Ed,

EK>I know that feeling! Back a few years ago i had a lightning bolt take a
EK>direct hit to a phone pole in front of our house. Major damage ensued and
EK>it
EK>didn't help having surge strips and ups. Saw fire shoot out of my cable
EK>modem. OUCH!

  I heard of a fellow ham radio operator who had a similar experience. He had
SPARED NO EXPENSE for lightning and surge protection. You name it, he bought
it, he installed it...price was no object.

  Unfortunately, it was no match for a direct or very close strike. His tower,
mast, antennas, and coaxial cable were VAPORIZED!! The UPS units, and devices
they were protecting were all destroyed. He was lucky his place didn't burn
down.

  Lightning dances around my apartment like an ungrounded Faraday cage during
storms. One time, the strike hit the tree next to the southwest side of the
building. A kink in the wiring of my alarm system screwed it up (it has since
been fixed), but I had everything else (except for the refrigerator/freezer,
stove, and dishwasher) unplugged. The aforementioned appliances are part of the
 apartment, so I wouldn't be responsible for replacing them. However, people in
 my building (there are 4 apartments per building), as well as adjacent
buildings, were taking electronic appliances of every sort (radios, TV's,
VCR's, DVD's, microwave ovens, computers, stereos, home entertainment systems,
etc.) by the truckload out to the dumpster. The surge had spread out so far
that I'd say everything within a half mile was vulnerable.

  Besides, each lightning bolt:

1) Is 50,000 degrees Fahrenheit (5 times hotter than the sun's surface) 2) Has
300,000 volts and 30,000 amps of electricity 3) Can strike as much as 20 miles
from the parent storm (bolt from the blue)

  I'm a 2 time lightning strike survivor (indirect, but close enough that I got
 the shock)...however, I carry no electrical charge, and can be handled safely.
 <G>

  I'd rather be offline a few hours or days, rather than permanently from a
lightning strike.

  The Storm Prediction Center requires at least a 10% coverage of thunderstorms
 to have the area noted on their severe weather outlooks, and all it takes is
one rogue strike to destroy everything.

Daryl

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