[TowerTalk] grounding

[Keith Dutson]

Randy wrote:
If I interpret what you are saying correctly, you're going to need a
seriously large neutral conductor between the shack and the mains panel...
if a strike occurs to the antenna, and it's looking for "Earth".... if that
conductor can't momentarily handle about a bazillion amps, it's going to
fail in a very spec- tacular fashion. And then, lightning, being the fickle
beast that it is, is going off in search of something else betwixt it, and
"Earth". Methinks that "some"
of the protection that "single point entry" offers is that, worst-case, the
whole damned thing might flash-over to, ideally, the ground rod right
underneath it.
I have no knowledge or qualifications that lead me to that thought, but, in
my "mind's eye", that's what would occur.

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How could you be so unlucky to attract en entire bolt to your SPG and entry
panel?  I doubt any cable or group of cables running from the antenna could
handle a "bazillion" amps.  If such a catastrophic event were to occur, you
would not want to be anywhere near the shack.

The reality is that only a few amps are required to damage equipment, and
the shack entry point is rarely going to have to deal with more than a few
hundred amps.  This situation can be managed with careful planning and
design.

73, Keith NM5G