[TowerTalk] Lighting

[Tom Rauch]

> Incorrect.  The building I work at (TV station) has
equipment connected
> just fine, thanks.  The transmitter is directly connected
to the antenna, no
> 'lightning arrestor' of any kind in between.  How the hell
does it
> survive this?

Same at my QTH. My tall tower gets hit several times a year
and I almost never have damage. I don't  have a single
lighting suppressor in any feedline, and all my feedlines
and radios stay connected even in storms! If I do lose a
component, it is generally something related to the miles
and miles of receiving antennas I have.  Last week I lost a
tiny DPDT relay 1/2 mile from the house when the coil opened
up, and a 2N3904 transistor that hangs off the control lines
to that relay coil.

When I take significant damage, it is generally something a
lightning suppressor would never fix. I've had control line
and coaxial cable blow in two from lightning currents in
hard hits, but these are cables that run for hundreds of
feet and are grounded to different grounds at both ends.

By the way, something has been bugging me a bit. A local Ham
seemed to imply he put in ground rods and stopped getting
hit. Is that a popular myth (that grounding prevents hits),
or did I misunderstand what he was saying?