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[CQ-Contest] Re: [Towertalk] More on Lightning protection

Subject: [CQ-Contest] Re: [Towertalk] More on Lightning protection
From: vr2bg@harts.org.hk (VR2BrettGraham)
Date: Thu May 16 02:06:33 2002
N5OT added:

>Purely anecdotal, and maybe someone closer to the sitation can remind me of
>how the story really goes:
>
>I heard a story about some ops watching a thunderstorm approaching the old
>W7RM on the bluff.  I guess it was a really spectacular storm.  As it blew
>over W7RM, the storm quit kablamming, and after it passed W7RM the
>kablamming resumed.  The conclusion was that all the metal in the air at
>W7RM dissipated all the charge in the immediate vicinity.
>
>Someone stop me if this is nothing more than an urban legend.

Dunno if the story is true or not, but '7RM was just a puny four ~45m tower
station after the rebuild following the big storm of '77.

But combined with the heavy metal from next-door-neighbor '6RR, it isn't
too hard of a stretch to think that a passing storm might be somewhat
shunted to ground from all that metal connected to ground sticking up
above the tree line (which was very obvious from kilometers away as one
drove up to Foul Weather Bluff).

The wind showed little mercy to their wonderful stations.  Falling trees were
what brought Rush's towers down by taking out the guys & I distinctly
remember being up there one weekend where we sat in his house & watched
the neighbor's 3-el 40 shed its tips from its perch atop some 60-odd meters of
55G.

Both experiences certain to bring a tear to the eye.

73, BW2/VR2BrettGraham


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