[TowerTalk] Routing Cables - Tower to shack

[teamw]

I get the impression that in some readers minds buried cable is immune to
the effects of lightning. However, the earth is not a magnetic shield. A
cable a foot or two underground can have a surge induced in it of a thousand
volts or so from a lightning strike a quarter mile away, or more. (Twice,
one when the strikes magnetic filed expands outwards and again when the
field collapses). Those surges can be on the shield of your buried coax
cable and on the center conductor.
    The fact that someone has had no damage in the last "N" years is not a
reason to avoid doing it right! The place for the surge protectors is at the
entry point to the house or shack.
There is an issue that there will be a differential potential between the
ground field at the tower and the ground field at the house entry for a long
cable run but there is no simple way to make both ends the same potential.
Personally I would prefer to replace some coax rather than the rig or house.

Your soldiers can establish a defence line in the woods and fields around
the castle but the final defensive entry point is the drawbridge and
portcullis.

John AB4ET


List Sponsor: Are you thinking about installing a tower this summer? Call us
for information on our fabulous Trylon Titan self-supporting towers - up to
96-feet for less than $2000! at 888-833-3104 <A HREF="http://www.ChampionRadio.com">
www.ChampionRadio.com</A>

-----
FAQ on WWW:               http://www.contesting.com/FAQ/towertalk
Submissions:              towertalk@contesting.com
Administrative requests:  towertalk-REQUEST@contesting.com
Problems:                 owner-towertalk@contesting.com