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Re: [TowerTalk] spider balls.. they work

To: w4zw@comcast.net
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] spider balls.. they work
From: k2qmf@juno.com
Date: Fri, 30 Jul 2004 14:20:53 -0400
List-post: <mailto:towertalk@contesting.com>
Hello All,

With all this talk about spider balls,  can someone
please tell me how many male spiders I would have to
catch in order for me to make one of these things????

Thanks for any info and 73,  Ted  K2QMF

On Fri, 30 Jul 2004 13:19:26 -0400 "W4ZW" <w4zw@comcast.net> writes:
>  
> Jim Lux wrote:
> 
> It seems that the manufacturers of the dissipators are legally very
> aggressive, having threatened lawsuits against IEEE and NFPA, among 
> others.
> This prompted a more thorough than usual review of the IEEE paper 
> (by
> Mousa... google for Mousa and Lightning... it will turn up).  
> Interestingly,
> Mousa does say that the dissipators can have a beneficial effect on 
> a
> certain class of discharges, but actually makes another kind worse, 
> and,
> overall, that you're better off with a well designed conventional 
> system.
> Also, for what it's worth, the special class of discharges 
> apparently cannot
> occur when the thing being discharged is less than 300 meters tall.
> 
> 
>   The mfr of the dissipator tried to get a NFPA standard for the 
> dissipators
> (as opposed to the existing NPFA 780 lightning rod standards), and 
> when a
> huge number (probably every lightning expert in the world) of very
> knowledgable people, backed up by extensive research, said that the 
> proposed
> standard was, in short, "bunk".
>  
> ----------------------
> 
> And here's the rest of this story:
> 
> The controversy over the  dissipation theory of operation  still 
> rages. 
> 
> Jim chose this example, but it is a good demonstration of how 
> difficult it
> is to realize a consensus 
> of experts concerning lightning theory.
> 
> In 1993 the NFPA (National Fire Protection Association-the authority 
> in the
> US concerning 
> wiring codes)  declined to approve proposed NFPA 781, which would 
> have 
> set Early Streamer Emission standards for a controversial "improved" 
> 
> type of air terminal (spiderballs), and presumably given the ESE 
> industry a shot in the arm. ESE makers sued, claiming NFPA 781 had 
> just 
> as much scientific backing as NFPA 780. In a settlement the NFPA 
> agreed 
> to have ESE technology reevaluated by an outside panel. 
> 
> The panel confirmed that there was no scientific basis for NFPA 781. 
> But it
> also 
> said there's no scientific basis for NFPA 780 (traditional lightning 
> rods)
> either.
> 
> Go figure.
> 
> 
> Jon Hamlet, W4ZW
> 
> Casey Key Island, FL
> "A little piece of paradise in the Gulf of Mexico" 
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
> 
> 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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> 
> 

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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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