[TowerTalk] Grounding your tower...What is really needed?

[Mike Kappes]

I had a tower at the old qth and I was hit 3 times with lightning. I
didn't have but one ground rod. I will use more because I have more
room.
T. A. Russell wrote:

> >> > I put six 8ft ground rods around my tower.  If I were you I would
>
> >> put in
> >> >  at least six. They are placed at 120 degrees apart. Then the
>
> ><snip>>
>
> >>
> >>     I would also recommend putting multiple rods in the system.
> >> Grounding
> >> your tower is ONE part of the overall ground system.
> >>
> >> 73,  Steve  K7LXC
> >>
>
> <<snip>>
>
> >
> >   That seems like a lot of ground rods
> >
>
>         A M E N  !       de     Tom   N4KG
>
> I have 7 towers, ranging in height from 40 ft to 140 ft.
>
> At 6 ground rods per tower, that comes to 42 rods and a hell of a lot
> of strap and digging.  Is this all really necessary for lightning
> protection?
>
> By the way, most of those towers have been up for 18 years and the
> only lightning damage I have suffered came in on the power lines
> when a strike hit a power transformer next door.
>
> Each tower is 30 to 36 inches in the ground, NO  CONCRETE.  A shelf
> of limestone or sandstone is 3 to 5 ft below the surface.  The bottom
> of each tower hole is expanded, covered with 4 inches of gravel, and
> bricks are laid on top to support the tower.  All guy wires are broken
> up
> with several insulators.  All transmission lines and rotor cables run
> to ground level and are returned to the house in shallow open
> trenches.
> All coax switches are mounted to a metal frame which is connected to
> a single 8 ft ground by a 1 inch wide braided strap running down from
> the second story window.
>
> Five of the towers are in a line running north/south.  There is a
> small
> creek running  wandering more or less parallel to this line 200 to
> 300 ft to the east of this line.  There is some underground water
> running near the creek.
>
> IF  ALL  OF  THE  EXTENSIVE  GROUNDING  DESCRIBED  ON  THIS
> REFLECTOR IS TRULY NECESSARY FOR LIGHTNING PROTECTION,
>
> WHY  HAVE  NONE  OF MY 7  TOWERS  BEEN  STRUCK IN 18 YEARS?
>
> We  get a  LOT of severe  thunderstorms and lightning here in north
> Alabama.
>
> de   Tom   N4KG
>
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