In a message dated 5/14/02 10:23:57 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
drboz@pacbell.net writes:
>
> I'm told that one way to help ensure that something high, like a tower,
> doesn't present a convenient place for lightning to establish its path is
to
> "dissipate" the charge on the tower. Hence those bushy looking
dissipaters.
> Attached at the top of the tower (not the mast!) these dissipaters are
> supposed to bleed off charges that a tower can have, making it a less
likely
> target for lightning. They also provide an "umbrella" of sorts for things
> within some radius from the tower. Seems logical. Anyone with any
> experience??
>
> Don
> W6DRB
Anecdotal, but it striked me.
I was hit few times by lightning when I had "inferior" (tribanders, small)
antennas on the tower. When I had 3 el. 40m Telrex, lightning seemed to avoid
me, I was never hit. Lightning likes sharp spikes, while it might find large
"umbrellas" repulsive?
Yuri, K3BU
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