On Tuesday June 4th WLRE radio took a direct lightning hit to our tower and studio's. I was outside checking what the weather looked like as we had thunder clouds 4 miles away in Elloree and then it happened the sky lit up with lightning bolts like a big spider web and bang. It blow up our transmitters, blow out and smoked all our routers and cat lines, the internet system, our server, most of our computers and audio boards, tripped most of the breakers and burned out the sockets in one room (the internet room). Of course with my house next door it managed to kill all the TV's, the satellite systems, my home computer, a few clocks and I am still counting stuff. The electric company came out and checked our tower and said our grounding system is still good a half ohm to ground go figure. The only thing it didn't blow was the surge protectors. The insurance company for the station is trying to tell me it's an act of God I won't argue with that, just the insurance company. We are back on the air with our back up transmitter, fixed or replaced the computers in the studio, had the internet people come out and replace their gear (which is why I can now tell you about it). Still working on replacing routers and cat lines (our server was brand new). Replaced power outlets and breakers #*$! if I ever get finished with the station then I can start checking my house. Don't you just love summer weather.
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WLRE Radio struck by Lightning
- Thread starter Gatekeeper007
- Start date
At one time I had insurance purchasing and administration responsibilities for a company that did a little bit of everything. And we owned hospitals in Florida. Yes, there are days when lightning is not your friend.
This is the era when we were switching from punch cards to on-line terminals. When we need to connect some terminals in another building 600 to 700 feet from the main building at our Midwest rust-belt headquarters, I was amazed at the Rube-Goldberg system they set up, based on our Florida experience.
Then I took a job as System Administrator for a monster auto-dealership with computer terminals scattered in five buildings scattered over 20 acres. Our system used different technology so I had to find different Rube-Goldberg devices. And on thunderstorm days... I didn't even think about leaving the campus for a lunch break!
The theory is that lighting is going to follow the path of least resistance. (Isn't that how lightning rod systems are designed?) The brutal truth is: lightning does as it damn well pleases!!!!
This is the era when we were switching from punch cards to on-line terminals. When we need to connect some terminals in another building 600 to 700 feet from the main building at our Midwest rust-belt headquarters, I was amazed at the Rube-Goldberg system they set up, based on our Florida experience.
Then I took a job as System Administrator for a monster auto-dealership with computer terminals scattered in five buildings scattered over 20 acres. Our system used different technology so I had to find different Rube-Goldberg devices. And on thunderstorm days... I didn't even think about leaving the campus for a lunch break!
The theory is that lighting is going to follow the path of least resistance. (Isn't that how lightning rod systems are designed?) The brutal truth is: lightning does as it damn well pleases!!!!
Sounds like you got hit by positive lightning!
http://www.weatherimagery.com/blog/positive-negative-lightning/
"No one really knows what causes a positive strike, but a few things are for certain. They tend to be about 5 times more powerful than a negative strike, last about 10 times longer, strike several miles away from the storm (“bolt from the blue”), and produce huge amounts of ELF and VLF radio waves. It’s commonly believed that positive strikes are responsible for most forest fires and extensive damage to electrical grids. "
http://www.srh.weather.gov/srh/jetstream/lightning/positive.htm"
Some interesting properties of positive lightning:
•Positive lightning can be the dominate type of cloud-to-ground during the winter months and in the dissipating stage of a thunderstorm.
•Positive lightning has been identified as a major source for the recently discovered sprites and elves. Sprites and elves are most likely lightning discharges but occur from 18-60 miles (30-95 km) in altitude, well above the parent thunderstorm.
•Positive lightning is usually composed of one stroke (negative lightning typically consists of two or more strokes)"
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I remember.... Or to the best of my knowledge...
Years ago lightning hit a Clear Channel facility. All the CRT monitors & TVs were magnetized and the screen colors were messed up. Networking, audio cards, PCs, phone systems, etc were destroyed. This facility had the best recommended grounding and lighting protection available installed. It was said the steel beams of the building were also magnetized.
http://www.weatherimagery.com/blog/positive-negative-lightning/
"No one really knows what causes a positive strike, but a few things are for certain. They tend to be about 5 times more powerful than a negative strike, last about 10 times longer, strike several miles away from the storm (“bolt from the blue”), and produce huge amounts of ELF and VLF radio waves. It’s commonly believed that positive strikes are responsible for most forest fires and extensive damage to electrical grids. "
http://www.srh.weather.gov/srh/jetstream/lightning/positive.htm"
Some interesting properties of positive lightning:
•Positive lightning can be the dominate type of cloud-to-ground during the winter months and in the dissipating stage of a thunderstorm.
•Positive lightning has been identified as a major source for the recently discovered sprites and elves. Sprites and elves are most likely lightning discharges but occur from 18-60 miles (30-95 km) in altitude, well above the parent thunderstorm.
•Positive lightning is usually composed of one stroke (negative lightning typically consists of two or more strokes)"
--------
I remember.... Or to the best of my knowledge...
Years ago lightning hit a Clear Channel facility. All the CRT monitors & TVs were magnetized and the screen colors were messed up. Networking, audio cards, PCs, phone systems, etc were destroyed. This facility had the best recommended grounding and lighting protection available installed. It was said the steel beams of the building were also magnetized.
What GRC said... lightning will do whatever it wants, if you take a strong enough strike it doesn't matter how well you followed good practice...
About 30 years ago.. I was working at a TV station in Wisconsin & lived about a mile away. When I woke up one morning, we were having a raging blizzard. Already 7-8" of snow & still coming down in a hurry. Nobody was going to be doing any driving this morning -- since I was the only engineer within walking distance of the station, figured I'd better start walking. It was coming down so fast you couldn't see more than 5-6 feet.
I got just outside the convenience store at the corner when BLAM. The loudest sound I've ever heard -- and a dull flash of light. My wardrobe survived unscathed, but I ran into that store as quickly as I could & didn't come out until I was *certain* it wasn't going to happen again!
About ten minutes later I figured it wasn't going to happen again & walked the last two blocks to the station. Most systems were up, but none of the outside phone circuits worked.
Ever seen one of those little lime-green pedestals the telephone company uses for junction boxes? The lightning bolt disintegrated it. (and completely ignored the 1,000-foot tower 500 feet away.....)
After pretty much an entire day of work, the telco had every line working except one. Unfortunately, that was the line that connected the terminals/printers to the traffic system; without it, we couldn't print the next day's program logs. Telco kept working on it but couldn't find any reason for the circuit to not work.
Finally, we placed a voice call to the computer center in Tennessee. Who told us there was flooding in Memphis & *their end* was underwater...
=====
Where I work now, we use fiber for our STL. (transmitter is about 1,500 feet from the studio) Love it.
About 30 years ago.. I was working at a TV station in Wisconsin & lived about a mile away. When I woke up one morning, we were having a raging blizzard. Already 7-8" of snow & still coming down in a hurry. Nobody was going to be doing any driving this morning -- since I was the only engineer within walking distance of the station, figured I'd better start walking. It was coming down so fast you couldn't see more than 5-6 feet.
I got just outside the convenience store at the corner when BLAM. The loudest sound I've ever heard -- and a dull flash of light. My wardrobe survived unscathed, but I ran into that store as quickly as I could & didn't come out until I was *certain* it wasn't going to happen again!
About ten minutes later I figured it wasn't going to happen again & walked the last two blocks to the station. Most systems were up, but none of the outside phone circuits worked.
Ever seen one of those little lime-green pedestals the telephone company uses for junction boxes? The lightning bolt disintegrated it. (and completely ignored the 1,000-foot tower 500 feet away.....)
After pretty much an entire day of work, the telco had every line working except one. Unfortunately, that was the line that connected the terminals/printers to the traffic system; without it, we couldn't print the next day's program logs. Telco kept working on it but couldn't find any reason for the circuit to not work.
Finally, we placed a voice call to the computer center in Tennessee. Who told us there was flooding in Memphis & *their end* was underwater...
=====
Where I work now, we use fiber for our STL. (transmitter is about 1,500 feet from the studio) Love it.
Boy I wish these stormy days and nights would let up some yes rain is a needed thing but not every day with thunder and lightning. You get one or maybe two days of relief and then what seems like one to two weeks of storms and the weather people keep telling us this is normal summer weather, I don't think so.
Well here we are again on Wednesday July 31 we had another storm that gave us another lightning strike here at WLRE radio. This time it wasn't as bad and only damaged and took out all the new Ethernet equipment again but it also managed to break the center trunk top out of a tree over my house and put it on the house (the entire top of the tree is gone). The tree also took down my 100 tower I had at the house. A friend of mine said was the tower put up right? I said well gee let me think about it, the tower was put up in 1987, went through hurricane Hugo in 1989 and how many other storms, snow, sleet, and ice since then, yeah I think so. Boy I will be glad when this wet rainy summer weather with it's lightning, thunder, and wind storms is over.
Gatekeeper007 said:
Lightning strikes twice in the same place, less than 3 months after it did before? There must be something about your location - are you on the top of an Ancient Indian Burial Ground? ???
You should probably start with some new Call Letters - WLRE:
W= Where
L= Lightning
R= Ruins
E= Everything
That is just bad Karma waiting to happen. Sorry to point this out but it is true. Or just a Co-Incidence? Steve.
Or maybe you'd better check all your copper strap & grounding to see if it's still there and connected!
There's been a lot of late night copper recycling going on nationally.
There's been a lot of late night copper recycling going on nationally.
I found out what the lightning hit, it was my water pump. It ran for a week and died and when I took it apart to check the motor it was burnt black. We tried to get a new motor or repair it but no go, five days without water so we ended up having to buy a new pump. I am not real sure how much more of this I can take. Between having five people work or help at the station and then all of a sudden now it's just me doing everything thanks to five different reasons each (but they were good ones) but all happening with in two months out of the clear blue sky or at least I wish it was clear blue, then the two lightning strikes with all the damages (the insurance company is fighting it and doesn't want to pay after 14 years of being payed) and the tree falling on my house and taking down one of the towers, now I have three businesses that can't pay right now since people haven't payed them this month. I guess I am just hitting an all time low right now with so much happening all at once. Anybody want a payless job right now at a small country radio station? I know just the place.
To answer the question about our main frequency 92.9 FM our 92.9 signal is at 1 watt right now until we can fix that transmitter, it is enough to feed our translator on 96.5 FM which is using our transmitter off of 98.7 FM and has been moved to the 96.5 location and setup on that frequency and normal power level right now which is our most listened to frequency. 98.7 will be back on the air with a temporary transmitter soon if nothing else happens. This is why you are only hearing 96.5 FM unless you are sitting out side our building then you could hear 92.9 FM
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