Yes you can pay attention to the weather station on your cable tv, so you know when bad weather is approaching. On one of my radios is the automatic weather alert form noaa national weather. I like to pay attention to the weather forecast and if it is bad then I will disconnect my cables before I go to bed. There have been a few times when I woke to the crash of the thunder, ran to the shack and disconnected everything.
There are various products to protect your valuable ham radio equipment from the static that can damage the radio. MFJ and Diamond make some of these lightning arrestors as well as other manufacturers. These lightning arrestors have an input from the antenna, an output to the radio and a ground connection to your ground rod. If you can not afford the newer lightning arrestors, then there is the old style lightning arrestor. I use one of these on my cheap cb radio. It is better than nothing at all.
The ground rod is a copper clad rod that will be driven into the ground at approximately three feet. Then you will connect a heavy gauge copper wire to it from the lightning arrestor. Some ground rods are eight feet long. The ground rod can be driven into the ground with a pipe installer. You can also use a sledge hammer and I would suggest a piece of wood such as a two by four so you do not damage the metal rod.
Other types of equipment that can help protect your equipment are various types of antenna switches. These switches generally have more than one switch position for multiple antennas. Some switches are manual switches and others are remotes type switches. Some of the common manufacturers are MFJ, Diamond, Ameritron as well as some by DX Engineering. There are other manufacturers out there as well. Here are some links to their websites http://www.dxengineering.com/search/part-type/coaxial-lightning-protectors?tw=light&sw=Coaxial%20Lightning%20Protectors and http://www.ameritron.com/Product.php?productid=RCS-8VLX . Here is a link to the MFJ website http://www.mfjenterprises.com/Product.php?productid=MFJ-270 . I would definitely check these websites out as well as other ham radio dealers on the internet.
I would also suggest to have a copper bus bar where all of your equipment can share a common ground point. This is usually mounted in the shack near your equipment. This will also help in the controlling of stray RF in the shack. No one wants to get zapped by their own microphone or be told their modulation sounds bad. I prefer to have an electrical waterproof box outside with my lightning arrestors mounted in it as well as any other lightning products.
Another piece of equipment that should be in the shack is a surge protector. All of your electronic equipment such as the radio, computer, monitor and other equipment will be plugged into it. If lightning were to strike then it should absorb the electricity on the power line. There are also surge protectors with a battery back up so if power is lost it will kick in. This way if the power were to come right back on your equipment will no be damaged by the sudden surge. Most of the surge protectors have a insurance warranty so if it does not protect your equipment you may get some money back. Just make sure to fill out the warranty card and send it in right away after you purchase it.
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I would definitely check out the various websites on the internet for any added information. Protecting you and your equipment can be very simple or very complex. This all depends on your situation and what you can afford.
Thank You for reading from Dan KC2YTI 73s.
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