[TowerTalk] tower grounding

[Grant Saviers]

My sailboat was at the wharf, plugged into shore power when a 
thunderstorm passed by about a 1/4 mile away.  Each lightning flash was 
accompanied with an arc over SNAP in the 120v outlets.  Scary how much 
voltage that takes.  My exposed lead keel in salt water was tied to the 
shore power grounding lead.   Concluding I was the best local power grid 
ground, I quickly disconnected from shore power.

Grant KZ1W


On 7/23/2013 6:38 PM, Spencer wrote:
> I did some maintenance on a steel boat. The utility company had 
> connected the ground to
> the hull when connected to shore power. There was serious corrosion 
> problems. I measured
> the ground wire current with a amp-probe, 3 amps. I disconnected the 
> ground and the problem went away.
> Your tower might be the ground connection for the electric utility 
> company. The waveform is
> distorted and has a DC component that will cause big problems and a 
> nice place for current flow
> during a lightning strike.
> Spencer
> W1GAK
>
> _______________________________________________
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> TowerTalk mailing list
> TowerTalk at contesting.com
> http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/towertalk
>