Lightning can strike twice in the same place

[The Avon Lady]

With thanks to Doug.D.

Now post those impressive new screenshots!

[Marhkimov]

It is possible to mod the lightning parameters, to make lightning strikes more frequent. That would also make lightning easier to capture by screenshot.

Also, you can change just about anything with the lightning. Length, width, color, etc.

Go figure, I know too much about the SH3 environment...

[Hartmann]

Is the damage of the lightning modelled in the game ???

would be scary stay on the steel tower in a storm with lightnings.

A direct hit could roast the men outside and damage the radio antenna.

[Etienne]

Originally Posted by Hartmann

Is the damage of the lightning modelled in the game ???

would be scary stay on the steel tower in a storm with lightnings.

A direct hit could roast the men outside and damage the radio antenna.

The radio antenna has to be grounded to function properly ; that ground also serve to deflect lightning strikes.

As for the men, should the conning tower be it, it would act as a Farraday's cage. But I suspect that in lightning conditions, they'd have the antenna or scope up to act as a lightning rod.

[SteamWake]

As a professional engineer and a licensed amateur radio operator I have a little bit of insight on this subject so I couldent resist jumping in here.

If you were on the bridge and the lightning was to strike say a raised periscope or antenna your chances of surviving would be very very slim.

At best you would suffer perforated eardrums and severe burns. The conning tower would not act as a faraday cage in this case because the top is open. A faraday cage needs to be completly enclosed like... well a cage.

Also keep in mind that the crew would most like be wet not only wet but wet with salt water which is highly conductive making their feet a pretty damn good path to ground. Not a good thing.

Sailboats have their mast "grounded" in some cases and this provides some degree of protection. Also keep in mind a sailboats mast is considerably taller than a periscope and also has shrouds offering a vague form of farady cage sort of a tripod shape.

I have heard storys of folks clamping a set of jumper cables to their shrouds (wires that hold the mast up) and tossing the other end into the water to act as a ground.

In any case you had better unplug the radios... kill the electrical and stay as far away from any metallic objects on the boat. Something as simple as a metallic fire extinguisher can cause a "side flash".

As to the antenna being "grounded" .. not true the ocean itself in this case would be the ground plane and the antenna would be the radiating leg of a dipole antenna (the ungrounded leg). It may very well have a lightning arrestor or "blitz bug" in the feed line to protect the radio gear from discharges. The "blitz bug" (hopefully) diverts extreme currents into the ground plane instead of down the feedline and into the radio gear and possibly the radio operator.

The lightning would not actually have to strike the antenna to cause damage it would have to be just close enough to induce a current which can be quite a distance away.

I doubt that any Captian would elect to stay surfaced let alone keep a watch crew up there in a bad lightnnig storm. I know the sadistic bastard captins of this forum might

[Marhkimov]

Thanks for the heads up. That was very informative.

[Etienne]

Damn. My long and researched reply was just eaten up by IE. Grrr.

Anyhow.

Ok, sorry about the farraday thing, I got myself confused with the car.

I do have it here, in my electricity textbook, that a sailboat mast will act as a lightning rod, protecting a cone around it from lightning strikes. The mast must establish a continuous electrical link with the water, either through grounding plates (Non-conducting hulls) or through the hull itself (Well, the sacrificial anodes, if you want to be precise).

I cannot find any reference here to the grounding or non grounding of radio antenna, except for a yachting manual advising to disconnect and ground all antennas in case of thunderstorm. I know that on commercial vessel, this is not done. I am under the impression that some time of antenna require grounding, but I can't find a reference to back that up at the moment.

I assume the periscope would be properly grounded for just this eventuality. I don't see why the electricity would go scope-hull-crew-hull-anode-water and not just scope-hull-anode-water. If it hit a crewmember directly, then yes, he's toast. Otherwise, since the boat is wired to be as conductive to lightning as possible, essentially, it's not that dangerous. I'd stay away from the scope and the aerials, that's it. Staying away from any electrical object and turning off the electrical are two impossible concept : The very floor you're standing on is metal, and you need electricity anyway.

Do keep in mind that the boat's electrical system is completly independent of the outside world ; there are no power wires on a pole outside to bring in a surge, and the electrical system isn't grounded to the boat itself - You can stick a finger in a socket aboard a ship, and you won't feel a thing, since the circuit will not close. (Unless there's a ground fault) So a lightning going through the hull wouldn't be directly connected to the electrical system.

I don't know, either, if ships are hit by lightning that routinely. Surprisingly, I spent something like two months in stormy weather last winter and never really noticed it happening, that I can remember... I'll ask around about that.

Anyway, I'll do some research on the antenna grounding thing, you've got me curious .

'tienne

P.S. The jumper cable trick is only useful when your mast isn't already grounded. I don't think boats are still launched with that set-up, except day cruisers, maybe.

[SteamWake]

Here you go.

More than you ever really wanted to know about antennas and lightning protection :|\

http://www.arrl.org/tis/info/lightning.html

[Hartmann]

thanks for the information

[Etienne]

These are for coast stations, however... Do you know if the same technics apply to ship stations?

[don1reed]

Steel ships are not above electrical ground. The hulls are a part of the "circuit". Radio/communications systems are never shut down aboard ship, no matter the weather.

I doubt that any Captian would elect to stay surfaced let alone keep a watch crew up there in a bad lightnnig storm. I know the sadistic bastard captins of this forum might

Surface ships don't have that option. Aircraft carriers...on down have deck watches, flight ops,etc., during foul wx.

[Krieg-Schwein]

Originally Posted by Marhkimov

It is possible to mod the lightning parameters, to make lightning strikes more frequent. That would also make lightning easier to capture by screens-hot.

Also, you can change just about anything with the lightning. Length, width, color, etc.

Go figure, I know too much about the SH3 environment...

What Parameters can I adjust? I cant even get the stupid Lighning to strike! except the very start of a game one time if I'm lucky! I took off all my mods and even went back to the default screen resolution ans still Nothing !
Thanks

[Marhkimov]

Get Mini tweeker tool and fidgit with scene.dat.

You can change some of the lighting frequencies, among other things.

[Krieg-Schwein]

Originally Posted by Marhkimov

Get Mini tweeker tool and fidgit with scene.dat.

You can change some of the lighting frequencies, among other things.

Works Good Danke for that!!! Much appreciated

[timetraveller]

There are also 4 separate particle events for lightning in the particles.dat file. I'll try to get some tweak files out for them too.

TT