I AmnotGeorgeBush wrote:

You saw the green flash! No, just kidding!
I have seen a similar example. Flash right through the house in a
horizontal line many years ago at the same time as a direct strike, but
the ball did not hang around at all. It shot from one end to the other
and disappeared..and this was INSIDE.

It's been a long time. Nobody believed me when I told them about the
ball lightning the first time. I was only eight or nine.
In the early eighties, I watched a huge storm on July 4 in the west in
Indiana. I saw three large balls of lightning travel parellel to the
ground from cloud to cloud. It was far away. No telling just how big
they were.
I also saw lightning dance along a wire fence of the hog lot.
It was always a real show to watch the summer storms off over the edge
of the mountain and listen to the thunder and the rain on a tin roof.
You can't keep awake for long. What a sweet lullabye.

"Jan Panteltje" wrote in message
news:1127926193.6d66811f87a46474e518cebaf7e7d146@t eranews...
On a sunny day (Wed, 28 Sep 2005 10:07:43 -0500) it happened "Chad Wahls"
wrote in :

yPhasers 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
Hi Chad, thank you! lots of info on that site.
I just did read this:
http://www.polyphaser.com/ppc_TD1016.aspx
and it gives me some good ideas how to do things.

A direct strike will vaporize that little box. Not to dis polyphaser, they
make some excellent products all up and down the line but those discharge
tubes WILL NOT protect against a direct strike. NONE, NADA.

Kevin, WB5RUE



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On a sunny day (Fri, 30 Sep 2005 15:26:20 -0500) it happened "Kevin, WB5RUE"
wrote in :
I just did read this:
http://www.polyphaser.com/ppc_TD1016.aspx
and it gives me some good ideas how to do things.

A direct strike will vaporize that little box. Not to dis polyphaser, they
make some excellent products all up and down the line but those discharge
tubes WILL NOT protect against a direct strike. NONE, NADA.

Kevin, WB5RUE
I am aware of that Kevin, but it has some great ideas how to make good earth
at the mast, and also it reminded me to somehow connect the coax screen to the
mast, now it is isolated.
Probably the GPA base will flash over, but better if the electrons go to
ground then if these go down the coax (outside) even if it is disconnected.
There are some other good suggestions on that site too...

In any case I will try to get my lightning detector working, and disconnect
if it detects anything.

As for the lightning detection electronics - I am now planning on the tuned
ferrite rod, followed by a FET then by a PIC microcontroller... the
small ones I have can replace a LOT of logic for pulse detection and
processing, and have a comparator build in to detect precise voltage levels.
PIC12F629 I have here a box full of...
The advantage is that I can re-program the thing once I get a better idea
what the lighting signals look like (so less false alarm).
The price of these PICs is about a dollar :-) Only 8 pins DIL, internal
oscillator, few micro amps power, hardly any other components needed,
except for a beeper of sorts as alarm.

"Jan Panteltje" wrote in message
news:1128121187.cd7b4cc1bdd8545b9d41c7ec94da4169@t eranews...
On a sunny day (Fri, 30 Sep 2005 15:26:20 -0500) it happened "Kevin,
WB5RUE"
wrote in
:
I just did read this:
http://www.polyphaser.com/ppc_TD1016.aspx
and it gives me some good ideas how to do things.

A direct strike will vaporize that little box. Not to dis polyphaser,
they
make some excellent products all up and down the line but those discharge
tubes WILL NOT protect against a direct strike. NONE, NADA.

Kevin, WB5RUE
I am aware of that Kevin, but it has some great ideas how to make good
earth
at the mast, and also it reminded me to somehow connect the coax screen to
the
mast, now it is isolated.
Probably the GPA base will flash over, but better if the electrons go to
ground then if these go down the coax (outside) even if it is
disconnected.
There are some other good suggestions on that site too...

In any case I will try to get my lightning detector working, and
disconnect
if it detects anything.

As for the lightning detection electronics - I am now planning on the
tuned
ferrite rod, followed by a FET then by a PIC microcontroller... the
small ones I have can replace a LOT of logic for pulse detection and
processing, and have a comparator build in to detect precise voltage
levels.
PIC12F629 I have here a box full of...
The advantage is that I can re-program the thing once I get a better idea
what the lighting signals look like (so less false alarm).
The price of these PICs is about a dollar :-) Only 8 pins DIL, internal
oscillator, few micro amps power, hardly any other components needed,
except for a beeper of sorts as alarm.


It doesn't matter really how good your ground system is. If your antenna
takes a direct strike and 99.999% of the energy goes into the ground you
will still get several thousand volts (or hundreds of thousands of volts)
coming down your coax. Unless you are willing to spend thousands of dollars
on an active lightning protection system your only protection is to
disconnect.

Kevin, WB5RUE



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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

"BTM" wrote in message
...

Kevin Muenzler, WB5RUE Wrote:
"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.

_________________________________________
Usenet Zone Free Binaries Usenet Server
More than 140,000 groups
Unlimited download
http://www.usenetzone.com to open account-
all the work to set up a station and no lightning protection scheme?
there are many ways to protect the equipment including gas discharge
kit. any surge protection on the ac input?-


Nothing that would be worth buying to protect a CB rig will stop a
direct
strike. A direct strike will vaporize a gas discharge kit on its way
to
your radio. But then if you want to spend a few thousand dollars you
can
get direct-strike protection.

Kevin, WB5RUE




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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



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//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

"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.