[PCR-1000] Grounding

[A10382]

I hope you claimed all this on your homeowner's insurance policy.  Carefully
check ALL of your radio gear including S-meters, SWRs, active antenna
controllers, antenna rotor controllers, and antenna matchers.  Don;t forget
to check ALL of your audio gear 0 including those less often used devices.
Be sure to check the outside antenna grounds to be sure the bolt didn't
create an oxidized connection between the ground rod and grounding cable(s).

Most homeowner's and renter insurance policies cover such events - including
the things you find 'fried' a little later.   Microwave ovens, well pumps
and their control boxes, water softeners with electronic controls, radios,
TVs, VCRs, refrigerators and freezers, anything with a microprocessor
controller, and computers seem the most vulnerable.  Some of the damage may
not show up right away.  Insurance companies in the US are pretty much used
to fairly covering these claims without too much fuss.

Interesting that home telephones typically don't take any damage - being
generally designed to handle hits on the lines.  PBXs and other 'office'
phone systems are a little more vulnerable.  I've done a fair amount of
telephone & networking installs and won't bring in any lines - including
lines or extensions to out buildings (whether above or below ground) -
without lightening surge protection on each and every line.

Frank

----- Original Message -----
From: "Harry Joel" <organic@cyberlane.net>
To: <pcr-1000@mailman.qth.net>
Sent: Tuesday, March 19, 2002 11:02 AM
Subject: [PCR-1000] Grounding


> Much valuable advise has been posted about the best way to ground the
> PCR receiver to protect it against damaging voltage spikes (most often
caused by
> power line disturbances or neaby lightning strikes.) I had a fat lighting
> bolt make a direct hit,  jumping from a close-by large tree over to the
house.
> Sparks came flying out of the bedside lamp fixture, scarring my wife who
was
> reading in bed immensly. Every microcontroller in the house was dead. That
inlcuded
> the remote control circuit in the TV, the microwave oven, the telephone
answer
> machine and also the front-end of my Sony shortwave receiver. The control
> box for the active antenna (Sony AN-1 which was  mounted very near where
> the lightning bolt hit the house)  was fried quite impressively. My
computer
> was connected to a UPS box and survived with no ill effect. My take after
> this experience: Connect the PCR power module to a UPS in addition to
> grounding the receiver as described in previous posts.
>
>
>
>
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