On 10/12/11 10:06 PM, W0MU Mike Fatchett wrote:
> Not really. You should have a ground rod for each leg of the tower.
> You could put a ring around the tower if you wanted. The idea is to
> dissipate static and attempt to prevent a lightning strike. If you get
> one #2 or # 10 won't matter.
>
There is little or no scientific evidence that "static dissipation" has
any effect on the probability of lightning strikes. Assume you're going
to get hit, and design accordingly, either go big enough to take the
hit, or accept that it's going to fail and need to be replaced. Having
a deliberate "weak link" that is cheap isn't a bad strategy.
Most ham installations are not commercial 24/7 installations with 5 9's
reliability requirements like airport control towers.
It is always good to keep static potentials low, but we're talking
milliamps at most. A RF choke with AWG 30 would probably work.
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