We're in accord on static. Like lightning, give it someplace to go
OUTSIDE, not via the shack/structure. Not just for noise but the
voltages can be astoundingly high with enough amperage to cause harm.
[A local puts his feeds in a glass jar then is amused at the glow of
discharge, contained. But that is FAR from the only wire exposed.
These are complex topics that few can translate well to low dollars
(hams) and better understanding.
It would have been fun to draw on that lunch crowd discussion.
The only true axiom is that if you don't have enough shunting, lightning
will be happy to show you what you missed. (Antenna didn't fall over?
It's not big enough!).
73 Bill,
Rick nk7i
On 7/28/2023 3:36 PM, Dr. William J. Schmidt wrote:
I worked at Honeywell defense systems in the early 80's and I had two guys (Ph.D's from
MIT) working in the office next to me that were experts in Meteorology... specifically
the study of lightning. I would eat lunch with them because they were
"interesting" to say the least. When they found out I was a ham and asking
them about lightning protection they laughed hysterically. Over their tenure they
schooled me on my lack of knowledge in their area and beat into me immense gravity and
consequences of a major lightning strike. Imaginable voltages and currents. You can
prepare but you will never be sure.
Static is something else. All of the antennas I design and implement have
GROUNDED elements or static chokes to ground to reduce static to a minimum.
You learn this with experience.
Dr. William J. Schmidt - K9HZ J68HZ
-----Original Message-----
From: elecraft-boun...@mailman.qth.net <elecraft-boun...@mailman.qth.net> On
Behalf Of Rick NK7I
Sent: Friday, July 28, 2023 4:42 PM
To: elecraft@mailman.qth.net
Subject: Re: [Elecraft] [OT] A dumb question about lightning
Not often (enough) does a ham have a 100'+ tower either. 😉
THE standard (of way so many to choose from) is from the cell phone industry
(Motorola mostly). It's insanely complex but if you're on a mountain top and
need 100% reliability; ideal. The costs, will be a second mortgage so some
compromises will have to happen.
Here is a better link to the current (newest edition) of the ARRL book; at
least a good starting point for a baseline understanding. Direct hits, no
matter what system/s used, will always show what you missed or didn't do enough
to mitigate.
https://a.co/d/01vRC1W
Another aspect is static reduction. That comes from wind, rain, dust, snow,
anything that passes by the structure. Shunt all to ground OUTside the
building is the best approach. (Base of the tower/mast and again at structure
entry; make EVERYTHING at the same ground potential, inside and out. When you
take a hit, that potential rises, equally if all is done well; it's the
difference in potential that harms.)
73,
Rick nk7i
On 7/28/2023 2:31 PM, Dr. William J. Schmidt wrote:
Even the methods in that book are considered sub-standard by the broadcast
industry... The only think that is a sure bet is to completely disconnect your
radio and put it back in the shipping box.
Dr. William J. Schmidt - K9HZ J68HZ
email: b...@wjschmidt.com
-----Original Message-----
From: elecraft-boun...@mailman.qth.net
<elecraft-boun...@mailman.qth.net>
Sent: Friday, July 28, 2023 4:14 PM
To: j...@kk9a.com
Cc: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net
Subject: Re: [Elecraft] [OT] A dumb question about lightning
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Welcome to the Bible of grounding. It’ll take several reads to grasp what you
have to do.
73,
Rick NK7I
On Jul 28, 2023, at 2:11 PM, j...@kk9a.com wrote:
I would recommend that you follow proper lightning bonding/grounding
techniques, these are the only methods that work. My tower has taken
a number of lighting strikes. You cannot prevent a lightning strike.
Simply disconnecting your feedling will not prevent damage inside
your house as the voltage from a strike will be induced into your home's
electrical wires.
John KK9A
Al Lorona W6LX wrote:
Please don't laugh at me; I'm a transplant from a region of the
country with essentially no lightning to a region where you have to
worry about it quite a bit.
We had a doozy of a storm last night, with lots of lightning overhead.
I felt like a sitting duck, even though I had grounded both sides of
the balanced feedline of the antenna, switched the antenna switch to
the middle
(grounded) position, and even disconnected the coax leading to the
K3's rear-panel antenna port.
Whenever lightning happens, I always wonder if it really is in fact
better to ground everything. Because, doesn't that essentially make a
lightning rod of the antenna? If I simply disconnected the antenna
and left it floating, wouldn't it be less likely to attract a lightning bolt?
I'm of the belief that it's better to try to avoid a direct hit than
to attract one and trust your grounding system to do its thing. I'm
of the belief that no grounding system is perfectly effective.
Al W6LX/4
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