[TowerTalk] Lightning protection grounding

[Pete Smith]

At 11:07 AM 4/16/1999 -0700, Eric wrote:
>
>
>
>>Date: Fri, 16 Apr 1999 08:48:29 -0400
>>From: Dave Jordan <wa3gin@erols.com>
>>
>>Why can't a person simply run a ground wire from the top
>>section/mast of the crank-up down along with the coax and
>>terminate the wire to the ground system at the base?
>>
>>===================
>
>You _can_ do that.  But until the surface area of the ground wire
>and coax shield are larger than the surface area of the tower
>structure, the tower will still be carrying the majority of the
>stroke current.

Is that the case, even if the tower has electrical discontinuities such as
section-to-section joints?  I'd always understood that a lower-resistance,
lower-impedance connection would get the lion's share of the current,
voltage-divider fashion.  Am I oversimplifying (again)? 

73,  Pete N4ZR
Loud is good


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