I.C.E. – hot gear for surge protection
Ham radio tower plans are progressing and the concrete foundation for the ANWireless HD-70 has been curing for 15 days now. While waiting, I’ve been working on ordering lightning protection equipment, cable, etc.
I’ve learned that the gear from ICE is in demand. I needed to order several surge protection devices and the only place that seemed to have it was the factory itself. Industrial Communication Engineers has a decent reputation (and they seemed to be priced right) – however, sometimes their distributors are sold out. I guess that’s a good sign that folks like the product.
Another good selection for lightning protection gear would have been Polyphaser. I guess the reason I went with I.C.E. surge protection equipment was that the SteppIR controller requires protection and it’s ICE. 
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The really hard parts of putting up a tower are the logistics and the details. This is one of those details that are critical for the tower and parts longevity, but is a detail that can get thrown out just to get the tower up in a timely manner.
It’s good Steppr is recommending the protection and you’re getting it installed.
I don’t doubt that I.C.E. have excellent products. But I am sure disappointed in their customer response. They seem to take forever to deliver on an order that was direct to the factory web site and don’t communicate very well–and that’s being generous
. My next orders will be with DX Engineering or Polyphaser.
73!
Larry – NK2X
Fortunately, I had relatively good luck with ICE on this order. Order was placed on Sept 16 and received the equipment on Oct 2nd. Wasn’t quite as fast as I would have liked, but it wasn’t the worst I’ve seen. I did send an email after waiting two weeks asking for a status – didn’t get a reply… so you’re right that they could improve on customer service.