[BC] AM transmitter lightning sensitivity issue

[Sid Schweiger]

>>If you discharge part or all of the electric field as it builds up,
you can prevent this from occuring.  Charge dissipation products are
not glorified lightning rods, but dissipate the near electric field
as it builds prior to a storm to greatly reduce the incidence of
lightning and its effects.  The closed minds on this list will tell
you that it does not work because they are incapable of grasping how
it works, but in fact it does work<<

I can personally attest to that.  My last engineering job involved taking care of a site in the woods of north-central Massachusetts, where our FM stick was the tallest object around for miles.  It was, needless to say, a regular target for lightning, which would also dance over to our power transformer, blow the fuses on the pole and occasionally take out the transformer as well.  We bought the Static-Cat system, paid particular attention to properly grounding the tower, and the strikes stopped.  North-central Massachusetts is an alley for some very severe lightning storms during the summer (imagine street lights coming on at 3 PM because it's so dark), but once this system was in place we never got hit.  You can, in dark skies (and a considerable distance away from the tower, of course), actually see the system working to dissipate the charge before it builds up enough to cause a strike.  You'll see dozens of miniscule discharges to the sharp points.  It's quite the light show.


Sid Schweiger
IT Manager, Entercom New England
WAAF/WEEI/WEEI-FM/WKAF
WMKK/WRKO/WVEI/WVEI-FM
20 Guest St / 3d Floor
Brighton MA  02135-2040