I think the timing and dynamics of a strike are not that well understood. Little of what has been published is based on actual strike measurements but rather on "triggered" strikes using rockets and
Isn't there a problem getting accurate measurements of natural strikes without damaging the equipment? there's a lot of "untriggered" stroke data from places like the Empire State Bldg, Lake Lugano,
To each his own theory. Yours sounds as plausible as the rest. 73, Keith NM5G KeithYour statement below the excerpt from Jim, (below) is NOT true. It is not a matter of bleeding off the entire charge
Why would the heat at the connection be any more than at any other point in the ground system. Or are you assuming the impedance of the connection would cause more heat at the joint? Reason I ask is
Judge for yourself the effect of cosmic rays on strikes: http://www.scienceforpeople.com/Essays/electrifying.htm 73, Keith NM5G Actually if you read some of the old literature about radioactive tips,
Nick, You have waaaaaaay too much time on your hands. I have several projects associated with my new tower/antenna farm that you could work on. <grin> 73, Keith NM5G Gary, Your claims about your rabb
This morning I was with the NARS (Northwest Amateur Radio Society) breakfast group that meets at Denny's in northwest Houston every Saturday. George Edwards K5VUU showed up a bit later than usual. He
Slight correction. This happened Wednesday, not Thursday. BTW, if anyone is wondering why I posted at this time while the IARU is in full swing, it's because I currently have a large thunderstorm par
I had a local electrical contractor come out to estimate the cost of backup power for the house, shack and barn. Each has a 200 amp breaker panel. I have one 500 gal propane tank for the house and an
Replace that braid a soon as possible. Your next tower strike will be less likely to cause damage. I am also using braid on my tower and have a similar "to-do" list backlog. I have obtained a roll of
Can copper strap be connected to a ground rod using Cadweld? 73, Keith NM5G [snip] Where possible, use copper strap. It offers lower inductance than wire and due to skin effect is much more likley to
Rather than thinking of lightning as an electrical current flowing from ground to cloud or vice versa, I find it more interesting to think about what it is composed of: plasma. The free electrons and
Excellent explanation Roger. Thanks. BTW, the surface of the sun is something like 10,000 deg K. I think the air next to lightning plasma is about 30,000 deg K. 73, Keith NM5G Plasma can be created w
I had an L4B that put out 1700W PEP as measured by an Alpha 4510 wattmeter using 150 watts drive as read on the exciter meter. The anode voltage was about 2500 as read on the L4B meter. Also, the gri
I have heard of rubber bullets. 73, Keith NM5G BAD IDEA. Thinking about it, the acceleration will likely cause the rubber to expand and "jam" in the barrel just like it was plugged with mud or some o
the resistance of braided cable. I believe it's impedance that is increased. 73, Keith NM5G Stranded wire or cable is acceptable. Braided cable is not acceptable. As skin effect forces current to co
I would try to avoid mixing on site. That is a BIG job and will be difficult to manage. You should pour one entire base within about an hour or two to ensure a monolithic cure. In my part of the worl
Do you know the shipping weight? 73, Keith NM5G rotators. They had a couple of those set up in Dayton. They make the TIC rotators look like little toys! They look like they could rotate a house. 73,
I am wondering if it is the height or the more efficient antenna(s), or both. 73, Keith NM5G --Original Message-- From: towertalk-bounces@contesting.com [mailto:towertalk-bounces@contesting.com] On B
Essentially identical. -- Are you making some assumptions here? What is I have a perfectly resonant coax fed dipole at 3850 KHz at 140 feet and run 200 watts CW. Now compare this to a 30 foot long p