Re: [TowerTalk] Broken Johnny-ball insulators

[Roger D Johnson <n1rj@pivot.net>]

Cqtestk4xs@aol.com wrote:

  I have heard tales of people hearing snapping and
> popping at the insulators as storms approach on broadcast towers.  I would 
> imagine it happens on a grander scale from a lightning hit on the tower.  Perhaps 
> multiple hits over a period of time, especially in lightning prone areas, 
> could cause the damage as N4ZR and I have observed.

When I reported for duty at USCG LORAN Station, Caribou, Me, the CO let 
me park my motor home at their picnic area while we were house hunting.
The LORAN antenna was a wire skeleton cone supported by 4 700ft towers
in a square. During thunderstorms, it sounded like a shooting gallery
as the lightning arced across all the guy wire insulators! It scared my
wife silly, but I realized that we were safely inside a gigantic Faraday
cage.

73, Roger



--
Remember the USS Liberty (AGTR-5)
http://ussliberty.org/

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