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 about it.
It seems that the best thing to do is have multiple connections to a ground
perimeter around the house. My planned installation is to ground each leg
of the GM roof tower with #2 solid copper wire to 4 ground rods
interconnected to each other. Polyphasor recommends using copper straps
(which I would be willing to do). Where would one get some locally
(hardware stores?)
My primary concern is not my equipment (although it would be nice) but my
home. The tower is going on my garage. My lot is surrounded by trees and I
have electrical poles about 40ft behind my house. I would be unable to have
a ground perimeter around the house due to the fact that the ground strap
would have to go over things like a driveway and a porch. Any ideas on how
to get around that? (The strap would be running over the top of the
driveway and porch). I hear you want to bury the copper strap and the
ground rods. I would be able to basically make a "U" around the house. The
shack ground would be connected to the perimeter ground.
Anyways... maybe I am being overly worried. I live in Columbus, OH which I
would consider a moderate frequency for lightning. Of course, it only takes
one.....
Initially, the four legs of the tower will be grounded when I install the
tower in the next couple of weeks. Over the winter, I will add additional
ground rods around the house and connect them together. So by spring, I
hope to have enough protection. What type of compound should I buy to make
sure the corrosion is minimized where the copper strap/wire and ground rods
meet?
I guess if there was a direct strike I am screwed anyway :)
Thanks
Jason
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