April marks the beginning of severe weather season in the U.S. It also signals a good time to get your station ready for lightning season (typically June, July, and August). While more than 60% of annual lightning strikes occur during the summer months, April and May are no slouches when it comes to harsh weather that can damage expensive equipment and potentially cause physical harm to operators.
Thunderstorms can affect both your outdoor and indoor operations. It is important to follow all safety guidelines when lightning is present or anticipated. These include:
- Stop operating immediately if you hear thunder or see lightning. As a general rule, don’t resume operations until 30 minutes after the last flash of lightning or sound of thunder.
- Unplug coaxial and power cables from the radio before the storm hits, if possible. Move these cables away from the radio to avoid possible arcing. Disconnect control lines for accessories like rotators and tuners. It is also a smart idea to connect the disconnected antenna lead directly to an external ground rod.
- As POTA guidelines note when operating outdoors, “Be aware of your surroundings. The weather can change quickly. Be ready to shut down your activation if conditions threaten your safety.”
- If you must remain on the air, switch over to a battery-powered handheld transceiver.
- Install inline lightning arrestors where the feedline enters the building. (You’ll find several models of lightning/surge arrestors at DX Engineering.com from Alpha Delta, CITEL, Diamond Antenna, DX Engineering, NexTek, and PolyPhaser.
- To keep equipment at the same potential, ensure your station’s antenna ground is properly bonded to your home’s electrical service ground as required by the National Electrical Code (in the U.S.).
In addition to lightning arrestors, find everything you need for proper grounding and bonding at DX Engineering, including:
- Wire to Ground Rod Clamps
- Ground Rods
- Copper Grounding Straps
- Grounding Clamps, including DX Engineering’s UCGC-Z Universal Grounding Clamp
- Grounding Bars, Utility Enclosures, Radio RF Ground Plane Kits
- Coax Shield Grounding Kits
- Tinned Copper Braid Assemblies
- DX Engineering Rotator Control Line Protector
- Antenna Disconnect Actuators
- DX Engineering Shack Grounding Package, which includes coaxial cable surge protector, copper ground bus wall mount, radio RF ground plane kit, tinned copper braid assemblies, universal copper grounding clamps, and ground rod.
Plus, here are two books you’ll want to add to your amateur radio library:
- “Grounding and Bonding for the Radio Amateur 2nd Edition” by Ward Silver, N0AX: Get the details on ensuring that your station follows current standards for lightning protection and communication systems. You’ll learn effective grounding and bonding techniques for home stations (including condos and apartments), portable and mobile stations, towers, and outdoor antennas.
- “Lightning Protection: A Comprehensive Guide for Amateur Radio” by Ron Block, NR2B: Targeted specifically to hams, the book presents the theory behind the protection scheme starting with lightning theory and our vulnerability to i…
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- DX Engineering Rotator Control Line Protector. (Image/DX Engineering)
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- DX Engineering Ladder Line Surge Protector. (Image/DX Engineering)
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- DX Engineering Shack Grounding Package. (Image/DX Engineering)
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