[Elecraft] Took Some Lightning Damage Last Night

[Gary Smith]

Bummer. I have been disconnecting and 
unplugging for years. Thought I had it 
covered when I saw storms coming in on the 
radar. The next day the radio and the P3 
was dead when I plugged the power strip in 
although the PS was working and everything 
else fired up. 

Couldn't get TV and I couldn't use my 
wireless mouse with the computer. Cut to 
the chase... The spike came in through the 
cable, killed the modem, killed the USB 
hub and the Radio was connected to the hub 
by the RS232 to USB cable, the P3 was 
connected to the K3s. Was a new radio, 
maybe a month old cost me plenty to repair 
the damage because damage from lightning 
strikes aren't a warranted item (nor 
should they be). To Elecraft's credit, 
they could have charged me more but they 
genuinely care about their customers and 
they made it as painless as possible.

But my point is this strike didn't come 
from the power line, it came in from the 
cable. Lightning is a SOB, if you're going 
to disconnect, then make it so the rig and 
everything else in any way possible, is 
ready to go in a box.

FWIW, I now have everything connected 
wirelessly including the desktop. I still 
unplug but I no longer worry about spikes 
through the cable service.

73,

Gary
KA1J


> 
> 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
> >
> ______________________________________________________________
> 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 gary at ka1j.com
>