Wed, 29 Jun 2011
BaconExplosian!
Mood:
smiling
Here's a true sick heart-attack recipe, but we ate it an no one here died (laugh)
===Bacon Explosian===
Ouch... my grandson asked me to make this since he knew his Mom would puke
before making it
2 lbs bulk sausage 2 lbs bacon, thick cut Barbecue sauce Barbecue seasoning (I used Frontier barbecue Frontier Organic Ground Chipotle Chili Peppers)
Create a 5X5 bacon weave with about a pound and half of bacon slices.. keep the weave tight. Fry the rest and reserve.
Sprinkle the bacon generously with barbecue rub type ingedients (that's where I used the frontier seasonings)
Spread the sausage (I used mild Italian sausage) over the bacon, and make sure you spread it over to the edges of the bacon.
Add the crispy bacon pieces you fried. Spread them across the sausage.
Add Barbecue sauce to cover the sausage, but don't over do the barbecue sauce since it will just leak out the roll you will create later.
Separate the front edge of the sausage layer from the bacon weave and begin rolling backwards. You want to include all layers EXCEPT the bacon weave in your roll. Try and keep the sausage as tight as possible and be sure to release any air pockets that may have formed. Once the sausage is fully rolled up, pinch together the seams and ends to seal all of the bacon goodness inside.
Next, roll the sausage forward completely wrapping it in the bacon weave. Make sure it sits with the seam facing downward to help keep it all sealed up.
Sprinkle some barbeque seasoning on the outside of the bacon weave, cover it with more BBQ sauce, and now this bad boy is ready for the smoker. Cook your Bacon Explosion at 225 degrees in a constant cloud of hickory smoke until your Thermapen gives an internal temperature reading of 165 degrees. Normally this will take about 1 hour for each inch of thickness, but that could vary depending on how well you maintain your fire and also how many times you open the smoker to take a peek. Mine took about 2.5 hours, which was right on target with its 2.5 inch diameter.
You can roast the roll in the oven with a reheated oven of 225F...
Slice the Bacon Explosion into quarter to half inch rounds to serve. If your roll was good and tight, you should now see a nice bacon pinwheel pattern throughout the sausage.
posted at: 01:21 | path: /cooking | permanent link to this entry | 0 comments | "
FidoNet Mailers 101
What you need to know...
Basically, Fidonet uses two or three type mailers
1. Frontdoor type mailers are called arcmail attach mailers.. this is because netmail messages are used to transport archives of say netmail or echomail, as "attaches" to the netmail message. Every time you create a packet, a netmail message is created with an attach for your packet, for instance:
Packet name: d7347ec8.we1 is shown as an attach to 6725520.msg
===6725520.msg===>
ARCmail Phil Kimble /home/bbbs/outbound/d7347ec8.we1 29 Jun 11 00:00:04 INTL 1:128/2 1:261/38 FLAGS DIR KFS ===
Arcmail attach mailers like FrontDoor use one outbound for all zones.. so with an arcmail attach mailer, you'll see all your netmail messages in one single outbound area, regardless of the zone.
2. Other Mailer Types
We also have what we call Binkley-Outbound (BO) style mailers or FLO mailers.. these mailers use a separate outbound for each zone. They don't use netmail messages to attach the packet, rather the mailer sometimes creates a .flo file that lists all of the netmail messages that should be sent by the mailer to the destination node.
.flo files might look like this:
1.msg
2.msg
3.msg
The BO mailer also lists the flavour of the netmail to be sent, such as crash or hold, by using a specific extension for each flavor of mail being sent out... in other words, crash netmail is shown as being listed in a .CLO (flo, but with a C), messages on hold are shown as in a .HLO file.
So.. if the list of netmail messages to be sent are listed as a .CLO file and hold messages are shown as .hlo files. binkD creates a directory under linux at least, for each node:
/home/bbbs/binkd/outbound/01050026.pnt: -rwxrwxrwx 1 bbs bbs 16 2010-09-26 02:07 0000000c.clo -rwxrwxrwx 1 bbs bbs 16 2010-09-26 02:07 00000005.clo ===end==because of the .clo extension the mailer knows to send that traffic immediately (crash).
BinkD is a BO style mailer in that it creates separate outbounds for each node it sends mail to.. though binkd doesn't create a .flo file listing all the netmail messages like Binkley mailer (the grandad of mailers) does, rather it creates a directory for each node it sends to.
Using an Internet Mailer like Argus or BinkD
Essentially the first thing you have to remember is to tell your BBS program and your mailer what type mail you are going to send (BO or Arcmail attach) - both the BBS program and the mailer have to match as to the type mail being sent.
If you are using ARGUS mailer, you have to decide if you want "many outbounds" (flo_mailer) or just one (ArcMail).. for many outbounds, you'd specify "FLO_MAILER" in say the sbbs.cfg file if you are running Synchronet.
Here's an example of a sbbs.cfg file of a node using a Argus in BO mode, Thanks to Robert Starr for this example:
===========cut here========start sbbsecho config==========
NOTIFY 1 FLO_MAILER (comment Zone 1) ELIST_ONLY LOGFILE d:\sbbs\data\logs\sbbsecho.log (can change) LOG ALL INBOUND d:\sbbs\radius\inbox\ (comment: can change, for each ftn program) SECURE_INBOUND d:\sbbs\radius\inbox\secure\ (comment: can change, for each ftn program) OUTBOUND d:\sbbs\radius\outbox\ (comment: can change, for each ftn program) DIRECT 1:261/38 PACKER ZIP 0 504B PACK %!pkzip %f %s UNPACK %!pkunzip %f %s END USEPACKER ZIP 1:261/38 1:ALL 2:ALL 3:ALL 4:ALL 5:ALL 6:ALL 10:ALL AREAFIX 1:261/38 ****** ROUTE_TO 1:261/38 1:261/38 1:ALL 2:ALL 3:ALL 4:ALL 5:ALL 6:ALL=================cut here======end sbbsecho config========
Using Argus as an ArcMail Attach Mailer
This tutorial takes you through setting up Argus as an Arcmail Attach type mailer. Just follow the steps outlined in this document, and you should be all set.
3. T-Mail style T-Box Mailers
One of the neatest things you can do with BinkD, is use T-mail style boxes to send mail.
You tell BinkD in the binkd.cfg file where the inbound and outbound directories are for this particular node, like this:
node 1:123/500@fidonet the-estar.com PASSWORD /home/bbbs/binkd/rossout
This tells Binkd to use the normal inbound directory for mail from 1:123/500, but only to use the directory, /home/bbbs/binkd/rossout/ for outbound files
posted at: 01:21 | path: /technical | permanent link to this entry | 0 comments | "
Tue, 28 Jun 2011
ILoveNewYork!
With an historic vote by its Legislature late Friday, New York became the sixth — and the most populous - state to legalize same-sex marriage since Massachusetts led the way, under court order, in 2004. Yay NY!!
With the new law, which takes effect after 30 days, the number of Americans in same-sex marriage states in the U. S. more than doubles. What better state to lead the way of progressive ideas such as this one! New York's population of 19 million surpasses the combined total of Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont, New Hampshire and Iowa, plus the District of Columbia. NY gives the rest of the states in the US the needed 'shove' to move forward.
The new law, a product of intensive lobbying by Democratic Gov Andrew Cuomo, will have nationwide repercussions according to some news sources. And with lobbying for this law, Governor Andrew Cuomo shows he is as impressive as his father, former Governor Mario Cuomo (one of my favorite people).
Activists hope the New York vote will help convince judges and politicians across the country, including a hesitant and often see-sawing President Barack Obama, that support of same-sex marriage is now a mainstream viewpoint and a winning political stance. Obama, when elected, said he supported broadening rights for gay couples but opposed legalizing same-sex marriage. More recently, he has said his position is "evolving," and he asked gay activists at a New York City fundraiser Thursday for patience. 'Patience' for what is not clear in Mr. Obama's statement. Perhaps Mr. Obama means 'Patience' as he consults his advisors. Regardless, 'Freedom to Marry' says more than 112,000 people have signed its "Say I Do" appeal to the president, and gay marriage supporters have launched an EvolveAlready campaign on Twitter.
Excellent statements, that give people hope
"We are leaders and we join other proud states that recognize our families and the battle will now go on in other states," said Sen. Thomas Duane, a Democrat.
"Once this is signed into law, the population of the United States living under marriage equality doubles," said Ross Levi, executive director of the Empire State Pride Agenda in an interview. "That's certainly going to have a ripple effect across the nation. It's truly a historic night for love, our families, and democracy won. "
Cuomo made a surprise and triumphant walk around the Senate, introduced like a rock star by his lieutenant governor, Robert Duffy. The very filled upper gallery shouted down to Cuomo, "Thank you!". . wish I was there to see it :)
"Feels good?" Cuomo shouted up with a big smile and thumbs up. "Thank you!"
The passage of New York's legislation was made possible by two Republican senators who had been undecided.
Sen. Stephen Saland voted against a similar bill in 2009, helping kill the measure and dealing a blow to the national gay rights movement.
"While I understand that my vote will disappoint many, I also know my vote is a vote of conscience," Saland said in a statement to The Associated Press before the vote. "I am doing the right thing in voting to support marriage equality. "
Gay couples wept in the gallery during Saland's speech. . . emotions were all over the place, rightly so.
Another neat fellow
Sen. Mark Grisanti, a GOP freshman from Buffalo who also had been undecided, also voted for the bill. Grisanti said he could not deny anyone what he called _basic rights_.
"I apologize to those I offend," said Grisanti, a Roman Catholic. "But I believe you can be wiser today than yesterday. I believe this state needs to provide equal rights and protections for all its residents," he said.Now if only our other states could be so considerate of human rights.
posted at: 23:29 | path: /politics | permanent link to this entry | 0 comments | "
Thu, 23 Jun 2011
Nodeist175
June 23rd,2011
This week's nodelist is Nodelist 175, a zip archive.
posted at: 00:00 | path: /fidonet | permanent link to this entry | 0 comments | "
Sat, 18 Jun 2011
Security Issues at Home
*Originally published in the June 15th Issue of FidoGazette
Time to Surround Your Driveway with Fencing?
by Janis Kracht, 1:261/38
It used to be that when one thought about fencing your yard, it was enough to figure in the cost of the perimeter of the yard, or at the least surrounding your pool (as a safety measure for children)... not so these days is seems. And as is often the case in our society, it's those-guys-with-$$ who can afford expensive fencing who will be exempt from a recent ruling regarding attaching a tracking device to your car (I know how much the chain-link fence we put in for our labrador retrievers cost us.. over $3000.00, about 7 or 8 years ago..)
We've been hearing about safety and security on our systems thanks to Richard Webb's ToolBox series. Given that, I thought some of you might be interested in one of my favorite sites regarding security.
I subscribe to a security newsletter, the "CRYPTO-GRAM" published and written by by Bruce Schneier. He's an internationally renowned security technologist and author. He's been described as a "security guru," bringing security issues to the world in a clear and understandable way. As his page states, "When people want to know how security really works, they turn to Schneier."
You can read his newsletters or subscribe to his newsletters here:
http://www.schneier.com/crypto-gram.html
In the latest issue, Mr. Schneier points out, as Richard has already mentioned in his ToolBox series, that a recent ruling by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals affirms that it's legal for law enforcement to secretly place a tracking device on your car without a warrant, even if it's parked in a private driveway.
An article that Mr. Schneier links to at http:/www.executivegov.com/2010/08/ninth-circuit-court-secret-gps- tracking-is-legal/ (wraps) states the ruling, which sets precedent for Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon and Washington, holds that "the right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects against unreasonable searches and seizures" doesn't apply to driveways.
From that article written by Jim Garrettson:
'This decision upsets years of legal precedent establishing "curtilage" (legalese for the property surrounding a house) as protected under the Fourth Amendment, and represents an officiously narrow interpretation of the "open fields doctrine" test established in United States v. Dunn in 1987. In that case, DEA agents tracked a large shipment of chemicals used to manufacture drugs to Mr. Dunn, a meth lab operator. Agents crossed his fence, looked through the barn window, found the meth lab, executed a search warrant and convicted Dunn of conspiracy to manufacture and distribute methamphetamine.
The prosecution argued that, as per Hester v. United States, Fourth Amendment protection does not extend to the "open fields." Dunn argued that the case didn't concern an "open field"; it concerned a barn surrounded by barbed wire. Dunn's conviction was thrown out by the Supreme Court, and established the four-point test of whether curtilage privacy protections apply.
From the ruling, "curtilage questions should be resolved with particular reference to four factors: the proximity of the area claimed to be curtilage to the home, whether the area is included within an enclosure surrounding the home, the nature of the uses to which the area is put, and the steps taken by the resident to protect the area from observation by people passing by."
In the majority opinion, the Ninth Circuit Court ruled that since Pineda-Moreno's driveway wasn't enclosed and was open to passersby like delivery men and neighborhood children, it didn't pass the Dunn test for curtilage. Never mind that in the Dunn opinion, the majority writes "we do not suggest that combining these factors produces a finely tuned formula that, when mechanically applied, yields a "correct" answer to all extent-of-curtilage questions."
This strict application of precedent really means that only people who can afford to fence off their driveways have a reasonable expectation of privacy, as pointed out by Chief Judge Alex Kozinski in his dissenting opinion. Though he was appointed by Reagan and remains a vocal conservative in the predominantly liberal Ninth Circuit, his dissenting opinion makes him sound like a hardline leftist.
"There's been much talk about diversity on the bench, but there's one kind of diversity that doesn't exist," he wrote. "No truly poor people are appointed as federal judges, or as state judges for that matter."
But the Ninth Circuit doesn't make precedent for the whole country, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia recently ruled that extended tracking via GPS requires a warrant. But, since conflicting precedent has now been set on the West Coast, this issue is bound for the Supreme Court. Hopefully, they'll side with the rights of the people.'
I didn't expect much...
posted at: 22:16 | path: /security | permanent link to this entry | 3 comments | "
paradigm-shift
* Originally published in the June 15th Issue of FidoGazette
The Old School ToolboxBy Richard Webb, 1:116/901
the real paradigm shift
I stumbled across a news story in February which featured proposed "do not track me" laws which might be introduced in congress. Such laws would apply to commercial entities, and in this writer's opinion give folks a false sense of security. I grant that such laws would keep commercial entities from tracking your viewing and spending habits as you surf the web, but that doesn't eliminate many of the real dangers. There are laws on the books prohibiting burglary too, but if they make you feel safe enough to leave your house unlocked when you leave for the day then I want some of whatever you're having. Remember that old public service TV ad back in the late '60's which admonished folks to "lock your car, take your keys" and aired quite frequently? Even then, you'll notice that devices such as "the club" are big sellers. A common rite of passage for teenage boys back then was to learn how to "hot wire" a car, even though many of us never stole one, even for a joyride. We've made that more difficult since those days, and should do the same for our personal data.
No matter how many laws are passed those laws are subject to interpretation by the courts. They too are finding it hard to keep up with new methods of interaction and communication. That's why we need to be aware of all this stuff, and proceed with caution in choosing the services we use, and what information we might allow to be shared with others.
This is scary stuff. That's why Orwell's book was banned so many places. After all the benevolent ones, the cops and others of that sort will tell you that they're well aware of your civil liberties concerns. But we've all heard the horror stories about what happens when civil liberties are disregarded by the enforcers of the law. That still leaves us with the questions regarding the salesman, the foreign government endeavoring to coopt our broadband connected systems in a malevolent botnet, etc. Do they care about your civil liberties and your rights? NO they don't, they care about achieving their objectives, whether that be the sales quota, ripping you off or winning the battle. The panopticon isn't as scary if you know how to construct good fences, and good curtains or shades. We in Fidonet have been accustomed to thinking about these issues long before the average person even needed to be aware of them. We should bring that awareness to our neighbors coworkers and friends.
Anybody who hasn't lived under a rock has heard of medical records being hacked; banks and financial institutions being intruded upon by hackers and other sorts of miscreants. But, we don't think about all that convenience. We don't think that when we use that preferred customer card to get a few cents worth of discount or other perks that the retailer providing us this preferred customer card is tracking information about our purchasing habits. To whom does that retailer provide this information? We really can't say for sure, and they sure aren't rushing right out there to disclose it.
We emit a steady stream of personal information, often without realizing it. we use that credit card to buy things at the store, often with that aforementioned preferred customer card. WE fill out an online survey which can be correlated with our email address. We sign up for internet mailing lists relating to our hobbies professions and interests. We acquire a driver's license, own vehicles; register to vote; enroll children in school; pay various local state and Federal taxes. Often we allow folks to keep on file that handy nine digit number the government gave us, commonly known as a Social security number. I provide my social security number only where required by law, and then ask that if possible it not be provided when that organization or agency's databanks are queried. I also shred my junk mail which might contain personal information.
Even though we think that otherwise reputable longstanding companies and other popular sites on the net will utilize our personal information responsibly and ethically sometimes we soon learn different. Not just is it often difficult to get them to cease and desist with dumping your information out there, but often one finds that opt in is the default, and "opt out" takes a bit of work. Our good editor can tell you a story about classmates.com which was I'm sure not a lot of fun to go through. She couldn't get any sort of positive resolution from those folks at all until she threatened to bring her state's attorney general into the loop.
I don't care for webmail, I don't social network in the modern meaning of the term. I don't have time, and I'm not willing to be bombarded with junk. I exercise my options to opt out of marketing campaigns, place myself on do not call lists, etc. If I want what you're selling I'll seek you out.
Even before the development of firesheep which allows someone to hijack your browser session whilst you use that wi fi hotspot I had a high degree of distrust of such facilities. i wonder how many of the multitude of public hotspot users are aware of this development.As I keep repeating in this column, we in Fidonet were out there on that leading edge of explored cyberspace and bumped up against many of these issues. Fidonews articles looked at privacy questions from both sides. A couple of futuristic fiction pieces were published which also touched on them in that organ as well. We as Fidonet sysops and users can do a lot to educate our families and friends regarding these issues. To slightly modify a phrase I used to read often, we can teach them to know what to expect when they connect. Your family and friends are already aware of your Fidonet hobby I'm sure. They bring you their esoteric queries on computers and computer networking I'll bet. So, when this subject comes up in conversation with them you've a perfect opening to talk with them about protection. Protecting your personal information, as with all other aspects of personal security, begins with you. Ignore or neglect it at your peril.
If you felt this series of articles was a bit scary, and maybe a bit melodramatic I'm sorry about the latter part. As for the scary part, I meant to emphasize the scary. Don't just shudder when you consider how scary it was however, do something about it. Protect yourself, and encourage those you care about to do the same. Demanding more government regulations isn't really going to help here. You can't even depend on government enforcing laws already on the books, or interpreting them so as to protect your privacy. Make good personal security a habit and you'll have less reason to complain later.
posted at: 21:35 | path: /security | permanent link to this entry | 0 comments | "
Fri, 17 Jun 2011
Nodelist168
June 17, 2011
This week's nodelist is nodelist.168. This is a zip archive
posted at: 00:00 | path: /fidonet | permanent link to this entry | 0 comments | "
Wed, 08 Jun 2011
Facebook has changed users' privacy settings again.
This automatically enabled feature, which can be turned off in your privacy settings, uses Facebook's "Tag Suggestions" feature with facial recognition software 'to speed up' the process of labeling friends and acquaintances in new photos posted on Facebook... Facebook enabled this with no notice to users, as usual.
At first I'd read elsewhere that this feature would be enabled in the next few weeks.. however it was active "now" when I took a look today... So I disabled it today.
It would seem the people who run Facebook figured this new "feature" would be something most people would want turned on. Why not let users opt-in instead? Probably because they knew most people would not want it enabled.
How to Disable Facebook's New Facial Recognition Feature
- Go to "Account settings" -> "Privacy settings"
- Click on "Customize settings."
- Go to: "Things others share."
- Find this option:
- Click "Edit settings."
"Suggest photos of me to friends.
When photos look like me, suggest my name"
Change the option from "Enabled" to "Disabled", and that's it.
posted at: 14:06 | path: /technical | permanent link to this entry | 0 comments | "
Sun, 05 Jun 2011
Palin
Screams! Heard Round the World (and rightly so)
When Sarah decided to rewrite history with her very funny recounting of the events of April 19th, 1775, the world I'm sure expressed a collective "<sigh>".
How can someone be so absent, and hope to run for POTUS.
In her probably soon-to-be famous statements... Palin said, "He who warned uh, the British that they weren’t gonna be takin’ away our arms, uh by ringing those bells, and um, makin’ sure as he’s riding his horse through town to send those warning shots and bells that we were going to be sure and we were going to be free, and we were going to be armed."
Oh yeah, you go girl (NOT!)
The REAL Story:
http://www.paulreverehouse.org/ride/real.html
"On the evening of April 18, 1775, Paul Revere was sent for by Dr. Joseph Warren and instructed to ride to Lexington, Massachusetts, to warn Samuel Adams and John Hancock that British troops were marching to arrest them. After being rowed across the Charles River to Charlestown by two associates, Paul Revere borrowed a horse from his friend Deacon John Larkin. While in Charlestown, he verified that the local "Sons of Liberty" committee had seen his pre-arranged signals. (Two lanterns had been hung briefly in the bell-tower of Christ Church in Boston, indicating that troops would row "by sea" across the Charles River to Cambridge, rather than marching "by land" out Boston Neck. Revere had arranged for these signals the previous weekend, as he was afraid that he might be prevented from leaving Boston)."
Sorry, Sarah.
It's very sick that somehow you think that your magical-mystery-bus-tour, which IIRC you stated was aiming to revive America's interest in the history of the United States, will do this... given ...geez, what seems to be your lack of knowledge of American History.. you know, the old "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." ... your problem is you can't even remember a simple tale.. Perhaps you should concentrate on taking your kids to these sites (assuming you first READ about it) instead of worrying about the darned photo-ops..or..... even worse yet your wardrobe .. hmm
posted at: 02:37 | path: /politics | permanent link to this entry | 3 comments | "
Sat, 04 Jun 2011
Nodelist154
June 3rd, 2011
This week's nodelist is nodelist.154. This is a zip archive
posted at: 16:04 | path: /fidonet | permanent link to this entry | 0 comments | "
Thu, 02 Jun 2011
ElectricalStorm
From the Echos ============== Surge Protectors, Lightening and How to Survive a Blast By Mike Luther, 1:117/100
Originally Posted in the Z1C echo, by Mike Luther
Joe ..
JD> I just changed the mains breaker box last year, and
had it inspected (a must).
I installed a surge protector at the breaker box,
which also did not trip, and
the only antenna on the A/V receiver, is an inside
wire
What so few people, even that ham radio folks seem to understand is that lightning is *NOT* electricity as such. It is a radio wave issue. What happens is that 'all' lightning which is cloud to ground, really for the most part ground to cloud, is attempting to dissipate itself across the surface of the ground. It does *NOT* go inside wires, metal; whatever. It goes only on the surface. As such what this means is that, the as NEMA defined normal protection with surge protectors, even at your main breaker box, and all the plug-in stuff, do *NOT* protect at all from a major strike issue.
Because lightning is a radio wave issue and it has a frequency or a wavelength, we are faced with the normal quarter wave high voltage with low current point on the 'antenna' and then a quarter wave later with low voltage and high current! A 'normal' lightning stroke at some point in the life span of the stroke has a frequency of about 1MHZ or a quarter wave of about 250 feet or so. But at a major point in the stroke, the wavelength is about eight or ten or twelve feet! Plus, in that it is only going on the SURFACE of whatever is conducting it, even if your protective device such as a surge protector or MOV varistor or whatever has shunted it to GROUND wiring, may not even remotely favor going to the ground rod at all! You see, a ground rod, driven into the ground at the meter point is *NOT* even a bit able to spread the lightning radio pulse to the surface of the earth! The ONLY way to do this, is to fan out a radial wire grid from the SURFACE point on the ground rod, on the SURFACE or right along the SURFACE of the earth out like spokes on a wagon wheel, just like the radials on a vertical antenna! These must be at least eight or ten feet long or so - say at least eight or more of them. So that they will spread the energy of the strike to the SURFACE of the earth where it absolutely MUST go.
Now that is also affected by the quarter wave reasonance point for the metal grid which is conducting whatever to wherever. Which in MANY cases for a house or building, actually shunts the majority of the strike plasma energy INTO the building with no dissipation grid present and in the worst possible way you could imagine, on the SURFACE of even the green ground wire on your protection device for computers, instead, to the INSIDE of every power device plugged into that protector! The normal way for this to be even worse, is that *ANY* switching type power supply for modern computer work is such that this ABSOLUTELY takes the complete strike effect down the GROUND side of the system to the circuit boards! Thus blowing everything up inside your printer, your computer, your phone system, your hi-fi, your wonderful flat screen TV, your cookstove burner control; whatever. If you understand what I am saying here, now you can see why, even on the same power wire source in a house, at times the TV will blow up, but eight or ten feet down the same power line, the Hi-Fi will not! Quarter wave phase reversal stuff, all set into place by the strike being on the outside of the GROUND wire that is connecting all to safety? Yeah, right...
As well, since lighting is a plasma conducted radio wave, it also generates EMP pulse issues, which, radiate outward from the bolt traveling in the sky in what we see as lightning. OK, your entire wire grid in a house or building which has no faraday or metal shielding design on the outside wall surface, picks up the pulse which can spike the wave into the whole wire circuitry in a building, with absolutely no conduction from, for example, the power line coming into it, or the phone line, but, for example from your TV antenna, or HAM antenna, or even your metal flag pole next to your building on the wall there!
Seriously, protection from lightning strikes is a VERY serious and special engineering project. I've been a specialist at this since a VERY long time ago when I was chief engineer at WTAW radio here in College Station, Texas at the home of Texas A&M University in the 1950's to 1960's. I've been a NARTE Certified Master Telecommunications Engineer since 1986 having had to really study and learn all this just to protect us professionally back then. As well as my own remote HF ham antenna location for my W5WQN sites since the 1960's. Which since I really did the work to protect the equipment, even though I get at least two or three direct hits every year, I have never lost any gear from powerline or antenna line strike issues, nor pulse stuff for any other than a few phone line modem damage issues.
Take EVERYTHING to ground at EVERY tower. Spike around it with these little radial wires to spread the hit to the surface. Take EVERY antenna line to a proper protection device at that ground center point and then take it only inside ypur building from a below the surface line into the house. Put the radial wire grid around the outside of the NEMA ground rod. Put a solid wire ground loop at the surface around the whole house or building you wish to protect. Take any lightning rod protection to this ground loop which also has wire surface dissipation radials. In my experiece this will end your damage issues as you saw you took.
Mike Luther N117C at 1:117/100 NARTE E1-02468 since 1986
-@- Maximus 3.01 Origin: BV HUB CLL(979)696-3600 (1:117/100)
--> Sleep well; OS2's still awake! ;)
Mike Luther Mike.Luther@ziplog.com Mike.Luther@f3001.n117.z1.fidonet.org
=#=
Article originally published in FidoGazette Vol. 5, No. 7, June 1st, 2011.
Subscribe to Fidonews mailing list here
posted at: 00:00 | path: /technical | permanent link to this entry | 0 comments | "
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