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Re: [TowerTalk] Connecting Tower to Ground Rod

To: towertalk@contesting.com
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] Connecting Tower to Ground Rod
From: Jim Lux <jimlux@earthlink.net>
Date: Thu, 10 Oct 2013 08:23:36 -0700
List-post: <towertalk@contesting.com">mailto:towertalk@contesting.com>
On 10/10/13 8:16 AM, Stan Labinsky Jr. wrote:
IIRC you tie the coax shield to the tower at its base for two reasons,
with a kinda common thread.

1) To eliminate any possible side flashes through the coax's outer
insulation, thereby saving the cable.

2) Connecting the shield to one of the lowest potential points, thereby
draining a good bit of the strike to closest earth ground.

Not tying it to the tower base is like connecting a meter probe to the
highest potential point, the point of the strike, the top of the tower,
and bringing that potential into your shack to the meter, all of your
expensive equipment so that it can measure the full effect of the
strike... POOF!


Agreed..

I think the other discussion is whether it is worth running another parallel conductor from tower to shack (where tower and shack aren't co-located) to bond the ground system of tower to ground system of shack.

I'm not sure that's worth it. OTOH, if you're already digging a trench, laying conduits, buying multiple runs of hardline coax at a dollar a foot, maybe adding a bonding conductor, and burying it separately, isn't a big deal.

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