[TowerTalk] Antenna/Tower Grounding (Lightning Protection)

[ersmar at comcast.net]

Dick:

     Below are some nuggets of wisdom I've gathered from reading the postings on this reflector over the years.

1.     You cannot protect the tower, antennas and rigs from a direct lightning strike.   You can only attempt to minimize the damage if that happens.

2.    Your tower ought to have at least one ground wire, minimum of #8 gauge wire, to one ground rod within two feet of each tower leg.  The latest version of the National Electrical Code mandates two ground rods and two wires at each leg.

3.    You ought to ground each coax cable shield to the tower at the top and at the bottom of the tower.  

4.     You ought to install lightning suppressors on all wires and cables coming into your shack.  Polyphaser makes these as do ICE and Delta.  <All cables> includes the coax runs, your control lines to your rotator and antenna switch(es), and any DC or AC supply lines going up the tower.  

5.      You ought to install these suppressors immediately outside your shack entrance onto a single-point ground (SPG) panel.  This panel ought to be connected to another ground rod via another #8 minimum ground wire.  The ground connections from all the electrical systems within your house (electrical supply panel, cable TV, telephone, etc.) should also be connected to this SPG panel.  

6.     You ought to search the TowerTalk archives for details on how to do all of these things.  

7.     When you have finished reading all you can stand, come back to this reflector again and ask some more questions.  We're only too glad to help.

     What did I miss mentioning, gents?

73 de
Gene Smar  AD3F


 -------------- Original message ----------------------
From: "Richard W. Solomon" <w1ksz at earthlink.net>
> Looking for advice on what to use to protect the Tower, Antennas and
> Rigs from lightning strikes. I guess I need Tower Ground(s) and some
> kind of Coax grounding that can survive.
> I looked at the Polyphaser site, but unless you know the Model Number,
> it could be a long night.
> 
> What would you suggest ?
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> 73, Dick, W1KSZ 
> 
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