[TowerTalk] Lightning... and pointed rods!

[Norman Hockler]

If they dont work why are they still used?

Norm


At 08:13 PM 10/25/00 -0400, you wrote:
>Sorry, Norm, but the spline balls working that way (as they
>were originally touted) is just not true (please substitute
>a much stronger but politically incorrect term).  When I was
>at PolyPhaser, we used to provide a video from two TV
>stations and the FAA in Tampa proving the incorrectness of
>these beliefs.  The one from the FAA (just before the camera
>stopped running) clearly shows one of these "hedgehogs"
>being hit.  The FAA was interested in them (for obvious
>reasons) until the truth became obvious.  Then they were
>touted in another manner.
>
>The reason everybody thought that they worked as claimed is
>because usually the site had a poor grounding system (the
>grounding system is the "make or break" of any good
>protection system).  When the hedgehogs were installed, the
>grounding system was improved at that time.  Now lightning
>damage became minimal or non-existant.  Ergo, it must be the
>hedgehog.
>
>73
>Bob AA0CY/3
>PolyPhaser Technical Consultant, 1994-1997
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: owner-towertalk@contesting.com
>[mailto:owner-towertalk@contesting.com]On Behalf Of Norman
>Hockler
>Sent: Wednesday, October 25, 2000 12:01 AM
>To: towertalk@contesting.com
>Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] Lightning... and pointed rods!
>
>
>It helps to have many pointed rods on the top of the tower.
>Commercial
>towers use "spline balls" on the tower.  They are melon
>shaped metal ball
>with hundreds of sharp points.  These points help to
>dissipate the charge
>build up and therefore prevent the ground leader from going
>up to meet the
>cloud charge.   This is why a uhf/vhf antenna stack is less
>likely to be
>hit than a single vertical or a HF tribander.
>
>de Norm  N8NH
>
>
>At 09:52 PM 10/24/00 -0400, you wrote:
> >As long as we're on this subject, I notice all the
>lightning rods on
> >buildings have sharp points upwards...so... does it help to
>have a pointed
> >rod at the top of the tower mast? If so, why?
> >Jerry K3MGT
> >
> >
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