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Lightning Protection for the Amateur Radio Station The ChallengeOur challenge is to assemble the best amateur radio station possible, enjoy the benefits of the hobby, and have our station operable during times of need. This can be a significant challenge especially considering the height of the antenna and the awesome capabilities of Mother Nature’s lightning strikes. While she may have the upper hand as far as when and how much energy she delivers, you have the ability to influence how that energy is diverted into the earth. Said another way, you can implement a lightning protection plan that will protect your amateur radio station, even from a direct strike! The commercial radio folks have done this for years; many of them have critical, must operate, installations in some very difficult to reach locations. Many of the installations are located on hills or mountaintops that afford the best area coverage and are great lightning strike targets. They do survive direct strikes and continue to provide important services to the communities that they serve. While this type of solution is possible for the amateur radio station, it does cost money and it does take a significant amount of resourcefulness, ingenuity, and effort to implement and maintain. The plan does work; but you must follow all of the rules, exactly. Any violation of the rules, even just a little one, may result in a violation of the protection plan and damage to your equipment. In some cases the damage to a semi-protected radio station could be worse than if no protection plan had been implemented at all. I’ll start with some background and then get into the heart of the matter.
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