Ken, What we found from the 3 hurricanes that we went through, is that there is very little lightning type damage, almost none. Mostly surges and brownouts from the power grid. So, simply disconnecting AC power and pulling fuses on battery outputs did the trick.
In 2004, we lost 3 Rohn towers, and we developed our own anti-twist system and all our towers have them. We have 17 Rohn 25G or 45G in the air of 120 to 150 feet and a couple 190s that we inherited. However, a slowing moving Cat 3 or 4 that sits and churns could do lots of damage at loosing things up. Our experience is that 80+ MPH sustained will loosen BH's, so there will be a lot of re-establishing the core from the inside out, so to speak. We did emails and Robocalls telling customers to UNPLUG everything and not plug back in until they send us pictures of their equipment. Upside radios / dishes full of water are a bad thing Paul From: Af [mailto:af-boun...@afmug.com] On Behalf Of Ken Hohhof Sent: Wednesday, October 5, 2016 5:57 PM To: af@afmug.com Subject: Re: [AFMUG] Please keep us in your prayers guys! Paul, out of curiosity, what at you unplugging? Powering equipment down? Unplugging Cat5 cables from surge suppressors so the radios are floating? Leaving radios plugged into surge suppressors but unplugging the patch cables to other equipment? If you are unplugging radios, is the shield of the Cat5 still grounded? Do you have prior experience with what works in this situation? From: Af [mailto:af-boun...@afmug.com] On Behalf Of Paul McCall Sent: Wednesday, October 5, 2016 4:42 PM To: af@afmug.com<mailto:af@afmug.com> Subject: Re: [AFMUG] Please keep us in your prayers guys! That's good to know Brian. And, yes, the logistics assessment is key, which does take a couple days usually. Our assessment will likely begin Saturday and last throughout the weekend. Paul From: Af [mailto:af-boun...@afmug.com] On Behalf Of Brian Webster Sent: Wednesday, October 5, 2016 4:51 PM To: af@afmug.com<mailto:af@afmug.com> Subject: Re: [AFMUG] Please keep us in your prayers guys! Paul and to any other WISP's who might be affected on this list; In the position as President of WECAT I would like to offer some up front assistance. WECAT tried to helps WISP's devastated by emergencies beyond their normal ability to recover from problems or losses. We stand ready to assist in the role of mobilizing resources to help. That being said we do not try to rush to assist in the way a fire department would. A good assessment by the WISP of the damages they have taken and a plan of recovery as best possible would be a good thought process while you ride out the storm. Of specific not would be things that are not going to be covered by insurance, specific equipment needs and such. We have been trying to avoid people shipping a lot of equipment that would end up not being used and taking up space. Manpower needs would be good to know as well and what type of manpower would be best for you. Logistics for those people is also key. Where can they be housed, fed and the like. How far away can fuel be made available and such. Good methods of contacting the affected WISP is also crucial especially if communications systems have been damaged or become unreliable. A trusted person outside the damage area as a key point of contact might be the best for a while. Don't forget your local ham radio operators if you really need to get some messages in and out of the area when all else fails. WECAT usually likes to wait a day or two to let the WISP do their assessment and they plan to assist once that is done. There have been quite a few occasions where after a day or two the WISP ended up being able to cope on their own or with the help of a close neighbor WISP. I really hope there is no need for something like this but we stand ready to help if necessary. Please feel free to call in advance if you want to learn more before the storm hits. Always available to help. Thank You, Brian Webster President - WECAT 214 Eggleston Hill Rd. Cooperstown, NY 13326 (607) 643-4055 Office (607) 435-3988 Mobile (208) 692-1898 Fax Skype: Radiowebst From: Af [mailto:af-boun...@afmug.com] On Behalf Of Paul McCall Sent: Wednesday, October 05, 2016 2:59 PM To: af@afmug.com<mailto:af@afmug.com> Subject: [AFMUG] Please keep us in your prayers guys! We have Hurricane Matthew coming up the cost, and now its forecast to probably touch land fall as a Category 3 right in the Treasure Coast area, and we are right in the middle of that. Praying that it just skirts the cost and not a full landfall. We have 39 towers that are vulnerable. We have done all the prep possible and are unplugging everything before it hits. We have recovered from 3 hurricanes previously and it's very hard and stressful. We appreciate the thoughts and prayers Paul Paul McCall, President PDMNet, Inc. / Florida Broadband, Inc. 658 Old Dixie Highway Vero Beach, FL 32962 772-564-6800 pa...@pdmnet.net<mailto:pa...@pdmnet.net> www.pdmnet.com<http://www.pdmnet.com> www.floridabroadband.com<http://www.floridabroadband.com>
