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  • FR 24 Receiver survived Lightning Strike

    I was informed by FR24 Support that F-WSSS1 was off-the air for about 6 hours.

    Upon return home, I discovered that the building got hit by lightning during a severe thunderstorm but every electrical & electronic equipment in my home survived.

    My Incoming AC Mains Circuit Breaker tripped. The ELCB Tripped. The Distribution Circuit Breaker tripped.

    ALL the Surge Protectors I put into the AC Lines worked as designed.

    MOST important - the FR24 Receiver also survived - All because I installed PROPER Lightning Protection on the FR24 Outdoor Antenna System - with proper grounding.
    F-WSSS1 - Cats refused to Pee & Pooh on RadarBox - Running a FR24 Receiver & DVB-T Dongle 24/7 to piss off The Chief Thief.

  • #2
    Excellent, did the RadarBox survive too?

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    • #3
      Excellent result. Can you tell me more about 'proper' lightning protection for the antenna outdoors please?

      Im about to mount one outside and we have thunderstorms in this area. I have 'proper' surge protection on other electrical equipment in my home and the power connection will have a surge protector but I've never had an outdoor antenna like this to protect. My TV antenna goes thru a protector, is it a similar device on the antenna ? Where do I get one.
      F-YBNA2

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      • #4
        The is a lightning protection built in the FR24 box. But of course it will not survive a direct hit.

        Comment


        • #5
          Originally posted by peterhr View Post
          Excellent, did the RadarBox survive too?
          Unfortunately, YES.

          The Radarbox was inside the Cat's Litter Box waiting for them to Pee & Pooh on. But the cats refused to pee & pooh on it.
          F-WSSS1 - Cats refused to Pee & Pooh on RadarBox - Running a FR24 Receiver & DVB-T Dongle 24/7 to piss off The Chief Thief.

          Comment


          • #6
            Originally posted by Lancair70 View Post
            Excellent result. Can you tell me more about 'proper' lightning protection for the antenna outdoors please?

            Im about to mount one outside and we have thunderstorms in this area. I have 'proper' surge protection on other electrical equipment in my home and the power connection will have a surge protector but I've never had an outdoor antenna like this to protect. My TV antenna goes thru a protector, is it a similar device on the antenna ? Where do I get one.
            Ground the antenna well ( including the mounting pipe ). Use Surge protector on the coaxial cables. Remember to ground the coaxial Surge Gas Discharge tube protector's body.

            You can get them online from any Radio Shops - look for "Gas discharge" antenna protector - they are mostly used for Receivers.



            F-WSSS1 - Cats refused to Pee & Pooh on RadarBox - Running a FR24 Receiver & DVB-T Dongle 24/7 to piss off The Chief Thief.

            Comment


            • #7
              Originally posted by Mike View Post
              The is a lightning protection built in the FR24 box. But of course it will not survive a direct hit.
              Good to hear FR24 had the foresight to include the lightning protection in the FR24 receiver.
              F-WSSS1 - Cats refused to Pee & Pooh on RadarBox - Running a FR24 Receiver & DVB-T Dongle 24/7 to piss off The Chief Thief.

              Comment


              • #8
                Birdie,

                I'm not sure where you're getting your information from but I definately wouldnt recommend anyone earth their antenna mast if it's mounted on or close their house. Under no circumstances should it ever be connected to the earthing sytem of the house. That's making a lightning arrestor (attracting a strike) out of your mast. All tall buildings throughout the world are in fact equipped with such systems in order to safely divert lightning strikes to ground, protecting the buliding and it's occupants. That is their job- to attract the lightning and they are suitably equipped to handle the voltages and current flow involved with large 'busbars' of copper (in general) whereas a house isnt. I've seen a direct hit blow half a roof off a house. Not the sort of thing to encourage people to do. Also all work which involves the wiring of the houshold circuits should only ever be carried out by suitably qualified people.

                I spent decades in the electrical distribution industry here in Australia, many of them in emergency service, and have witnessed first hand the damage a direct lightning hit can inflict and the consequences of illegal or improper work. I've also seen many a 60-80ft gumtree split from top to bottom (and destroyed) by a direct hit.

                I've had a brief look at the Singapore lightning protection code and hopefully a bit later I'll have a chance to study it in more detail. Even in that document it makes it clear that first and foremost one has to weigh up the need to protect or not to.

                I still stand by my comments. I'd rather not put something on my roof that is more likely to attract lightning than less likely to and I'd advise anyone else to do the same. By all means add lightning and surge protection devices at the point of your household appliances etc but even as Mike has indicated regarding the FR24 unit, it will have limited effect if it cops a direct hit.

                Above all, be safe, not sorry.

                Regards,
                Gregg
                Last edited by fungus; 2014-01-05, 20:39. Reason: additional info.
                YSSY2/T-YSSY4 [SBS-1 Basestation w/- SSE-1090 SJ Mk2 Antenna (Thanks Delcomp) ] [Uniden UBCD996T w/- 16 element Wideband Discone VHF/UHF Antenna, and tuned 108MHz-137MHz Airband Antenna] [Trialing a home-brew 1090MHz collinear antenna]

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                • #9
                  Hi Fungus,

                  Thanks for the head-ups and sharing your experiences.

                  I know what you are talking about. I do BTS Antenna Systems installations.


                  The Lightning Ground " Code of Practice " in WSSS is very strict.
                  Last edited by Birdie; 2014-01-05, 04:39.
                  F-WSSS1 - Cats refused to Pee & Pooh on RadarBox - Running a FR24 Receiver & DVB-T Dongle 24/7 to piss off The Chief Thief.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Am I the only one reading this and thinking: 'And...?' !!!

                    Chaps, any chance you could discuss it a bit more, to help educate us about whether to ground (or not), and whether to put protection gadgets in-line (or not) etc etc etc.

                    Thanks.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Originally posted by fungus View Post
                      Birdie,

                      I'm not sure where you're getting your information from but I definately wouldnt recommend anyone earth their antenna mast if it's mounted on or close their house. Under no circumstances should it ever be connected to the earthing sytem of the house. That's making a lightning arrestor (attracting a strike) out of your mast.
                      Not grounding an aerial mast on your home is against building and electrical codes everywhere, it will also void your insurance policy if you ever did get hit. Lightning doesn't just look for the best path to ground, it also looks for opposite charges. A metal mast is still an electrical conductor, and during a thunder storm an ungrounded mast will act as a charge collector or capacitor. It will charge up... and that charge can attract an even larger opposite charge to it. Now grounding that mast will prevent and drain off any potential charge from building up in the first place. If you don't ground the mast that charge might even build up to the point it will discharge down your coax and do silent damage to the radio, ethernet equipment, and power adapter.

                      All grounds in a structure need to be bonded together. This includes electrical system grounds, earthed ground rods, plumbing system grounds, steal framing, towers and masts where cabling from them passes into the same structure. By doing so everything within the structure becomes protected by the Faraday cage effect.

                      Here is the NEC requirements. Always do everything to code!!!

                      www.ADS-B.ca

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Originally posted by Lancair70 View Post
                        Can you tell me more about 'proper' lightning protection for the antenna outdoors please?

                        My TV antenna goes thru a protector, is it a similar device on the antenna ? Where do I get one.
                        Here is my Gas filled discharge unit: http://ads-b.ca/img_9398.htm
                        Ethernet should also be protected: http://ads-b.ca/img_9401.htm


                        Where to get one?
                        Last edited by 1090 MHz; 2014-01-24, 03:54.
                        www.ADS-B.ca

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Food for Thought..

                          My Antenne,. has been on the roof for many years now,. And has also seen many Lightning storms thro,. without any Strikes....

                          I have the 1090SJ Antenne up there,. And if you measure with an Ohmsmeter the resistance of the Antenne,. You will find out
                          that it is a Short circuit.(DC)

                          Lightning,.. Is also DC(= Direct Current),.. And please remember,.. Lightning, always looks for the shortest way to earth..! ! !

                          The plastic piping around the Antenne,. Also acts as a protection against weather,. inculding Lightning.

                          My Mast,. Has Not got any Earthing strap attached to it.

                          If it did,.! then it would be an attraction to Lightning,. And As before,. Lightning looks for the shortest way to earth..
                          (F-EDLE1)delcomp-DEL-David Tks(My friend Mike, all three of them)

                          URL: http://banner.flightdiary.net/EDLM
                          1090SJ(Ae) /(6m. Ecoflex10) / SBS 3 /-FR24 Box/ Power-line Connection (Ethernet)

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                          • #14
                            Lightning Rod Theory....Ben Franklin et al

                            Originally posted by delcomp View Post
                            My Antenne,. has been on the roof for many years now,. And has also seen many Lightning storms thro,. without any Strikes....

                            My Mast,. Has Not got any Earthing strap attached to it.

                            If it did,.! then it would be an attraction to Lightning,. And As before,. Lightning looks for the shortest way to earth..
                            Earthing masts is no different than the electric company running earthing wires from the top of power poles down to the footing.

                            Look at history and theory of lightning protection and you will find opinion here does not match up with fact. May I suggest:



                            To not earth maximises damage if lightning does strike getting into your house wiring and vaporizing it and any devices connected to it. I have seen the effects of lightning hitting unearthed antenna masts and it isn't pretty.

                            My FR24 box is housed in an unearthed electrical box along side of my earthed mast. The FR24 antenna via the N connector is connected to the mast, earthed or unearthed.

                            You make the choice...will it be fact or opinion?

                            Lightning arrestor strips generally are one time protection insofar as the devices are designed to act quickly to open the circuit but the electronic circuitry inside is consumed in the process. Also lightning strips don't work if connected to an ungrounded receptacle. Don't expect to be protected if you cut off the ground pin in the plug.

                            John

                            F-RPVD1
                            Last edited by paradiselost; 2014-02-21, 18:44.

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                            • #15
                              My mast isn't earthed presently, but lack of earthing is one of the reasons I've not got around to raising it higher yet.

                              The electric field at at the top of a mast when there's lightening about can thousands of volts per meter, and any unearthed mast will in fact be earthed (as far as voltages involved with lightening are concerned) by the equipment connected to it. Lightening will have no problem finding a ground via the equipment ... all you can hope to do is provide an easier path (mast earthed to rod driven into the ground) ... or have something taller nearby that is more likely to take the strike.

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