I have been reading Polyphasor's site about lightning protection. And it seems that a roof tower is probably the worst type of mounting you can have (great!). However, it mentions what can be done ab
It's not ideal, but it can be worked around. Just make sure you don't have any sharp bends. I made this mistake and while I haven't been hit, it's best not to have any. A sharp bend looks like a high
Hi, Jason; Independently grounding each tower leg provides parallel paths to dissipate the lightning charge and thus reduces the impedance and the maximum voltage developed. (V = I Z) Wide straps off
N4KG comment and question below. SNIP ................... I have 7 towers, ranging in height from 40 ft to 140 ft. To the best of my knowledge, I have NEVER taken a direct lightning strike. OTOH, I H
Yeah, it's all about where the potential can build up. Like I said, if you can make your antenna/tower look as much like ground as possible and prevent any charge from building up on it, you are less
UGH! Any object in the air is a potential target. Both sides of your dipole are. While the side of the dipole which is connected to ground is at or near, RF Ground, there is still a rather inductive
the What about the antenna itself? The tower will be grounded like crazy, the antenna is only "half-grounded" with the shield being grounded. The rotor cable will of course be grounded as well. Than
Also, put your tower/antenna heights in perspective of what the charge cloud in the sky sees. Say it's at 5,000 ft. Your tower, at 70 feet, is above everything else around by about 20 or 30 feet (tre
A direct lightning strike with the voltages to jump from the sky to ground will ignore small irritations like a dipole center insulator. I have seen the wire vaporized with nothing (including the cen
It depends on your antenna itself. Many antennas are DC grounded. Some are not. DC Ground and RF Ground are two very different things, by the way. You ensure your antenna is properly grounded/protect
I certainly agree with Jon Ogden, NA9D, on all points except the application of anti-corrosion compound. Mechanical joints require application of appropriate anti-corrosion compound. They also requir
It sure is! As is the other side of the dipole. Some advocate an inductor between the two parts of a dipole to prevent static buildup between them and to facilitate designing a system to protect the
One more response: I still have a Hy Gain vertical that survived a direct hit. I looked out the window at the right moment and saw it (and heard it). The feedline from it was terminated outside the h
You need an anti-oxidant paste. It comes in several flavors - NoAlOx, Penetrox, etc. - by several different companies. Just check the label that it's for your materials (most are copper, aluminum, or
Grounding the tower is only a part of the system. The WHOLE idea of a lightning protection system is to KEEP the transients out of the building/house. That's why you have the Single Point Ground Syst
The grounding system is to mininize the magnitude of the transient reaching the shack. It will not eliminate it. The single point ground is to eliminate the potential between the pieces of equipment
Tower progress continues... thought the comments from the engineer was interesting. In my packet of information to submit for my building permit, I drew up some plans showing the grounding I plan to
Hence my comments that just following "code" is not always best. My niece's husband is a civil engineer. When he saw the way we were building my deck this summer he said it was overkill. I wouldn't g