I think a common thread here in both of these stories is that most of the
electrical appliances weren't properly grounded.
When you disconnect all the equipment from the house hold wiring, it takes
away the AC ground, and unless you have every peace of equipment in your
house tied to your RF grounding system, the lightening energy will have no
where to go once it gets into the shack.
Its probably better to leave everything connected to the AC wiring, but
disconect and ground all coaxes coming in.
Including roter cables as well.
Good practice would be to have a bulk head with connecters on it that goes
straight to a good grounding system that all the coaxes can be connected to,
in order to prevent arking within switches and so on.
Even all that sometimes doesn't help though.
73
Colin, V A6BKX
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Louis Kim Kline" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Sunday, October 22, 2006 9:57 AM
Subject: Re: Verticals High Up


> Hi Phil.
>
> Unfortunately,
> there aren't any guarantees when it comes to lightning.  I have had direct
> lightning strikes on my amateur radio station twice.  The first time,
> lightning hit my mast with my 70 cm Quagi at 45 ft.  Surprisingly, the
> antenna survived, although the antenna rotator was totaled.  I also
damaged
> a Kenwood TS130S, which was disconnected but lost a voltage regulator and
a
> microphone driver transistor anyway.
>
> The second time I got hit was just last year when I took a hit on my
> G5RV.  Strangely, it wasn't my highest antenna, being only 25 ft. in the
> air.  Both my GAP Titan and the VHF/UHF antennas are higher.  The one set
> of VHF/UHF beams caught one fork, but the Tri-band Comet on the mast that
> supports one end of the G5RV was untouched, and the GAP which should have
> been an ideal target was also untouched.  Go figure.
>
> The second strike was more costly in monetary terms, as I had another
> totaled rotator, most of my coax had to be replaced, a couple of antennas
> had to be replaced, and a GE Super Radio 2 that just happened to be in the
> shack got fried.  Surprisingly, none of the amateur radio transceivers or
> receivers were damaged.  However, I had a surge protector that exploded,
> and all of the plugs were welded into the power strip that the rotor
> control box was plugged into.  There were flash marks on the case of the
> computer that was also plugged into that strip, and the telephone and DSL
> filter in the ham shack were fried.  Miraculously, when I put a new cord
on
> the computer, it booted up and I've never had a problem with it since the
> strike.  Apparently all of the energy stayed on the surface of the case.
>
> The point is that the power strip that got blasted was unplugged from the
> wall.  The coax cables were all disconnected.  The radios were all
> unplugged and disconnected.  And my antennas are no higher than your R7,
> and I still took a hit.  It's one of the risks you live with.  My advice
is
> to put good lightning protection on the antennas with good grounding and
> realize that even houses with no antennas on them sometimes get hit.  It's
> not a very safe world that we live in.
>
> Thankfully, in your story and mine, no one was seriously injured or
killed,
> and as for the monetary damage, that's what they have insurance for.
>
> 73, de Lou K2LKK
>
>
> At 11:05 PM 10/21/2006 -0600, you wrote:
> >I sent this to the wrong list first.
> >
> >
> > > Several years ago, after fiddling around with two 18AVQ verticals on
my
> > > roof, separated by 60 feet and fed broadside, I gave up.  I discovered
to
> > > two dad blamed verticals were not mechanically identical.  I
discovered
> >this
> > > by taking them down, putting them side by side, and starting from the
> > > bottom, feeling my way inch by inch up the tubing.  I discovered they
were
> > > slightly made differently.  I did get them to work but I could never
get
> > > them to match at 3800 where I wanted them.  So, I figured, well,
shoot, I
> > > don't have any rotating antennas on top of, at that time, my 55 foot
tower
> > > so pick the best of the two verticals, and put it up there.  I cuts 17
> > > radials, each, 65 feet or longer, got the vertical on top of the
tower,
> > > which I discovered I needed help doing so a friend helped, and started
> > > stringing the wires out and tying them to trees, fence posts, the
house,
> >and
> > > every thing I could find.  It was August the first that day.  I fired
up
> >on
> > > 75 meters that night and the antenna, at 55 feet, with that much wire
> >under
> > > it, was a canon.  Hot dog!  I can't wait until the band builds up for
the
> > > winter DX season.  Two weeks later, a friend came over, he isn't a
ham,
> >and
> > > worked on my computer.  We were standing in the very room I am in
right
> >now.
> > > My antenna was disconnected, all my antennas were grounded, and as we
> > > talked, my friend, who was born in Colorado said, Man, I've never seen
a
> > > lightning storm like this before.  It was a dry lightning storm.  I
could
> > > hear thunder rolling off the mountains but it was still far off.  The
> > > lightning wasn't, far off, that is.  There is a question in this story
so
> > > keep reading.  I'm leaning against my metal desk talking to my friend.
My
> > > grounding switch with the antennas all switched to ground, was three
feet
> > > away.  Suddenly, my ears popped and switched off.  I thought I had
heard a
> > > small pop in the room.  My ears rang but I could hear enough to talk
and
> > > communicate.  The man's wife had just walked into my office to see if
we
> > > were about done when she saw the flash over on the coax switch but she
> >also
> > > said she saw a flash of light behind my equipment.  Wonderful.  She
> >reached
> > > over and grabbed my arm and said, Get away from there.  Every breaker
in
> >my
> > > breaker box had tripped.  My ground rod is about 5 feet from the
breaker
> > > box.  It hit my 18AVQ at 55 feet, blew the top three feet off, which
was
> >the
> > > 80 meter coil and whip sections, and from the energy build up in the
room,
> > > popped a couple of diodes in my ten tec transceiver.  It also burned
up
> >one
> > > telephone and a few light bulbs throughout the house.  The coax
connectors
> > > at either end of the RG8 running to the vertical were burn black.  So,
I
> >now
> > > have the R7 and normally use it on my roof at about 15 feet.  I have,
> >bolted
> > > to the back of my home, a 50 foot tower that had a two meter and 70
> > > centimeter 26 foot diamond antenna.  We have high winds in January and
> > > February but this last season, was ridiculous.  That dumb 400 dollar
two
> > > meter 70 CM antenna didn't survive.  Makes me mad.  So, I both a
shorter
> > > diamond dual bander and put it on the roof for safe keeping.  So my
> >question
> > > is, I know this was an unusual storm but I am a little gun shy now
about
> > > putting my R7 up on my 50 foot tower.  I've talked with guys with R7
> > > verticals on 40 foot towers and shoot, all our repeaters around Denver
are
> > > on 9 and 10 and 11 thousand foot mountains.  So I keep trying to talk
> >myself
> > > into putting the vertical on this tower.  What do you think?  I like
the
> > > idea because of not having to string radials all over the property.
What
> >I
> > > am more afraid of is that the vertical won't take the wind more than
it
> >will
> > > be hit by lightning.
> > >
> > > Phil.
> > > K0NX
>
> Louis Kim Kline
> A.R.S. K2LKK
> Home e-mail:  [log in to unmask]
> Work e-mail:  [log in to unmask]
> Work Telephone:  (585) 697-5753