[TowerTalk] Military Grounding Handbook

[Jimmy Weierich]

This manual  is also available online as an Adobe PDF file.  Go to 
http://astimage.daps.dla.mil/quicksearch/ and search for 
MIL-HDBK-419A in the "Document ID" field.

Beware, it is a 9.8 MB file.  It took about two minutes to download 
with a cable modem, slower connections will take considerably longer! 
(The internet is the only place I run high power.)

It includes both Volume 1, Basic Theory, and Volume 2, Applications.
However, Volume 2 appears first in the PDF file.

Jimmy

>Brian (and TT):
>
>     The address and phone number for the Mil Hdbk are:
>
>Commanding Officer
>Naval Publications and Forms Center
>5801 Tabor Ave.
>Phila., PA  19120
>
>     The phone number in the HDBK, 215-697-3321, rings with no answer.  So
>you might have to call around via Directory Assistance for another listing
>in the Pubs and Forms Center before you can get a human to fill the order
>over the phone (as I did earlier this year but I didn't save the number that
>worked).
>
>
>73 de
>Gene Smar  AD3F
>-----Original Message-----
>From: Eric Gustafson <n7cl@mmsi.com>
>To: towertalk@contesting.com <towertalk@contesting.com>;
>brian_smithson@vds.com <brian_smithson@vds.com>
>Date: Monday, October 11, 1999 11:59 AM
>Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] newbie, Installing a 80' crank up
>
>
> >
> >
> >Hi Brian,
> >
> >I don't think you are asking for trouble per se.  But you are
> >asking for a requirement that you exercise somewhat more care in
> >the design of the ground system.
> >
> >Only you know what the value and vulnerability of the stuff in
> >and around the barn is likely to be.  If it is an abandoned
> >facility which is unlikely to have animals or personnel in or
> >near it during a storm, that is one set of circumstances.  If it
> >is an active dairy operation which is likely to have people and
> >livestock working in the vicinity and valuable production
> >equipment in operation, that is another.
> >
> >The "rule of thumb is ok if no lightning protection effort can be
> >tolerated.  But it doesn't mean that a tower cannot be safely
> >located adjacent to a tall conductive antenna structure.
> >
> >Buildings located next to towers are routinely lightning
> >protected to the degree that the radio station inside the
> >building can and does operate right through a direct hit on the
> >antenna structure without any damage to the building, equipment,
> >or personnel in the vicinity or even any interruption in service.
> >There is an FM transmitter south of town here (Tucson, AZ) that
> >gets hit an average of twice a day during our monsoon season.
> >Probably, the safest possible place in the entire valley for a
> >person to be during a summer thunderstorm here is inside that
> >transmitter building.  It is all a matter of how much attention
> >is paid to the lightning protection system requirements.
> >
> >Start with the PolyPhaser book "Grounds for Lightning and EMP
> >Protection".  And get a (free) copy of MIL-HDBK-419A Vols. I and
> >II.  This is by far the best reference on this subject I have
> >ever seen.  It has both the theoretical basis and practical
> >instruction relating to lightning protection.  Do some reading.
> >Don't stop until you understand the concept of "step potential"
> >and how to control its magnitude.  Then decide on where you want
> >your tower based on the ground system effort required for your
> >situation and what you are willing or financially able to do.
> >
> >73, Eric  N7CL

Jimmy, KG2AU       <kg2au@stny.rr.com>

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