Mark,
"Do the best you can." With that in mind... I am not an expert - your
mileage may vary.
1. You are trying to dissipate a lightning strike into as much "ground" as
possible. I would "fan" the three legs to three #4 copper wires at 45 deg,
90 degrees, and 135 degrees from your house. At the end of these three
legs, I would sink your ground rods. From these ground rods, I would put at
least 2 more #4 copper wire lengths per ground rod. I would evenly
distribute them.
2. I wouldn't hook your #4 wires into a loop around your house. Don't you
really want the lightning energy to go away from your house?
3. If you have a chronicly damp part of your yard within 20 or 30 feet, I
would make an effort to get at least one ground rod in that area. Break up
the ground wire with the ground rods at 10 foot intervals.
I personally have 5 ground wires in a star around my tower. Each with a
ground rod. haven't been hit, yet. I have had a near miss. A 50 foot tree
got hit about 200 feet from my 105 foot tower... :) That doesn't make it
definitive that I had a good setup - its just proof that I am probably still
going to get hit someday. When I do, I want to have done what I can to
reduce the chance of injury or damage. I am always reminded of the two
kinds of motorcycle riders - those that have been in an accident - and those
that haven't yet been in an accident... :)
Randy
N0LD
Randy
----- Original Message -----
From: "Mack McLaughlin" <k4mir@comcast.net>
To: <towertalk@contesting.com>
Sent: Sunday, August 31, 2003 10:30 PM
Subject: [TowerTalk] Grounding a bracketed tower
> I have a bracketed 25G tower and need to install a ground system. I
> have read over a years worth of grounding advice and will install a SPG
> system.
>
> A question I have however is how to best run ground radials from the
> tower? With two of the tower legs a couple of feet away and facing the
> house the house and only the third facing away from the house, how do I
> run an effective ground system? Can I run a length of ground wire with
> rods every few feet around the house coming off the third leg? I
> understand that normally on a guyed tower which is not near a structure,
> you would run radials from each leg.
>
> Most of the info I have reviewed (over a year's worth) concern guyed
> towers that are a good distance away from the house. I did not have
> that option, so this is the only way I can have a tower. Now I want to
> install a good lightening protection system.
>
> Any advice will be greatly appreciated, as always.
>
> 73
>
> Mack
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
>
> See: http://www.mscomputer.com for "Self Supporting Towers", "Wireless
Weather Stations", and lot's more. Call Toll Free, 1-800-333-9041 with any
questions and ask for Sherman, W2FLA.
>
> _______________________________________________
> TowerTalk mailing list
> TowerTalk@contesting.com
> http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/towertalk
>
_______________________________________________
See: http://www.mscomputer.com for "Self Supporting Towers", "Wireless Weather
Stations", and lot's more. Call Toll Free, 1-800-333-9041 with any questions
and ask for Sherman, W2FLA.
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