"The Magnum" wrote in message
...
//snip//
I know nothing really will stop a direct strike but the more 90 degree
turns you can make with you coax before entry the better! lightning
doesnt like 90 degree angles, also i bring my coax all the way to the
ground with a gas discharge unit at its lowest point then 90 back up to
entry,most likely a drop in the bucket but ive never been wiped out. I
also have 15 or so ground rods spread every 4 ft connected with
stranded bare #6 then i covered it with dirt most of this is for field
ground but field ground should be bonded to antenna ground always and
is in my case, also bond them to your service ground,i also run my
equipment off of battery backup units with avr and really nice surge
clamping characteristics UPC and Cyberpower make nice units that stops
that third order harmonic feedback wipe out thru your power in case of
a strike

well this is just my poormans attempt to protect my equipment

Cheers BTM

Yeah, and Santa Claus ate the cookies too. Lightning will take whatever
path is there no matter how complex. It will go right through your gas
discharge and Cyberpower UPS.
Remember this spark has just traveled several miles to get to you. A few
inches of gas or plastic isn't even going to slow it down.

Kevin, WB5RUE

I completely agree with Kevin. The only benefit these extra gadgets have
is
if there is a close strike and it helps to reject stray voltage from the
bolt. Ive had two TV sets go down due to this, you can tell the
difference... the stray voltage from a bolt of lightning will pop
components
on a board... a direct hit will make it explode... The only way to protect
your equipment is to disconnect it AND either move the co-ax away or the
radio itself. It doesnt help much disconnecting it and leaving it an inch
from the radio.
Regards,
Graham



And then there's the proximity factor...namely, every piece of wire in your
home acting as the other half of a transformer, the lightning being the
primary. Induced voltages are just as deadly to electronics.