Towertalkians,
In a recent post, I listed a number of good reference books for
information about lightning and lightning protection systems.
Writing that post (and W8JI's question asking for a noncommercial
source of information on how the protectors work) started me
thinking about the handbook that we referred to for this kind of
information when I was working for the Defense Department. So I
got a copy of the latest revision of that handbook and reviewed
it.
It turns out that Uncle Sam actually did something useful with a
few million dollars of your tax money. So now you can (for not
_too_ much money) obtain what I think is THE essential reference
work for this topic. Nobody working in the lightning protection
field should be without this reference. It is the absolute best
single source of both theoretical and practical information on
the subject that I have ever seen.
It has good information about the how and why of all aspects of
the protection system. Including various different types of
protection devices.
It has mathematic justification of every concept for those who
insist on rigor.
It has plenty of graphs for those who just want to know the
answer.
It has many very good illustrations and photographs for concepts
that need more than words to convey.
It even has coverage of the proper application of measurement
instrumentation like earth resistance testers, etc.
Here is the good dope:
Military Handbook 419A, Vols. I and II, 1987
"Grounding, Bonding, and Shielding for Electronic
Equipments and Facilities"
Volume I: Basic Theory
Volume II: Applications
The status of these documents is:
UNCLASSIFIED, Unlimited distribution
You (no matter who or where you are) should be able to get both
of them from the GPO for the cost of reproduction (probably about
$30 each but don't quote me). Get BOTH books. You won't be
sorry you did. From now on you can't plead ignorance due to lack
of available good information.
73, Eric N7CL
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