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So I recently received my LA-1K and put it in sequence with my Yaesu, FT 991a, to the amp, to Palstar?AT2K tuner,? to a lightning suppressor outside the shack?via lmr 240 coax,?to a balun?via coax and to a random length inverted the dipole.
The amp blew the output transistor first time I keyed the PTT.
Mark stated it was the lightning arrestor and when I explained I was in Florida the lightning capital of North America and required some sort of protection, he suggested an alpha Delpha?type switch at the radio. Well, it has always been my opinion that you need to keep the fox out of the henhouse. The?lightning arrester/protection?needs to be on the wall of the shack, outside,?not inside at the radio, where the amplifier and the tuner are susceptible to the hit prior to reaching the switch as protection.? So this made no sense to me. I would appreciate any input regarding Re attempting LA-1K use going forward. Thanks
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I use alpha delta delta on an 8’ ground rod outside the window where the wire is coming in the shack. Have no issues.?
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On Jun 9, 2023, at 8:05 AM, Brett Finkelstein via groups.io <docbrett@...> wrote:
?
So I recently received my LA-1K and put it in sequence with my Yaesu, FT 991a, to the amp, to Palstar?AT2K tuner,? to a lightning suppressor outside the shack?via lmr 240 coax,?to a balun?via coax and to a random length inverted the dipole.
The amp blew the output transistor first time I keyed the PTT.
Mark stated it was the lightning arrestor and when I explained I was in Florida the lightning capital of North America and required some sort of protection, he suggested an alpha Delpha?type switch at the radio. Well, it has always been my opinion that you need to keep the fox out of the henhouse. The?lightning arrester/protection?needs to be on the wall of the shack, outside,?not inside at the radio, where the amplifier and the tuner are susceptible to the hit prior to reaching the switch as protection.? So this made no sense to me. I would appreciate any input regarding Re attempting LA-1K use going forward. Thanks
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I have used Alpha Delta inline lightning arrestor for years with my LA-1K with no issues. Can they go bad and have a problem, yes. But like you I live in the South and it gets rough around here. Besides you need just the static discharge function on any antenna that is a none loop configuration, Dipoles, verticals and such.
Also with any random wire antennas you can get some wild voltages at the feed point.
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Thanks Eric,
My plan is to install the Alpha Delta switch for the coax on the antenna side of the AT , on the outside wall of the shack, in a waterproof cable box I installed for the polyphaser lightning suppressors, which were attached to a bus bar and directly to the ground pole 1 foot away. I'm sure quite similar to what you did. That way I can walk to the cable box 10 seconds away, flip the switch to Com, close the box and Good Night Irene!
73, Brett KN4DVM
-----Original Message-----
From: Eric Clanton <drericclanton@...>
To: [email protected]
Sent: Fri, Jun 9, 2023 6:38 am
Subject: Re: [la1k] LA-1K use with lightning suppressor
I have used Alpha Delta inline lightning arrestor for years with my LA-1K with no issues. Can they go bad and have a problem, yes. But like you I live in the South and it gets rough around here. Besides you need just the static discharge function on any antenna that is a none loop configuration, Dipoles, verticals and such.
Also with any random wire antennas you can get some wild voltages at the feed point.
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Thank you Dave, that is exactly my intention and I appreciate the confirmation and knowing it has worked well for you!
73, Brett KN4DVM
-----Original Message-----
From: Dave Sellers via groups.io <dave.sellers@...>
To: [email protected]
Sent: Fri, Jun 9, 2023 6:29 am
Subject: Re: [la1k] LA-1K use with lightning suppressor
I use alpha delta delta on an 8’ ground rod outside the window where the wire is coming in the shack. Have no issues.?
On Jun 9, 2023, at 8:05 AM, Brett Finkelstein via groups.io <docbrett@...> wrote:
?
So I recently received my LA-1K and put it in sequence with my Yaesu, FT 991a, to the amp, to Palstar?AT2K tuner,? to a lightning suppressor outside the shack?via lmr 240 coax,?to a balun?via coax and to a random length inverted the dipole.
The amp blew the output transistor first time I keyed the PTT.
Mark stated it was the lightning arrestor and when I explained I was in Florida the lightning capital of North America and required some sort of protection, he suggested an alpha Delpha?type switch at the radio. Well, it has always been my opinion that you need to keep the fox out of the henhouse. The?lightning arrester/protection?needs to be on the wall of the shack, outside,?not inside at the radio, where the amplifier and the tuner are susceptible to the hit prior to reaching the switch as protection.? So this made no sense to me. I would appreciate any input regarding Re attempting LA-1K use going forward. Thanks
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Hi Brett, ? I mounted a Paradan Radio Dual Antenna Disconnector on my RG213 coax, unfortunately AFTER a lightning strike.? It is controlled by 12VDC from my Astron PS.? When the 12VDC is off, the Paradan unit is INOP and both coax feeds are shunted to GND.? It can be mounted anywhere but requires a 12VDC feed to function... draws 120mA when ON... insertion?loss is 0.05.? This is not a gratuitous 'plug' for the named product, just another lightning mitigation idea. 73, Jerry KB1N
On Fri, Jun 9, 2023 at 10:00?AM Brett Finkelstein via <docbrett= [email protected]> wrote:
Thanks Eric,
My plan is to install the Alpha Delta switch for the coax on the antenna side of the AT , on the outside wall of the shack, in a waterproof cable box I installed for the polyphaser lightning suppressors, which were attached to a bus bar and directly to the ground pole 1 foot away. I'm sure quite similar to what you did. That way I can walk to the cable box 10 seconds away, flip the switch to Com, close the box and Good Night Irene!
73, Brett KN4DVM
-----Original Message-----
From: Eric Clanton < drericclanton@...>
To: [email protected]
Sent: Fri, Jun 9, 2023 6:38 am
Subject: Re: [la1k] LA-1K use with lightning suppressor
I have used Alpha Delta inline lightning arrestor for years with my LA-1K with no issues. Can they go bad and have a problem, yes. But like you I live in the South and it gets rough around here. Besides you need just the static discharge function on any antenna that is a none loop configuration, Dipoles, verticals and such.
Also with any random wire antennas you can get some wild voltages at the feed point.
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MY shack is protected as follows....
First, ?Alpha Delta Lightning Lighting Arrestors ?are attached to the coax outside, just before entering the building. ?Each is grounded to a bonded set of ground rods which are then in turn grounded to the AC main. ?Ground rods every 12 feet connected with 1/0 copper stranded wire.
Second, ?Because I use long wire antennas (80-10M Horizontal Loop), ?EFHW and Hexbeam, ?each coax, once entering the shack is attached to a Paradan Automatic Antenna Disconnector. ?The Paradans are grounded to the same ground system above via 2" copper strap. ?The Paradan Disconnectors keep my AMP, Tuner and Rig isolated from wind and snow static build up which is prone to long wire antennas. ? When the power is off in the shack, the Paradan Disconnectors drop the coax connection to the antennas. ?You hear a big "THUNK" when I apply power in the shack and then again when power is shut off. ?I went the Paradan route just to insure my antennas were offline for static purposes.
Lastly, if I were so unfortunate to suffer a direct lightning strike, I am SURE that none of these measures would save my gear. ?This is why all my gear is insured via the ARRL insurance policy.
Art W1SWL
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A word on RF surge lightning protectors. The are rated by peak RF voltage. If the suppressor is on the antenna side of an antenna tuner, then the voltage caused by SWR must be taken into account. From the July/Aug 2016 QEX article,
Power Max= (Vpeak)**2/(100 * SWR)
Power max is the max output power of your amp.
Vpeak is the peak rating of the lightning protector.
SWR is the SWR of the coax that it is connected to.
Exceeding Power Max might be a reason that the amp shuts down due to "High SWR"
73
.... Bill K3HZP
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On Friday, June 9, 2023, 12:05 PM, Bill K3HZP <hzp_electronics@...> wrote: A word on RF surge lightning protectors.? The are rated by peak RF voltage.? If the suppressor is on the antenna side of an antenna tuner, then the voltage caused by SWR must be taken into account.? From the July/Aug 2016 QEX article,?
Power Max= (Vpeak)**2/(100 * SWR)?
Power max is the max output power of your amp.?
Vpeak is the peak rating of the lightning protector.
SWR is the SWR of the coax that it is connected to.
Exceeding Power Max might be a reason that the amp shuts down due to "High SWR"
? ? ? 73
.... Bill K3HZP
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Thanks Art,
I am sure we took an indirect hit, and a direct hit is almost assured to be catastrophic. And while?I would hate to replace all the equipment in the shack. I would be happy as?long as the house did not burn down. I guess there’s a silver lining in every cloud.
On Friday, June 9, 2023, 11:16 AM, W1SWL <artgumbus@...> wrote: MY shack is protected as follows....
First, ?Alpha Delta Lightning Lighting Arrestors ?are attached to the coax outside, just before entering the building. ?Each is grounded to a bonded set of ground rods which are then in turn grounded to the AC main. ?Ground rods every 12 feet connected with 1/0 copper stranded wire.
Second, ?Because I use long wire antennas (80-10M Horizontal Loop), ?EFHW and Hexbeam, ?each coax, once entering the shack is attached to a Paradan Automatic Antenna Disconnector. ?The Paradans are grounded to the same ground system above via 2" copper strap. ?The Paradan Disconnectors keep my AMP, Tuner and Rig isolated from wind and snow static build up which is prone to long wire antennas. ? When the power is off in the shack, the Paradan Disconnectors drop the coax connection to the antennas. ?You hear a big "THUNK" when I apply power in the shack and then again when power is shut off. ?I went the Paradan route just to insure my antennas were offline for static purposes.
Lastly, if I were so unfortunate to suffer a direct lightning strike, I am SURE that none of these measures would save my gear. ?This is why all my gear is insured via the ARRL insurance policy.
Art W1SWL
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Brett Finkelstein
Eric Clanton
Bill K3HZP