Lightning Strike - Internet up now

[ka4koe]

My radio gear not fried as it was disconnected. Three trees show lightning damage. Only 10' of my 145' inverted L remains. The remainder was totally vaporized. Random wire antenna for back porch only 50% vaporized. Free end was laying on carpet on back porch....several big holes blasted in carpet. Porch furniture has burn marks. All modern telephones dead. All network equipment destroyed. Air conditioning damaged but repair was quick/easy. In laws TV upstairs dead. Kids computer died today. Dr. Sheri's digital piano dead, although power supply fine.

Needless to say, I have no functional HF antennas at the moment, and will be off the air for an extended period.

[KB2WIG]

Bummer.

Good to hear that there was no personal damage.


klc

[ka4koe]

If the mother in law had been working on a ciggy at the time on the porch, she likely would've been hurt.

[WA2OLZ]

Glad you are able to write about it, Philip.  It seems that the black cloud continues to follow you around. You would have no luck at all if it weren't for bad luck

Again, good to know y'all are safe.

[WA2OLZ]

Joe Btfsplk

[K1JJ]

If you ever considered convincing the XYL that you need a tower, then now is the perfect time.

A tower that is above the tree line and has a good radial ground system tends to bleed off the charge of the nearby ground and make the local area neutral. It will protect the area from strikes.  If there IS a strike, then you have a fat conductor to ground.

I live on an 800' hill. If we drive one mile away, you will see it sticks up from the surrounding area. I have two 190' towers on top attached to elaborate radial ground systems.  When T-storms come pounding through, lightning seems to avoid trees that are within 1/4 mile away and leave the towers and property alone.  I'm not kidding. I cannot remember hearing a close hit for at least 15 years now.

I had plenty of appliance damage before the towers went up, but haven't lost anything since.

So, if you want a tower, now is the perfect time to approach the XYL....  

T


Just axe Hiram:

[KB2WIG]

     


                                                    WWHD?

[ka4koe]

http://flic.kr/s/aHsjHgQjEu

Here is the link to the Flickr photos.

Philip

[Steve - K4HX]

We had a screamer of a thunder storm here today. There were a few close strikes. I was thinking of your recent hit while the booms were rolling overhead.

[Todd, KA1KAQ]

We had a screamer of a thunder storm here today. There were a few close strikes.

Jen & I watched that storm roll through on the radar. Elizabeth City got clobbered pretty well by it, too. We ended up getting bracketed north and south by the big storms with ponly light rain and wind here. Had just been mentioning to her how summer had been cooler than normal and that the WX Alert radio hadn't been very active when it started screaming.

Used to enjoy watching T-storms back home but after the strike here a couple years back I don't mind them missing us one bit! They're a whole lot meaner down here.

[ka4koe]

Another thunderstorm brewing.....what, me worry? I have no antennas left to hit.

[ka4koe]

Since I have yet to receive a call from my insurance man, might as well work on the Valiant.

[steve_qix]

If you ever considered convincing the XYL that you need a tower, then now is the perfect time.

A tower that is above the tree line and has a good radial ground system tends to bleed off the charge of the nearby ground and make the local area neutral. It will protect the area from strikes.  If there IS a strike, then you have a fat conductor to ground.

I live on an 800' hill. If we drive one mile away, you will see it sticks up from the surrounding area. I have two 190' towers on top attached to elaborate radial ground systems.  When T-storms come pounding through, lightning seems to avoid trees that are within 1/4 mile away and leave the towers and property alone.  I'm not kidding. I cannot remember hearing a close hit for at least 15 years now.

I had plenty of appliance damage before the towers went up, but haven't lost anything since.

So, if you want a tower, now is the perfect time to approach the XYL....  

T

Just axe Hiram:

That's interesting on your experience.  Here at my QTH, the tower has DEFINITELY protected the house and the immediate area (used to get hit frequently).  Now the tower itself gets hit from time to time, as do the power lines about a half mile away or more.  I have a big radial ground system.  When I was chief engineer of various broadcast stations, those towers got hit rather frequently, and being AM stations, there was an extensive and large ground system.

Things get hit less frequently, but my tower definitely has been hit a number of times.  There is absolutely nothing higher than the tower for miles, and the house/tower is on a hilltop.

But, as I say, before the tower went up the lightning hits were SIGNIFICANTLY worse and more frequent than they are now.  

As Tom pointed out, if the XYL has been resistant to the tower idea, now really is a good time to go for it, in the name of "safety" if nothing else    Hey, if you "happen" to put an antenna on your large lightning rod, what the heck, right?  After all, it is safer for the trees 

[WA2OLZ]

Curious. Why would there be fewer lightning strikes at any particular location after a tower was installed? My incorrect logic leads me to believe the tower, as a tall conducting structure, would provide an attractive path to ground for the lightning therefore resulting in more frequent strikes.

[ka4koe]

Arborist just left. The pine and water oak both have to come down. My L was hung from the pine.

[W3RSW]

2OLZ,
Literature indicates that a broad area of good conductivity in the ground tends to ameliorate the "static electric charge gods" so that lightning strikes are reduced.

Recent lightning arresters are now made like an upward pointing broom. Many points of discharge reducing wires from a common well grounded rod.  You see these even installed on golf course shelters instead of the older single pointed rod type of lightning arrestor.

A well grounded tower magnifies the sphere of influrnce and hence the projected ground plane of neutral looking or cloaked area of interest to highly charged clouds looking for a discharge point.

If the ground carries a charge of even more opposite polarity than a cloud then that will be where the lightning will strike.  The well grounded tower's ground plane evens out the many small differential strike zones and at least makes them neutral to each other.  And if all else fails the lightning will just strike the the very conductive tower thus sparing all under its protective "dome."  If the ground plane is adequate the differential strike induced voltages to nearby structures and electrical apparatus will also fare better than without the tower.

Does that help and Make sense to you?

[WQ9E]

Glad it didn't get any of your ham gear!  I think even a minor lightning strike would be the last straw for your Valiant

My daughter and I just returned from a week of hiking in the Cumberland Gap and Great Smokies  parks and the weather was definitely interesting at times.  Our hikes to White Rock and Sand Cave in Cumberland and the climb to Rocky Top in the Smokies was perfect but other days we got wet and there were some pretty good lightning storms a couple of afternoons but we were in the hotel so no problem.

Now I am refreshed and radio for some more fun restoration work

[WA2OLZ]

Thanks for enlightening (sorry!) me Rick. Once again it proves that I am never to old to learn. Too old to retain? Perhaps, but I don't recall for sure.

[Steve - K4HX]

WAY more important than radio.

Glad it didn't get any of your ham gear!  I think even a minor lightning strike would be the last straw for your Valiant

My daughter and I just returned from a week of hiking in the Cumberland Gap and Great Smokies  parks and the weather was definitely interesting at times.  Our hikes to White Rock and Sand Cave in Cumberland and the climb to Rocky Top in the Smokies was perfect but other days we got wet and there were some pretty good lightning storms a couple of afternoons but we were in the hotel so no problem.

Now I am refreshed and radio for some more fun restoration work

[WQ9E]

WAY more important than radio.

Right you are, Steve!  I think at some point all of us are shocked how quickly our children grow up and these times cannot be repeated.

Anna looks a lot different than she did during her first two trips to the mountains in 2006.  She was 2.5 years old for her first camping trip and got to see a bear cub looking at her through the tent window.  Fortunately this was a father/daughter only outing or the trip would have been cut short after a late afternoon visit from the bear family.  These photos were taken in 2006 at Newfound Gap, Chimneys, and Cosby campground respectively.  I definitely cannot carry Anna in one hand anymore.

Lightning is a big issue in the mountains, particularly in the Rockies where there is no tree cover at higher elevations.  I remember the first time I hiked up to Long's Peak I started during the dark to make sure that I was off the peak before the afternoon storms came along.

[Steve - K4HX]

Great photos. You and your daughter are and will be better for these trips.

In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks.

-- John Muir

[W3GMS]

WAY more important than radio.

Right you are, Steve!  I think at some point all of us are shocked how quickly our children grow up and these times cannot be repeated.
Anna looks a lot different than she did during her first two trips to the mountains in 2006.  She was 2.5 years old for her first camping trip and got to see a bear cub looking at her through the tent window.  Fortunately this was a father/daughter only outing or the trip would have been cut short after a late afternoon visit from the bear family.  These photos were taken in 2006 at Newfound Gap, Chimneys, and Cosby campground respectively.  I definitely cannot carry Anna in one hand anymore.
Lightning is a big issue in the mountains, particularly in the Rockies where there is no tree cover at higher elevations.  I remember the first time I hiked up to Long's Peak I started during the dark to make sure that I was off the peak before the afternoon storms came along.

Fantastic pictures Rodger and those memories will serve your family well!  It brings back those days when my two children were growing up.  They are now 35 and 32 years old now and doing very well in life. 

Speaking of lightning, I remember one particular trip to Rickets Glenn in the Pocono's here in PA and we were right in the middle of a horrible lightning storm.  The large tree right next to our campsite came down and smashed their truck.  Aha, what great memories!

Joe, W3GMS

[WQ9E]

Joe,

Some of my best childhood memories are from camping trips and although rain and lightning may not go well with camping in places like the Smokies rain and storms are an almost daily occurrence during the summer.   Technology has sure improved and tents today stay much drier than those of my youth.  Car technology has definitely gotten better also as evidenced by some of our early home movies which show how poorly the old vacuum operated wipers worked (or didn't) on mountain grades.  It is really nice to no longer have to deal with ignition systems that grow balky when wet, vapor locked gas lines, and carburetors that don't deal well with altitude changes.

Although at 53 I now prefer hotels to tents I had so much fun camping as a kid I plan to break the tent out again next year for a couple of trips so Anna can enjoy more tent time.  An air mattress and battery operated shower does help a lot.  I do still love waking up to birds landing on the tent and the smell of eggs and bacon cooking at other campsites even if it does take a little stretching before I roll out of the sleeping bag these days.

[W3GMS]

Joe,

Some of my best childhood memories are from camping trips and although rain and lightning may not go well with camping in places like the Smokies rain and storms are an almost daily occurrence during the summer.   Technology has sure improved and tents today stay much drier than those of my youth.  Car technology has definitely gotten better also as evidenced by some of our early home movies which show how poorly the old vacuum operated wipers worked (or didn't) on mountain grades.  It is really nice to no longer have to deal with ignition systems that grow balky when wet, vapor locked gas lines, and carburetors that don't deal well with altitude changes.

Although at 53 I now prefer hotels to tents I had so much fun camping as a kid I plan to break the tent out again next year for a couple of trips so Anna can enjoy more tent time.  An air mattress and battery operated shower does help a lot.  I do still love waking up to birds landing on the tent and the smell of eggs and bacon cooking at other campsites even if it does take a little stretching before I roll out of the sleeping bag these days.

You bring up great memories Rodger!  My parents were avid tent campers and as a family we had lots of fun and great memories.  Like you, I now prefer Hampton Inn's, but I do have moments of yearning to get a tent and go out on a camping trip!  Of coarse without lightning!   

Joe, GMS