[TowerTalk] Control Lines and Grounding

[Hardy Landskov]

All,
I am at a point where I am wiring up some latching relays to control my 80
meter beam switching from Phone to CW. It would simplify things if I would
just use the coax shield as the +24 VDC return for the relays. The hard
line shield is already bonded to the top and bottom of the tower. However,
I have been hit by lightning with disasterous results. My thought now is to
run a separate return line for the 24 VDC down to the power supply in the
shack to try and save the expensive latching relays if I ever get hit again. 
Any thoughts/experiences on which is better or does it not make much
difference since lightning seems to find its way into everything?
Thanks
Hardy N7RT