[Elecraft] disconnecting antennas

[Charles Harpole]

Jim, your comments make the mistake of assuming the lightning energy wants 
to discharge into your radios without a reason... it is just mean and does 
not care about physical laws.

Question, why would the energy jump to your radios sitting alone on a 
table... no path, no energy flow.... yes?  Of course, it can jump from 
clouds to the ground ... or is it the other way?  ... but in that case, IT 
IS DISCHARGING TO A GROUNDED THING...the earth... or something sadly tied to 
the earth like your grounded radio.

Mine is disconnected FROM EVERYTHING !  No path, no strike..... eh?

First my lightning history.

1957 novice station, direct hit on 40m dipole at 30 feet.  Boiled copper on 
the copper clad steel wire, vaporized wire inside tv twin lead, etc.  Hook 
up was totally as per the 1957ARRL HANDBOOK with switch to ground 
engaged...ha ha....
Result... fried all radios to crispy black, blew all light bulbs in house, 
and many other things.

1990-2006...  Fla set up...  3 considerable strikes, one to 240 ft 160 m 
dipole which cut the ant wire in 3 places and killed the support trees AT 
BOTH ENDS.  Results to shack, no damage at all because the end of the 
feedline was 20 feet away from house laying on the earth... open....  with 
no evidence of current flow thru it... no path, no strike.

Other 2 were on tower mounted ants.... long story, end of which is no damage 
to radios nor home.

My set up:

Bring all outside wires, except station gnd., to a window patch panel.  
Double female coax connectors there MOUNTED IN PLEXIGLASS (not metal plate 
for sure) and Jones plugs for other wires.  RF Gnd wire comes in 8 ft away 
via hole in wall.. goes to 2 8ft gnd rods.  All ALL wires at the window are 
disconnected on the inside, some use push on PL-259.  NOTHING is grounded 
there nor anywhere else on the principal of "no path, no strike."

70 ft tower with 3 beams grounded only by virtue the base is in concrete 
which is in the earth.

Double pole single throw breaker switch on the main incoming AC line to all 
rigs.  Turn that off when not in use.  Bad storm coming, unplug master AC 
cable from breaker to wall outlet.  Leaving home for a few days, unplugged 
the shack ground wire also (that goes thru wall separately).  That leaves 
the radios sitting alone, totally disconnected on ur op bench.

Pain in the ass to disconnect.  But larger pain is burning home.  Make the 
choice.

To reduce unplugging, install remote ant switch at window patch panel and 
run one coax from that to radio and disconnect that line always.  Then, u 
may fry the switch but not the radios.    BTW... keep EVERYTHING away from 
the inside of the patch panel.... I use min. 4 feet separation, but often 
had 8 feet separation of wires, tables, kids, dogs, fish tanks, and the wife 
from the window with the patch panel during storm.  Abt 3/week in Fla 
summer.  We just did not walk near the window nor other electrical things as 
much as possible during boomers.  My radio table was 8 ft away and around a 
concrete block corner from the window panel.

Note, when I was 12, I was standing in my KY farm house kitchen in big 
thunderstorm.  House was all wood with metal roof.  Strike very close... u 
can tell by time between flash and boom... closer in time is closer in 
space....  A metal wash pan sitting alone on a wood table INSIDE THE KITCHEN 
a few feet from me and 10 feet from window, emits an audible DING.  
Witnessed by 3 adults and me.

Morale:  It can get u ANYWHERE !!!  GL 73



Charles Harpole
k4vud at hotmail.com






Charles Harpole
k4vud at hotmail.com

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