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Phil Frost - W8II
Phil Frost - W8II
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How to protect radio equipment against lightning strikeslarge and where should a perimeter ground be installed?

From a comment on How can I protect equipment against a lightning strike?

Most of the damage from nearby strikes comes from strong voltage gradients over the ground or between the ground and things near it, causing arcing, causing things near the ground to effectively be grounded. You don't need a whole Faraday cage to protect against this; just a ring of wide copper strap around a building will do, forming a sort of two-dimensional Faraday cage. Commercial broadcast stations do exactly this, and this is part of why they are able to stay on the air despite multiple strikes per year and never disconnecting the antennas. – Phil Frost - W8II Feb 27 '14 at 12:22

How wide?

Is the wide copper strap near the foundation?

How to protect radio equipment against lightning strikes?

Most of the damage from nearby strikes comes from strong voltage gradients over the ground or between the ground and things near it, causing arcing, causing things near the ground to effectively be grounded. You don't need a whole Faraday cage to protect against this; just a ring of wide copper strap around a building will do, forming a sort of two-dimensional Faraday cage. Commercial broadcast stations do exactly this, and this is part of why they are able to stay on the air despite multiple strikes per year and never disconnecting the antennas. – Phil Frost - W8II Feb 27 '14 at 12:22

How wide?

Is the wide copper strap near the foundation?

How large and where should a perimeter ground be installed?

From a comment on How can I protect equipment against a lightning strike?

Most of the damage from nearby strikes comes from strong voltage gradients over the ground or between the ground and things near it, causing arcing, causing things near the ground to effectively be grounded. You don't need a whole Faraday cage to protect against this; just a ring of wide copper strap around a building will do, forming a sort of two-dimensional Faraday cage. Commercial broadcast stations do exactly this, and this is part of why they are able to stay on the air despite multiple strikes per year and never disconnecting the antennas. – Phil Frost - W8II Feb 27 '14 at 12:22

How wide?

Is the wide copper strap near the foundation?

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Mike Waters
Mike Waters
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Most of the damage from nearby strikes comes from strong voltage gradients over the ground or between the ground and things near it, causing arcing, causing things near the ground to effectively be grounded. You don't need a whole Faraday cage to protect against this; just a ring of wide copper strap around a building will do, forming a sort of two-dimensional Faraday cage. Commercial broadcast stations do exactly this, and this is part of why they are able to stay on the air despite multiple strikes per year and never disconnecting the antennas. – Phil Frost - W8II Feb 27 '14 at 12:22

Most of the damage from nearby strikes comes from strong voltage gradients over the ground or between the ground and things near it, causing arcing, causing things near the ground to effectively be grounded. You don't need a whole Faraday cage to protect against this; just a ring of wide copper strap around a building will do, forming a sort of two-dimensional Faraday cage. Commercial broadcast stations do exactly this, and this is part of why they are able to stay on the air despite multiple strikes per year and never disconnecting the antennas. – Phil Frost - W8II Feb 27 '14 at 12:22

How wide?

Is the wide copper strap near the foundation?

Most of the damage from nearby strikes comes from strong voltage gradients over the ground or between the ground and things near it, causing arcing, causing things near the ground to effectively be grounded. You don't need a whole Faraday cage to protect against this; just a ring of wide copper strap around a building will do, forming a sort of two-dimensional Faraday cage. Commercial broadcast stations do exactly this, and this is part of why they are able to stay on the air despite multiple strikes per year and never disconnecting the antennas. – Phil Frost - W8II Feb 27 '14 at 12:22

How wide?

Is the wide copper strap near the foundation?

Most of the damage from nearby strikes comes from strong voltage gradients over the ground or between the ground and things near it, causing arcing, causing things near the ground to effectively be grounded. You don't need a whole Faraday cage to protect against this; just a ring of wide copper strap around a building will do, forming a sort of two-dimensional Faraday cage. Commercial broadcast stations do exactly this, and this is part of why they are able to stay on the air despite multiple strikes per year and never disconnecting the antennas. – Phil Frost - W8II Feb 27 '14 at 12:22

How wide?

Is the wide copper strap near the foundation?

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Connie Dodson
Connie Dodson
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How to protect radio equipment against lightning strikes?

Most of the damage from nearby strikes comes from strong voltage gradients over the ground or between the ground and things near it, causing arcing, causing things near the ground to effectively be grounded. You don't need a whole Faraday cage to protect against this; just a ring of wide copper strap around a building will do, forming a sort of two-dimensional Faraday cage. Commercial broadcast stations do exactly this, and this is part of why they are able to stay on the air despite multiple strikes per year and never disconnecting the antennas. – Phil Frost - W8II Feb 27 '14 at 12:22

How wide?

Is the wide copper strap near the foundation?