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Thread: Lightning strike(no damage)

  1. #21
    Boolit Master
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    Been hit twice. Once when I was 12 on a tire and chain swing in a tall tree. Lightning hit the chain and burnt it in half. Sparks went from my feet to the ground. Second time fishing out in the gulf with my brother and friend. Saw lightning in the distance and counted slowly to 15 before I heard the thunder. I said 3 miles away, no problem. 10 seconds later all the hair on my body stood up and we were hit by a side bolt. Sparks flew between us and I felt like I had grabbed a spark plug wire. I see people still working outside on tractors and lawnmowers just before a thunderstorm. Not me I go inside. Mary I am glad your damage was minor. You took the proper precautions.
    There is no difference between communism and socialism, except in the means of achieving the same ultimate end: communism proposes to enslave men by force, socialism—by vote. It is merely the difference between murder and suicide. Ayn Rand

  2. #22
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    What saved the ham gear, yes that is a re-purposed cooler! Single point ground that is also the center of the ground rod x... commercial grade lightning suppression like they use on cell towers.


  3. #23
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    That's interesting, what's the purpose of the cooler? Just a convenient box or a means to isolate the gear?

  4. #24
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    Quote Originally Posted by MaryB View Post
    What saved the ham gear, yes that is a re-purposed cooler! Single point ground that is also the center of the ground rod x... commercial grade lightning suppression like they use on cell towers.


    More people are interested in this than you think

    What is it ?

    Cooler = insulated box ??

    inside ????

  5. #25
    Boolit Master
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    Hi Tommag.What`s really fun,is to have lightening strike a utility pole with transformer when you are only ten feet from that pole in your truck.ESD took out the ign box for the truck,plus the spare that I had in the tool box behind the seat.
    For some REAL fun be riding along on your motorcycle and have a strike on a street light fixture about 20 feet from where you are passing.Can you say"Pucker Factor"?
    Good luck.Have fun.Be safe.
    Leo
    People never lie so much as after a hunt,during a war,or before an election.
    Otto von Bismarck

  6. #26
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    Hey Farmer Jim had the same happen to me and my dad out in the gulf about 35 years ago fried everything on the boat but the mercury felt like somebody slammed me on the ground sore for about 2 days and my ears were ringing for a couple days.

  7. #27
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    Quote Originally Posted by Ford SD View Post
    More people are interested in this than you think

    What is it ?

    Cooler = insulated box ??

    inside ????
    I needed a large water tight enclosure LOL an electrical enclosure that size runs $150+++ the cooler was sitting in the shed and was a freebie I found floating in the river. Piece of 2" PVC goes thru the back and into the house. House side is a rats nest of cables!

  8. #28
    Boolit Buddy Big Tom's Avatar
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    Glad that not more happened! Do you have to replace the lightning arrestors or do they survive such a hit? I am getting ready to set up my 25 ft telescoping mast this weekend and am wondering if the 10 ga copper cable they sold me for grounding really will be sufficient.

    73 from Cincinnati!
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  9. #29
    Boolit Master
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    1987 in a 12’ boat that was fiberglass thankfully, I got caught in Tampa Bay in a fierce summer storm, with raging wind, torrential rain and lightning strikes all around me. It seemed like the longest 15 minutes of my life heading for shelter at full speed (12 mph) with lightning hitting the water and sending shocks through the outboard handle.

    Another time I was in a parking lot and saw lightning strike the lot about 50 yards away. A purple cloud rose where the lightning struck, and when I looked there was no evidence of a strike on the lot or on any car.
    Plata o plomo?
    Plomo, por favor!

  10. #30
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    Quote Originally Posted by Big Tom View Post
    Glad that not more happened! Do you have to replace the lightning arrestors or do they survive such a hit? I am getting ready to set up my 25 ft telescoping mast this weekend and am wondering if the 10 ga copper cable they sold me for grounding really will be sufficient.

    73 from Cincinnati!
    3 or 5 arc plugs had to be replaced... and no 10 gauge is NOT big enough! #6 minimum! I use mostly these for protection, same ones used by the US military for EMP protection https://www.dxengineering.com/search...rder=Ascending

    And 1 polyphaser that croaked but I got a half dozen as surplus from a cell site that was torn down.

  11. #31
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    Glad you were not injured and had minor damage. Lightning is serious stuff.

  12. #32
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    Had one land yesterday no yards form the garage I was in (looking out at the storm). Hit the sagebrush, huge cloud of smoke, blinding flash and sounded like a 105 going off !

  13. #33
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    Sure makes the ears ring doesn't it!

  14. #34
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    Can cause your hair to stand up just before your pucker string fluctuates, with staining results. Once in an aluminum boat and again standing on my front porch. Now when the first hint of it is noticed, I find safe shelter. The concussion of it may well have contributed to the tennitis I'm pledged with.
    Information not shared. is wasted.

  15. #35
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    I was opening the door to step onto the porch when a bolt hit the big oak tree about 50 yards away. I felt the tingle through my hand on the doorknob and my ears rang for a couple of hours. I discovered the next day that it knocked out the radio in my truck.

    Over the course of the next few months that oak tree turned brown and died from the top down.
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    Armed people don't march into gas chambers.

  16. #36
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    Like most strikes hidden damage is starting to appear. My bedside shortwave clock radio turned on with a hum, then a loud pop and that nasty smell of fried capacitor. Microwave control board bit it but not much loss, most of the control pad was already bad... not enough to file an insurance claim on and see my rates go way up.

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BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
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LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
GC Gas Check