On Wed, 28 Sep 2005 10:07:43 -0500, "Chad Wahls"
wrote in :


"Kevin Muenzler, WB5RUE" wrote in message
...

"jim" wrote in message
...
Jan Panteltje wrote:

I had the new GPA behind the house up last week....
To make sure I had the best SWR and best signal, I use thick coax, and
left out the coupling piece I had that I used to disconnect in case
lighting was expected.
The weather report was good, with a drop of rain, and the sky was
clear....
I went to sleep.
At 3.25 last night I woke up because of an incredible flash and BANG.
Thought "have to buy new gear now, pity..." hehe).
LOL
But nothing was smoking, counted seconds between flashes (more now),
it was overhead alright.
But my neighbor (50 meters away) has a higher mast.
Anyway, it started raining, usually there is enough conductive path
then
for it not no strike, I went outside in pyamas, waited for a flash,
(clouds take time to charge up again) and cut the coax, folded it back,
so there was some meters separation.
Went to bed again, noticed I was wet...
Just now I put some connecters and a coupling piece, so that is fixed.
So, anyways the sky is clear and the sun shines, and the SWR is
slightly
better now...
But now I am thinking 'lightning detector', I know these exist, was it
not
a simple ferrite rod with a detector (for low frequencies)?
Does anyone here use these?
Good diagrams?
I should google anyways....

Anyways I made some other changes too, I am now running the set from a
12 Ah
12V gel battery,
It is charged continously with an AC/DC adapter, no large power
supplies
needed.
and I can use things when electricity fails, say in case of flooding.

PolyPhasers do work They have done a good job of protecting all the
broadcast equipment I have installed over the years and they have protected
many ham and CB rigs also.

http://www.polyphaser.com/kommerce_p...px?class=M0044

Chad


They work ok to protect against static buildup and nearby strikes, but
they can't be trusted to isolate your system from a direct hit. I have
a couple of these units in my 'blooper box' (failed parts bin). One is
blown in half and the other is melted.

Unless you have a grounded broadcast tower with a large radial field,
the only reliable protection against a direct strike is to disconnect.







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