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Re: [TowerTalk] spider balls.. they work

To: TowerTalk@contesting.com
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] spider balls.. they work
From: Norman Hockler <norsan@bright.net>
Date: Fri, 30 Jul 2004 02:13:32 -0400
List-post: <mailto:towertalk@contesting.com>
Ok, here is what I have observed.

In the 40's as a teenager I was crew on a wooden 100 ft sailing ship every summer for 8 years.
We saw St. Elmos fire all the time. It would shoot out from the spar ends and screw
or bolt ends.


About the 3rd or 4th year the owner bought some spider balls ( they were called spline balls.) and they were installed on
the mast head of the fore and main masts.


The result was most of the St Elmo fire was dissipated by them and very little could be observed from the spar ends.

Would this result in lowering the likely hood of a lightning strike on my tower...... who knows.... but it did move most of the discharges
to the "sharp pointy spline balls"


Norm Hockler
N8NH



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