. And no matter what,
disconnect your antennas from your radios when you are not operating, and
you can rest somewhat easier when sudden thunderstorms blow up.
73,
Stuart
K5KVH
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