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[TowerTalk] copper pipe for SPG connect??

To: <towertalk@contesting.com>
Subject: [TowerTalk] copper pipe for SPG connect??
From: Bill Otten" <res0958z@verizon.net (Bill Otten)
Date: Wed, 2 Jan 2002 21:30:01 -0500
That kind of defeats the whole concept of making certain there is no
potential difference between the ground at the tower and station and the
home electric ground doesn't it? And (unless I'm wrong...) IF the potentials
ARE different, doesn't that cause the damage to homes, and equipment, and
appliances? I note the grounding pictorial at the station of N3RR,
http://users.erols.com/n3rr/photos/grounding_pictorial.jpg and point # 8 at
http://webferret.search.com/click?wf,antenna+grounding,,www.gpr-expert.com%2
Fcell-site2.htm,,hotbot  relating to single point grounding: "Single point
grounding is an absolute must, because the resulting GPR from lightning is a
wave of voltage rise, or energy surge that passes through a grounding
system. This demands that all equipment be bonded to the grounding system,
at one location (single point), to insure that every metallic object rises
and falls in potential together."
See also the following: http://www.tarry.net/sunwest/gnd.html and
http://www.tarry.net/sunwest/tower.jpg

By the way, when my home took a strike this past summer we had damage to the
cable tv boxes, two televisions plugged into the cable boxes for power were
shot, the remaining tv standing alone plugged into a wall outlet had no
damage, one computer connected to the phone lines and an 8" wide by 4 " by 2
" deep hole blown in the concrete floor of the rear bedroom of the home
where my station is located. It shattered the ceramic tile on the floor over
4 squares of tile along the rear baseboard. The electric panel in the garage
blew out 3 breakers on one side of the panel, the outside telephone company
connection box was blown off the side of the house, and the underground
connection at the street was destroyed, with the fiberglass cover found
blown some 90 feet away into a neighbors house. My tower mounted remote
antenna switch suffered no damage, no damage to the rig because the cables
were disconnected. I should have sued THEM for the damage because apparently
the strike came in on THEIR equipment. My next door neighbor also lost 2
computers and a television. NO thunderclap was heard, no flash seen,
although I did hear what sounded like a small caliber pistol shot when the
tile exploded.

I'd be interested in more discussion on the use of a single point ground
system as described above.......

73
Bill (KC9CS)
res0958z@verizon.net

----- Original Message -----
From: "Don Havlicek" <n8de@thepoint.net>
To: "Bill Otten" <res0958z@verizon.net>
Cc: <ag0n@arrl.net>; <towertalk@contesting.com>
Sent: Wednesday, January 02, 2002 7:10 pm
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] copper pipe for SPG connect??


>
> If your SPG system were to be struck by lightning [via your
> antenna/tower], I would be willing to bet that the power company and
> telephone company would both sue you for causing damage to their systems
> on your property!  They would in my part of the world!
> I was warned, when I had the service buried, NOT to tie into ANY part of
> their systems, even the common ground!
> Don
> N8DE



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