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#1
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Damaged by a lightning ?
Hi,
Was your house/shack stroken by Thor's hammer, I mean a lightning recently ? I am interested in your experience... If your installaiton was damaged by a strike event, I would like to now if : - you used a central ground point bonded to an external grounding system, as well as the home ground. - you left some gears switched on during the strike event - you left the TX switched on and the coaxial plugged without protection - you installed or not lightning controllers in your electric distribution panel - you had installed another protection - you swicthed off and unplugged all devices - you think that the energy came back via the grounding network (probably dut to a difference of potential in a device) Tell me only in a few words what was the most probable cause of the accident. At last, if you master the subject, do you really think that a grounding system, as best it could be as the advice provided by PolyPhaser for example, will never protect you against a direct strike on your antenna or on the house lightning conductor Why ? All this will help me to conclude the article dealing with this matter : http://www.astrosurf.com/lombry/qsl-...protection.htm Thanks in advance NB. Answer preferably through these forums to please everybody. Thierry ON4SKY |
#2
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I believe lightning struck my chimney and took out the lawn sprinkler
control system and a couple of appliances. After a while I found the reason. The clamp on the ground rod for the house ground wire had disintegrated and I think the disintigration was caused by galvanic action. I just replaced with awhat I thought was a better one and the new one didn't corrode. 73 hank wd5jfr "Thierry" To answer me in private use http://www.astrosurf.com/lombry/post.htm wrote in message ... Hi, Was your house/shack stroken by Thor's hammer, I mean a lightning recently ? I am interested in your experience... If your installaiton was damaged by a strike event, I would like to now if : - you used a central ground point bonded to an external grounding system, as well as the home ground. - you left some gears switched on during the strike event - you left the TX switched on and the coaxial plugged without protection - you installed or not lightning controllers in your electric distribution panel - you had installed another protection - you swicthed off and unplugged all devices - you think that the energy came back via the grounding network (probably dut to a difference of potential in a device) Tell me only in a few words what was the most probable cause of the accident. At last, if you master the subject, do you really think that a grounding system, as best it could be as the advice provided by PolyPhaser for example, will never protect you against a direct strike on your antenna or on the house lightning conductor Why ? All this will help me to conclude the article dealing with this matter : http://www.astrosurf.com/lombry/qsl-...protection.htm Thanks in advance NB. Answer preferably through these forums to please everybody. Thierry ON4SKY |
#3
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"Let us spray"?
"Henry Kolesnik" wrote in message ... I believe lightning struck my chimney and took out the lawn sprinkler control system and a couple of appliances. |
#4
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"Henry Kolesnik" wrote in message ... I believe lightning struck my chimney and took out the lawn sprinkler control system and a couple of appliances. After a while I found the reason. The clamp on the ground rod for the house ground wire had disintegrated and I think the disintigration was caused by galvanic action. I just replaced with awhat I thought was a better one and the new one didn't corrode. Indeed, without care the binding between two metals is always "at risk". Polyphaser and other grounding kit manufacturers provide products to prevent this kind of corrosion, including coating for anchor guys (like Anchor Guard). Thierry 73 hank wd5jfr "Thierry" To answer me in private use http://www.astrosurf.com/lombry/post.htm wrote in message ... Hi, Was your house/shack stroken by Thor's hammer, I mean a lightning recently ? I am interested in your experience... If your installaiton was damaged by a strike event, I would like to now if : - you used a central ground point bonded to an external grounding system, as well as the home ground. - you left some gears switched on during the strike event - you left the TX switched on and the coaxial plugged without protection - you installed or not lightning controllers in your electric distribution panel - you had installed another protection - you swicthed off and unplugged all devices - you think that the energy came back via the grounding network (probably dut to a difference of potential in a device) Tell me only in a few words what was the most probable cause of the accident. At last, if you master the subject, do you really think that a grounding system, as best it could be as the advice provided by PolyPhaser for example, will never protect you against a direct strike on your antenna or on the house lightning conductor Why ? All this will help me to conclude the article dealing with this matter : http://www.astrosurf.com/lombry/qsl-...protection.htm Thanks in advance NB. Answer preferably through these forums to please everybody. Thierry ON4SKY |
#5
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"Let us spray"?
"Henry Kolesnik" wrote in message ... I believe lightning struck my chimney and took out the lawn sprinkler control system and a couple of appliances. |
#6
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"Henry Kolesnik" wrote in message ... I believe lightning struck my chimney and took out the lawn sprinkler control system and a couple of appliances. After a while I found the reason. The clamp on the ground rod for the house ground wire had disintegrated and I think the disintigration was caused by galvanic action. I just replaced with awhat I thought was a better one and the new one didn't corrode. Indeed, without care the binding between two metals is always "at risk". Polyphaser and other grounding kit manufacturers provide products to prevent this kind of corrosion, including coating for anchor guys (like Anchor Guard). Thierry 73 hank wd5jfr "Thierry" To answer me in private use http://www.astrosurf.com/lombry/post.htm wrote in message ... Hi, Was your house/shack stroken by Thor's hammer, I mean a lightning recently ? I am interested in your experience... If your installaiton was damaged by a strike event, I would like to now if : - you used a central ground point bonded to an external grounding system, as well as the home ground. - you left some gears switched on during the strike event - you left the TX switched on and the coaxial plugged without protection - you installed or not lightning controllers in your electric distribution panel - you had installed another protection - you swicthed off and unplugged all devices - you think that the energy came back via the grounding network (probably dut to a difference of potential in a device) Tell me only in a few words what was the most probable cause of the accident. At last, if you master the subject, do you really think that a grounding system, as best it could be as the advice provided by PolyPhaser for example, will never protect you against a direct strike on your antenna or on the house lightning conductor Why ? All this will help me to conclude the article dealing with this matter : http://www.astrosurf.com/lombry/qsl-...protection.htm Thanks in advance NB. Answer preferably through these forums to please everybody. Thierry ON4SKY |
#7
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Station grounded to central ground (10 foot ground rod in Georgia Clay tied
to 60 radials each 60 feet long 1" below the surface put in before the house was built.) Power unplugged all antennas grounded via the antenna switch. 1/2 of G5RV up 40 feet, antenna vaporized with only bits and pieces found, the other half undamaged. Came in via powerlines and antenna. All electronic devices in the house destroyed All antennas on 80 foot tower were untouched. main stroke followed the powerlines in the attic. The overpressure blew vinyl siding off the house. In the hamshack the voltage exited the coax from a coiled section burning the rug. TS-830 and 440 destroyed in spite of being unplugged. 6 foot color TV, electronic air cleaner, VCR etc all destroyed. The only electronic survivor was a bedside GE $10 radio alarm clock. This is a rural setting on 29 acres. Closest house 1/2 mile away. All utilities underground from the road to the house. Closest overhead utilities are 1600 feet away. "Thierry" To answer me in private use http://www.astrosurf.com/lombry/post.htm wrote in message ... Hi, Was your house/shack stroken by Thor's hammer, I mean a lightning recently ? I am interested in your experience... |
#8
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W4JLE ...
^ Station grounded to central ground (10 foot ground rod in ^ Georgia Clay tied to 60 radials each 60 feet long 1" below ^ the surface put in before the house was built.) Nice! Are you taking it with you when you move? Frank |
#9
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W4JLE ...
^ Station grounded to central ground (10 foot ground rod in ^ Georgia Clay tied to 60 radials each 60 feet long 1" below ^ the surface put in before the house was built.) Nice! Are you taking it with you when you move? Frank |
#10
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"Thierry" To answer me in private use http://www.astrosurf.com/lombry/post.htm wrote in message ...
Hi, Was your house/shack stroken by Thor's hammer, I mean a lightning recently ? My mast has been struck twice in the last 4 years. I am interested in your experience... If your installaiton was damaged by a strike event, I would like to now if : - you used a central ground point bonded to an external grounding system, as well as the home ground. My mast is the central ground point. It's tied into to water pipe, which is about 2 ft away, and also tied into my "ground window" outside the shack. All the ground here is tied together, and at the same potential. The water pipe is iron, not pvc. - you left some gears switched on during the strike event Gears???? No compute... - you left the TX switched on and the coaxial plugged without protection Yes. So was my computer and monitor. Neither flinched at all. - you installed or not lightning controllers in your electric distribution panel No. - you had installed another protection No. - you swicthed off and unplugged all devices Yes. But to my radios only. IE: rig and amp unplugged from the wall. Phone line to the computer unplugged. All the other stuff in the house/room was left on and plugged in. My computer was on, as was the TV in the room, which is on cable. - you think that the energy came back via the grounding network (probably dut to a difference of potential in a device) Most all of the strike energy went straight to ground via the mast I'm fairly sure. I had no damage to anything anywhere. The only thing is did was blow a hole in my electrical tape "water cap" on the top of the mast. Also made the slightest arc spot on the end of the mast. You would have to look hard to see it. Tell me only in a few words what was the most probable cause of the accident. Accident? What accident? The lightning strike did exactly what I was intending/hoping it would do. At last, if you master the subject, do you really think that a grounding system, as best it could be as the advice provided by PolyPhaser for example, will never protect you against a direct strike on your antenna or on the house lightning conductor Why ? You can protect from a direct strike. The level of protection will depend on the clamping voltage of the gas tube, or whatever you use. The higher power gas tubes clamp at a higher voltage. If you want max protection use a low power protector. But I'm too paranoid to operate during lightning. I see no point anyway, being the static would be a mess... I totally unhook and ground all antennas. Also, my mast is much most likely to attract a strike rather than my antennas themselves. They just float along for the ride. My coaxes all run all the way down to the ground. The mast acts as a lightning rod in my case. I was sitting 15 feet away from my mast when it struck mine. In reality, it's kind of a non event..It's so quick , it's over before you realize what happened. The strike itself is pretty quiet if you have a low resistance connection like a well grounded mast. About like throwing a lightbulb on the ground and breaking it. Only the sonic boom overhead is loud. You also hear a click in your auditory nerves when you are that close. Lightning has also hit tall trees in our yard in that time period. The tree in the front yard was nailed a few months ago. MK |
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