[TowerTalk] Lightning

[Marlon K. Schafer]

I have a WISP customer that has gear on top of a mid west located grain 
elevator.  They told me that they lost a LOT of gear up there due to 
lightning.

After they had a company come in and put up a series of lightning rods and 
grounded the heck out of them the damage stopped happening.  Something about 
it bleeding off the energy before a strike actually happens.

I've not tried that anywhere here but they swore it worked.  Makes sense to 
me in a way.  Has anyone talked to the folks at Polyphaser?  They have some 
really great white papers etc. on the subject.

laters,
marlon

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Doug Renwick" <ve5ra at sasktel.net>
To: <garyschafer at comcast.net>; <towertalk at contesting.com>
Sent: Friday, January 05, 2007 5:30 PM
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] Lightning


> So far nobody, NOBODY, has presented sound empirical data
> that proves the porcupine does or does not reduce the
> incidence of lightning strikes.  Without that data, you are
> nothing more than an opinion.
> At the bottom read the post from WD4K.
>
> Doug
>
> Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] Lightning
>
> They also sold a couple to the FAA for testing. I have a
> video tape of the device exploding and spreading shrapnel
> everywhere as it took a direct strike.
>
> 73
> Gary  K4FMX
>
> Several years ago, maybe more than five, I went to the
> Polyphaser lecture in Dayton. It was very good including
> good projected diagrams and a great lecture. The layout they
> proposed was fantastic..trench after trench incasing a
> mountain of copper, wagon wheels of copper around the tower
> and house etc. The design was very impressive...and then
> after all of the reasons for such detail....THE PRESENTER
> SAID SIMPLY THAT NOTHING WOULD PROTECT YOU COMPLETELY AND
> THAT EVEN THE BEST LAYOUTS HAVE FLAWS...or something like
> that. I thought...so why bother with these extremes if even
> the best of the best offers marginal  protection at best.
>
> And yes, I have been here and done this before: After
> dealing with the tornado disaster here in '97-- 168K damage
> to my home, antennas gone and equipment ruined..and dealing
> my insurance vendors and settlement procedures on all of
> that...I decided to pretty much do as little as I have to:
> ground rods, ice suppressors on my coaxes and rotors, tower
> grounds etc. and not obsess about it.  I took out a separate
> policy on just the tower against any type of damage and my
> homeowners covers the rest. I would guess the Polyphaser
> setup would cost $20K or so if done properly...Not saying
> that is a bad thing but it is a bad bet for dollars invested
> for me personally. I would much rather pay my homeowners
> insurance and the other dedicated policy and not worry about
> it. If I get whacked..I am paying in advance for that
> possibility.  Since, to paraphrase the Polyphaser
> guy...regardless of all of our time, money and efforts we
> are still subject to and cannot defeat the upper hand of
> mother nature.  Just another way of looking at it. Tommy
> WD4K
>
>
>
>
> -- 
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>
>
>


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