Dick Carroll; wrote:
Well stated. Some authorities insist that grounding a tower/building just attracts
lightning, but that hasn't been the case here. After some 20 years of standing on this
hilltop, my 60 ft Rohn25 with 10 feet of mast and a 5/8 wave two meter vertical topping
that still hasn't been hit, though several times I sure thought it had, from the proximity
of the strike.

And in 50 years of ungrounded antennas, mine have never been hit
even though I have lived in some of the highest lightning areas.

As an aside: I have an antenna farm on my lot. The last thing lightning
hit was a five foot tall live oak tree, the shortest thing on my lot.
Lightning is like a 400 pound gorilla. Where does a 400 pound gorilla
go? Anywhere it wants. The fact that there is a difference of opinion
among experts about lightning only proves how puny human efforts are
in the face of Mother Nature.
--
73, Cecil http://www.qsl.net/w5dxp



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David Robbins wrote:
you get .03 strokes to the ground in that 300' circle per year... now
obviously you don't get .03 strokes per year, so invert that and you
should expect one stroke to that tower every 33 years.

It's more correct - and actually makes a lot more sense - to call it "a
1 in 33 chance of a lightning stroke in any given year."


--
73 from Ian G3SEK 'In Practice' columnist for RadCom (RSGB)
Editor, 'The VHF/UHF DX Book'
http://www.ifwtech.co.uk/g3sek

Tam, WB2TT wrote:
"...both hits were near the
base of the tower, not the top."

Richard Harrison asked:
Why was the voltage gradient highest
near the base of the tower?

One only needs to watch the science, or reality, TV shows about
lightning to see many clear (!!!) violations of the 'Simplified Rules
of Lightning'. Such reports, as Tam's, no longer require signed
affidavits and a complete mathematical analysis to be considered
reliable. A video would certainly be considered helpful for those
that doubt ;-).

It is interesting that lightning has become a MUCH more complex
phenomena since the camcorder became a common household item. That is
a reflection on human behavior and the not-quite-perfect process of
science.

Regards,

J. Harvey, VE1BLL