[Elecraft] Took Some Lightning Damage Last Night

[Rick Tavan]

Sorry to hear, Chuck. I had a similar indirect hit in September and I'm
still recovering. My K3 lost its serial port, as did the P3. They seem to
be working fine now after replacing those boards. A big issue in lightning
damage repair is complete testing. If you aren't using your serial port (or
ACC connector, or RX antenna port, etc.), you may not notice that something
failed until months (years) later when you try to use the bad circuit. So
be skeptical and test everything you can think of.

The really good news with Elecraft gear is that you can often replace
boards like I did. I also lost two TVs completely and one still turns on
but has no HDMI inputs left functioning. Similarly, my A/V receiver lost
all its HDMI ports. The audio amp still works, but emits a loud POP every
minute or two. All four of those boxes are non-repairable and must be
replaced. I also had to replace many other devices in their entirety. So
Long Live Elecraft!  (microbit, by the way, sells a replacement board for
its RRC controller for a reasonable US$150, shipped quickly from Sweden.
It's a one-board device, but at least I salvaged the sheet metal!)

I lost almost every serial and HDMI port in the house. I suspect they're
all managed by delicate semiconductor chips that can't handle the pulses.
Keep that in mind while testing!

GL,

/Rick N6XI


Rick Tavan
Truckee, CA

On Mon, Nov 6, 2017 at 7:59 AM, Chuck Milam, N9KY <N9KY at arrl.net> wrote:

> Hi All:
>
> It looks like we took an EMP hit at home from nearby lightning just last
> night. The XYL was up with the baby and said the whole house lit up
> sometime after midnight.  So far, it appears I've lost a TV, laser printer,
> the shack PC, all the outdoor security cameras, and my internet service.
>
> As for radio gear, my Astron VS-35M power supply was showing low voltage
> output, but a power recycle corrected that. The Elecraft K3 was actually
> powered off and disconnected from the antennas, but it was throwing errors
> when I powered it up. I assume that was from the connection to the
> computer.  I did a soft reset and it seems to have recovered, but I need to
> do more thorough testing.  The KX3 was only connected to power and was
> powered off, and it seems to be OK so far.
>
> The other ham radios seem to be OK, except for an old 1990s-era Radio Shack
> scanner that likely can't be replaced. I may crack that one open and see if
> there's something obvious that can be repaired.
>
> Any advice for what other checks I should perform on my house and equipment
> (especially my K3 and KX3) to check for hidden gremlins before I start
> calling the insurance companies and getting the claims process rolling?
>
> ---
> Chuck Milam, N9KY
> N9KY at arrl.net
> ______________________________________________________________
> Elecraft mailing list
> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
> Post: mailto:Elecraft at mailman.qth.net
>
> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
> Message delivered to rtavan at gmail.com
>