06-04-2001, 09:15 PM
k5dvw (k5dvw@arrl.net) writes "I have just started running HF mobile. My antenna system is fairly typical consisting of one of those base loaded fiberglass antennas with a whip on top cut for one band only. Total length about 3 meters above the roof deck of the truck. My question to those who run HF mobile is, do you typically disconnect your rig or antenna when it's not in use?
I am curious if anyone has ever experienced a mobile radio failure due to lightning. Of course I'm not especially concerned with a direct strike, but more of a radio failure due to nearby strikes inducing a voltage on the HF antenna and blowing out the RX.
I have run VHF/UHF radios for years mobile with no problems, but I would expect the much shorter antennas are less of an aperture for catching induced charges.
Thanks in advance for your advice.
K5DVW"
I am curious if anyone has ever experienced a mobile radio failure due to lightning. Of course I'm not especially concerned with a direct strike, but more of a radio failure due to nearby strikes inducing a voltage on the HF antenna and blowing out the RX.
I have run VHF/UHF radios for years mobile with no problems, but I would expect the much shorter antennas are less of an aperture for catching induced charges.
Thanks in advance for your advice.
K5DVW"