[ICOM] Lightning vs PS-125

[mikea]

On Thu, Aug 06, 2009 at 02:02:07PM -0500, mikea wrote:
> On Thu, Aug 06, 2009 at 01:43:45PM -0500, Mike Reublin wrote:
> > My station was whacked Sunday afternoon, and it got most everything.
> > There are matching burn marks on the Pro II and the PS. The Pro II is
> > fried.
> >
> > The PS-125 shows 14.35 V. How can I determine if it's safe to use?
> 
> Oh, man, I'm _sorry_ to read that. Put the PS under enough load to draw
> the key-down operating current that the Pro II would draw, and monitor the
> output voltage and ripple. If they stay within the limits the Pro II manual
> says are OK, then use it cautiously. 14.35 V does seem a bit high; if you
> can locate a pot to tweak it back down to around 13.8, that probably would
> be better. A careful inspection certainly is in order, too. 
> 
> I see that you're in JAX, so the lightning isn't any sort of surprise, but
> it's still a really serious bummer to lose a rig. I really, really hope the
> rig was insured. 
> 
> An illustration of one of the weird things lightning can do is shown in
> these two images:
> 
> <http://mikea.ath.cx/vacation2002/stuff/IM000091.html> 
> <http://mikea.ath.cx/vacation2002/stuff/IM000093.html>
> 
> The cans in the images were stacked just as you see them, full of Schweppes
> Ginger Ale, and unopened. Lightning zapped them, the microwave to their
> left (it has been working well ever since), the refrigerator to their right
> (also working well), and the man standing at the microwave. No other damage
> was found, nothing else was affected, though our ears did ring for a while
> after the strike.

I got so wrapped up in the mechanics of getting the post out that I
forgot to include the most important facts of all: 
o	The cans were hot, dry, and empty immediately after the strike, and 
o	There was no ginger ale found on anything else in the kitchen. I 
	conclude that it was heated well above boiling and made a short-lived 
	cloud of steam immediately after the cans ruptured. 

And I see folks hitting the image already. Wow! All y'all be gentle, now,
y'heah?

-- 
Mike Andrews, W5EGO
mikea at mikea.ath.cx
Tired old sysadmin