[TowerTalk] Single point ground

[Roger (K8RI)]

Rob Atkinson wrote:
>>> It pains me to see hams with imperfect above-ground shack locations
>>> thinking about installing hundreds of dollars' worth of Polyphasers in
>>> pursuit of the wrong Holy Grail -- 24/7 antenna availability.
>>>       
>
> Correct.  I often get the feeling a lot of hams think that
> broadcasters and other professionals work in this bullet proof utopia
> of immunity to direct hits.  Not true. 
Nothing is bullet proof, BUT my system has taken 17 direct hits to the 
tower since the ground system was finished.  I normally do not bother 
with disconnecting anything. The reason is not that I consider it 
invulnerable, but it's just too difficult to get at all the cables and 
takes too long to disconnect them.  Remember the old saying, when you 
hear thunder, it's time to go indoors.  I apply that to hanging onto 
antenna and control leads tied to a 130' lightning rod. if the storm is 
that close I ain't gonna be hanging onto wires from the tower.

If I'm going to be gone for a few days in the warmer weather I do 
disconnect everything.
BTW in the shop I have an easily reached, patch panel which makes 
disconnecting (and unplugging) equipment much easier. In the house it's 
a lost cause.

So far there has been no damage to any equipment including coax and 
antennas even with that many *visually verified* hits.

I would add that I have more invested in the ground system than many do 
in their stations with 32 or 33 8' ground rods cadwelded(TM) to well 
over 600 feet of bare #2 copper plus the additional coax connectors 
required for grounding the coax at the top and bottom of the tower as 
well as the bulkhead where it comes into the house.

73

Roger (K8RI)
>  They do indeed take several
> good and sometimes costly steps to reduce damage and often do operate
> through a hit but sooner or later, everyone takes some storm damage.
> But they have to be running, and they usually can afford to replace
> expensive equipment.  A ham doesn't have to be on the air all the
> time, therefore it makes no sense to take the risk of having to
> replace a multi-thousand dollar transceiver, however, reasonable and
> less costly precautions like disconnecting equipment are fine.
>
> 73
>
> Rob
> K5UJ
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