Lightning & Stridsberg Multicouplers

[gmclam]

I am wondering what others use for lightning protection. I use a discone with LMR-400 equivalent, then a couple of filters before feeding a multi-coupler. Even with a well grounded antenna and an arrestor, from time to time I still lose a multicoupler. Thanks in advance.

 

[prcguy]

Are the Stridsbergs dying during or right after a lightning storm? If so how far away are the strikes? If not lightning is probably not the cause.

I am wondering what others use for lightning protection. I use a discone with LMR-400 equivalent, then a couple of filters before feeding a multi-coupler. Even with a well grounded antenna and an arrestor, from time to time I still lose a multicoupler. Thanks in advance.

 

[gmclam]

They die after/during a storm. What other reason(s) are you thinking?
Regardless, I am curious what others are using for "lightning arrestors" on base antenna setups.

 

[prcguy]

I'm sure your not getting a direct hit on your antenna, otherwise we would have read about it. Nearby strikes can induce quite a bit of voltage on long wire antennas but I doubt if a Discone will pick up much. What are you powering the Stridsberg from? Is it well protected from AC power spikes?

Its hard to specify a lightning arrestor for receive equipment because most are designed for transmitting and the clamping voltage is higher than what it takes to damage a sensitive receive component. Some of the lower voltage lightning arrestors clamp around 90 volts and I don't think thats low enough.

You might try one of these, an RF limiter will clamp whatever is coming down the coax to about 10dBm or 10 milliwatts and handle up to 10 watts of input power. That should protect the Stridsberg and if more than 10 watts of energy comes down the pipe the limiter should sacrifice itself and still protect the equipment. Its not a replacement for a lightning arrestor and its a good idea to have some kind of lightning arrestor in front of it. This is a very fair price on a wide band low loss limiter.

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You might also install a 14 or 15 volt Zener diode across the Stridsberg or a 12V MOV to catch any voltage spikes on the DC line.

They die after/during a storm. What other reason(s) are you thinking?
Regardless, I am curious what others are using for "lightning arrestors" on base antenna setups.

 

[captainmax1]

The only for sure way to avoid lightning related damage is to unplug the cable. I make my cables easy to unhook before they enter the house. If a storm approaches or I leave home for any time, I just disconnect it. It's not so bad if you put the connection in a convenient place. All my radios are also plugged into a couple UPS battery backups and unhook them to avoid damage from AC spikes during bad storms too.

 

[gmclam]

I agree that it's not a direct strike. But this has happened several times over the years and always because of a storm. I've got other antennas/systems (TV, etc.) and in 20+ years I've only lost a single TV amp. It seems like I lose a Stridsberg once a year.

All of my RF amps are powered from the same location, filtered and backed up. Considering all that's powered there, I don't see this as coming from power. It's only the Stridsbergs that go dead. I presently have a solution installed that's of another brand (doesn't have as good of specs as the Stridsberg), and it's always survived the storms. Knowing how popular these are, it made me wonder what others are doing. Thanks.

 

[prcguy]

Buy the HP limiter and an MOV then lets talk again in a few years.

I agree that it's not a direct strike. But this has happened several times over the years and always because of a storm. I've got other antennas/systems (TV, etc.) and in 20+ years I've only lost a single TV amp. It seems like I lose a Stridsberg once a year.

All of my RF amps are powered from the same location, filtered and backed up. Considering all that's powered there, I don't see this as coming from power. It's only the Stridsbergs that go dead. I presently have a solution installed that's of another brand (doesn't have as good of specs as the Stridsberg), and it's always survived the storms. Knowing how popular these are, it made me wonder what others are doing. Thanks.