lighting and antennas

[Tinman590]

I have some a99 mulch if anyone needs it. Meaning when my A99 was hit the only thing left were the tuning rings lol. It really blew it in to small particles, No radio hooked to it thank goodness.

[127]

Say hacksaw. Glass will prevent the electricity from bouncing all over the inside for your car or truck. That is if your the luck one to get hit. Ive seen what it can do to a amp and a cb. Pretty my melted them together and blow the batteries. Wasn't a pretty site to see 2000 bucks down the drain.

I don't think a glass jar will contain the 1.21 giggawatts potential of lightning.

[Century21]

This is first hand, It was stormin outside not bad, radio was on, coax unplugged. I was at the pc, and kept hearing a snap every few minutes. Could figure out what it was and didnt really care. I was to into delta force and shooting people at the time on the pc. Well i got up to tinkle, and sure enough, looked like a spark plug, snap, from the end of the coax to the watt meter, coax was about 2 inches away, and only the static surge from the lightning was causing this. A direct hit would fry some crap. It also messed up the dosy antenna switch part at some point and time which made me go by a real meter, a bird. Lightning did strike close to the house, once i think in 1998, all the breakers in the house went off, blew up washer dryer, unden washiington power supply, a cheap little mobile amp keying circuit was messed up, i think it hit the power transformer thats mounted at the road on the ground or my nieghbors fence. why not the antenna dont know, coax was plugged in. Thats probably how it got the keying circuit of the static or what ever from it.

[DuckSoupe]

Folks I had an antron 99 on my roof and the thunder rolled in. I tool the coax from behind the radio and was going to flip it out the window when the coax got hot. There was a crack when the antenna got hit and a stream of white light cameout of the coax. everything in the room including my computer was fried. The antenna was shredded to pieces. every hair on my body was positivly charges and I went to the hospital where they grounded me and my hair went down.I hope you never have that happen to you. This is a true tale

[PONY EXPRESS]

Folks I had an antron 99 on my roof and the thunder rolled in. I tool the coax from behind the radio and was going to flip it out the window when the coax got hot. There was a crack when the antenna got hit and a stream of white light cameout of the coax. everything in the room including my computer was fried. The antenna was shredded to pieces. every hair on my body was positivly charges and I went to the hospital where they grounded me and my hair went down.I hope you never have that happen to you. This is a true tale

Did you all take notice THERE IS AN AWEFUL LOT OF ANTRON 99s getting hit by Lightning

[linx]

Folks I had an antron 99 on my roof and the thunder rolled in. I tool the coax from behind the radio and was going to flip it out the window when the coax got hot. There was a crack when the antenna got hit and a stream of white light cameout of the coax. everything in the room including my computer was fried. The antenna was shredded to pieces. every hair on my body was positivly charges and I went to the hospital where they grounded me and my hair went down.I hope you never have that happen to you. This is a true tale

Wait a sec. You had to go to the hospital where you were grounded? Is it April fools?

[DuckSoupe]

Folks I had an antron 99 on my roof and the thunder rolled in. I tool the coax from behind the radio and was going to flip it out the window when the coax got hot. There was a crack when the antenna got hit and a stream of white light cameout of the coax. everything in the room including my computer was fried. The antenna was shredded to pieces. every hair on my body was positivly charges and I went to the hospital where they grounded me and my hair went down.I hope you never have that happen to you. This is a true tale

Wait a sec. You had to go to the hospital where you were grounded? Is it April fools?

Absolutly the truth. My body was charged. Ask a doctor. I lost a computer and scanner. My cb base was unharmed, figure that out

[Red Warrior]

Folks I had an antron 99 on my roof and the thunder rolled in. I tool the coax from behind the radio and was going to flip it out the window when the coax got hot. There was a crack when the antenna got hit and a stream of white light cameout of the coax. everything in the room including my computer was fried. The antenna was shredded to pieces. every hair on my body was positivly charges and I went to the hospital where they grounded me and my hair went down.I hope you never have that happen to you. This is a true tale

Wait a sec. You had to go to the hospital where you were grounded? Is it April fools?

Lynx,

The human body can act like a capacitor. For instance when you drag your shoes across a rug in the winter. The static charge is quite substantial but builds on the surface of the body rather than inside. Faraday put it this way:

"Faraday established that static charge resides on the outside surface of a conductor. This also applies to partial conductors like the human body and because of mutual repulsion and mobility the charge will be distributed on the body so that its density is proportional to the body curvature. In searching for a basis on which to calculate capacitance we note that a sphere of radius about 0.8 m is a reasonable first approximation to describe the location of charge. If we use this sphere as a model then electric fields a few metres from the body will be accurately described. Close to the body the charge clusters at extremities of the body and the totalcapacitance will tend to be less than that of the proposed spherical model."

The resulting static charge will be completely discharged with the first proximity opportunity to ground (including another person). The probability of carrying a charge all the way to a hospital is minute.

[DuckSoupe]

Well my hair on my body was still sticking out , maybe they were going to make sure. Thanks for the info

[Twink]

if my antenna gets hit by lightning, it's a sign from god saying YOU NEED A BETTER ANTENNA **Censored**! lol

[Texas Mobil 219]

Twink im ROFLMAO..

CB = Continuiosly Breaking.
or Continuiosly Buying.

[DuckSoupe]

You can't see where you are going when you back peddle Pipsqueak, and one usually winds up digging themselves out of a hole..........

what is this about. An attack? Pearl Harbor. I thought this was a nice forum. Cb talk and discussions.

[jsm201]

Most lightning protection used by radio operators is not intended to protect against a direct hit, but to protect against electrical changes in the atmosphere that accompany an electrical storm. An antenna can carry an electric current back to the radio as easily as it can carry one away from the radio.

There is a much greater chance during a storm for static buildup in your antenna to cause damage than for a direct hit to occur at all.

[909WiSCoNSiN]

any time a storm is about to hit I unplug my coax and attach it to a ground that is sticking out of my backyard.
I heard rumors about the glass jar. you know I think I would rather be struck by lightning itself than to be struck by lighning and glass!

[lucas]

i live in Newfoundland and storms dont come often just rain and high winds, but in the event theres some thing coming i dont like i drop my antenna and put it in the garage, the antanna is on a pole and held up with two pvc straps and four screws, i just take the drill undo them and put the antanna away

[420Snowman]

Well, what happens if your antenna is NOT grounded, does the charge run straight back through the coax and burn the roof, siding, drywall, and whatever is in its path??? And if the antenna IS grounded, does the charge choose to go down the copper wire to the ground rod RATHER than going down the coax?? Electricity takes the path of least resistance, correct??

Snowman

[IdahoPete]

Well, what happens if your antenna is NOT grounded, does the charge run straight back through the coax and burn the roof, siding, drywall, and whatever is in its path??? And if the antenna IS grounded, does the charge choose to go down the copper wire to the ground rod RATHER than going down the coax?? Electricity takes the path of least resistance, correct??

Snowman

YES and yes to all. I live it south Idaho with many t storms here it the valley. I ground everything!

[420Snowman]

Guess I better ground mine better then..............

Snowman

[420Snowman]

So, if you have your antenna properly saftey grounded, is it NOT going to travel down the coax?? And in my case, melt my siding, burn my shingles, attic, drywall, etc.!!

Snowman

[721HACKSAW]

There is no way to predict the path of lightning, it can make anything a conductor, trees, poles, houses, ect... JSM201 was right on the money in his post, the electrical charge in the air doesn't have to be at lightning strength to cause damage in electrical components, ground your equipment properly. If possible unplug your coax and your incoming power before a storm. Update your insurance policy, they need to know you have the equipment before you try to make a claim.

[IdahoPete]

There is no way to predict the path of lightning, it can make anything a conductor, trees, poles, houses, ect... JSM201 was right on the money in his post, the electrical charge in the air doesn't have to be at lightning strength to cause damage in electrical components, ground your equipment properly. If possible unplug your coax and your incoming power before a storm. Update your insurance policy, they need to know you have the equipment before you try to make a claim.

Good feedback! Just make every precaution. Then pray!

[smooth16]

I woke up one night a few years ago to a phone that rang one continuous tone for about 10 seconds. Through my sleep fog I couldn't grasp what it was.

Then I heard a hell of a storm outside. Got up and went to turn on the lights and had no power. Lightning hit the power line coming in the house, not a 40 foot tower in the yard , and smoked everything plugged in the outlets, ( tv, computers, amp, stereo, and worst of all, my coffee pot).

Luckily my homeowners insurance paid for most of my junk.

[420Snowman]

My antenna is now grounded good with thick galvanized wire and I hope that it doesnt come down the coax, as that coax it routed through the siding, over a gutter, around a downspout, etc.


Snowman

[12 gage]

I have seen lightning hit a tree and split it down the middle and I have seen it hit another tree and all it did was knock the boards that were nailed to the side of off. the second one was six feet from the house and all it did to the house was break the kitchen window. My point is lightning strikes are all different what kind of damage it will do depends on lots of things ( how strong it is, how well grounded the item is, What it is made out of) just to name a few. What works one time may not work the next time for the same person or for someone else. There is no way scientific or otherwise to determine how a lightning strike is going to effect something. if you look at the A99s that have been hit I'm sure not all of them were effected exactly the same way. Very close but not exactly the same.

[420Snowman]

Last night we had a storm come through that had such bad lightning, there were over 50, yes I said 50 confirmed stikes in our town ALONE!!! The tree in my in laws yard got hit and fell, just missing the house by inches..... but my Imax still stands!!!

Snowman