On 07/15/2014 06:35 AM, John K9UWA wrote:
Do TV Stations and Radio Stations and Cellphone towers disconnect all
their equipment everytime there is a storm in the area?
Obviously the answer is NO they don't disconnect and they don't even turn
their equipment off. Yet is survives direct lightening hits on their towers and
equipment.
I volunteer for KBBF-FM, the local bilingual community broadcast station
here in northern California. The antenna is on top of Mount Saint
Helena, north of Santa Rosa. Compared to some areas of the country,
lightning is not common here.
However, about three years ago the electrical pole that feeds the
transmitter shack was hit by lightning. The pole exploded and ended up
in pieces on the ground:
http://kbbf-fm.org/images/DamagedPoleM.jpg
The electrical service entrance meter was blown off the wall. We found
it lying in the grass about 30 feet (10 meters) away from the building.
The main transmitter was fried and had to be removed for repair. The
950 MHz STL (Studio to Transmitter Link) antenna was also damaged beyond
repair but, surprisingly, the STL receiver itself survived.
After repairing the electrical wiring inside the building we were able
to get back on the air using the backup transmitter, the backup STL
system and the emergency generator.
I think the moral is that it is pretty much impossible to absolutely
protect against a direct lightning strike. If I lived in an area where
thunderstorms were common I would make my station as lightning-hardened
as possible and ALSO disconnect everything when a storm is imminent.
Alan N1AL
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