[Boatanchors] AC Line Protection for Boatanchors

[J. Forster]

As a kid, I was sitting in a boathouse watching a T-storm. There was a
bang and at virtually the same time a big, fat spark jumped from the
fusebox on the wall to the water in the boat slip, a distance of about 20
feet. The box was properly grounded, but that was not enough.

Surge arrestors are useful for differential mode surges, but are almost
useless for common mode surges without very, very goog grounding systems.

YMMV,

-John

==============





> Bill,
>
> In 1991 Shortly after I bought our place in the country we had a nearby
> lightning strike and the induced surge on the AC line took out two
> computers, a TV, the well pump, a garage door opener, the cordless phone
> system, and several small electronic items.  Talking with our farmer
> neighbors this was a common occurrence.  I looked into the surge
> protectors installed by the power companies but a little more research led
> me to ICE:  http://www.iceradioproducts.com/impulse2.html#6
>
> With our setup in the country the house, both garages, and barn have their
> own circuit panels.  Each of these panels has an ICE mains protector
> mounted at the panel and these were installed shortly after the original
> lightning hit.  Since then I have had no equipment lost to lightning.
> Much of the vintage ham gear is in the basement and it is fed by its own
> panel via a disconnect switch but everything else is "live" during
> thunderstorms.  The only downside I have found to the ICE units is there
> is some light flickering due to the fast clamping action during our
> frequent thunderstorms but that is far preferable to damage.  I also
> installed one of their protectors on the incoming phone line.
>
> Of course a very good ground is necessary for any surge suppressor to work
> properly.
>
> Rodger WQ9E
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: boatanchors-bounces at mailman.qth.net on behalf of Bill Stewart
> Sent: Sat 7/24/2010 7:14 PM
> To: boatanchors
> Subject: [Boatanchors] AC Line Protection for Boatanchors
>
>
>
>
> We recently had a pretty 'hot' thunder storm come thru the area with a lot
> of lightning. During the storm, we heard a loud pop in the area of the
> brkr box and the ham shack. No brkrs were tripped or anything damaged...at
> least haven't found anything in the house yet...but I do notice a slight
> tinge of blue color along the bottom of the shack tv...emp??
>
>
>
> Today I went out to Studio B (out in the back yard) and noticed a brkr
> tripped. I flipped it back on and heard a loud 'thunk' around the HQ-150.
> I checked all the xmtrs and the rcvr thu a lamp and the dreaded low-input-
> voltage glow occurred with the HQ-150. The fuse looks to be in tact, so
> I'm hoping the ac switch has shorted and not the xformer. I also noticed
> the Heath line voltage meter was dead....later found a blown-up resistor
> and diode.
>
>
>
> What this is leading up to is this: do you guys use these surge protected
> power strips on your boatanchors? I know the best way is to unplug, but
> that's not too convenient. It would seem they would work pretty well.
> Since they are designed mostly for solid state loads, I would think the
> reaction time would be pretty quick. Any comments pro or con, brands,
> specs and any experiences with their use on boatanchors would be
> appreciated.
>
>
>
> Thanks,
>
> 73 de Bill K4JYS
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