i have had 2 direct hits in my place in 20 years with catastrophic events, all electrical wires and telephone wires evaporated along with all all appliances connected burnt.
i live in a small town 255 metres above sea level, surrounded by hills to the north and west, my home is in effect higher than tha surrounding houses but it is not really relevant seeing how i was struck, and there are much higher houses, the same day the bell in the chuch was hit , it is about 200 metres from me and in a much higher tower, it was broken and we are awaiting a replacement from a foundry.
both times the lightning came in via the telephone wire from a pole i have near my home that brings the cable into my house so the phone company, with some coaxing (legal) has payed nearly alll damages.
seeing the situation with the last hit in august this year i have since then had a lightning rod put up in the highest part of the roof hoping that lightning will strike that instead, the alternative was to construct a faraday box with thick copper wire all around the house, which was not really feasible, i will if i get another strike. anyway all my antennae are now grounded, today i had the work done as i got a shock from an antenna the other day plus they are considerbly lower than the roof , about 2 metres and tucked into a corner of my house. i must compromise between safety and performance.
that's about all, i think, i too have a lightning detector now and it is a pricy toy, necessary, seeing that the sky was almost clear when struck the second time. the manufacturer says the rod works making hits more probable on the rod itself. i don't know, there is much confusion except when you are on the receiving end :-).
ciao
frank
