Table of Contents

1 Mother Nature 1

1.1 History 1

1.2 Thunderstorm Days 2

1.3 Terminology 2

1.4 Types of Cloud to Earth Lightning 3

1.5 Lightning Characteristics Summary 5

2 Vulnerability 7

2.1 Big Picture Terminology 7

2.2 Metal in the Sky 8

2.3 Ground Connections 10

2.4 Expedient Solution 12

2.5 SPGP Basics 12

2.6 Protector Function 13

2.7 Permanent Solution 13

2.8 Your Personal Safety 14

3 Zone-of-Protection 17

3.1 Station Size 17

3.2 Determine What’s Protected 18

3.3 External Connections 23

3.4 Cabling Neatness 25

3.5 Cable Provider Protector 25

3.6 Completed Example 26

4 Protectors 29

4.1 Coaxial Protector 29

4.2 AC-Power Protector 31

4.3 Rotator Control Protector 32

4.4 Twisted-Pair Protector 32

4.5 Ethernet Protector 32

4.6 Other Control Lines 33

4.7 Ladder Line Protector 33

5 Single Point Ground Panel 35

5.1 How Protectors Work 35

5.2 Characteristics 36

5.3 Location Decision 36

5.4 Layout Considerations 39

5.5 Sacrificial Elements 44

5.6 Special Circumstances 44

5.7 Coaxial Cable Disconnect 48

5.8 Wrap-up 49

6 Antenna Considerations 51

6.1 Mast Grounding 51

6.2 Bonding Conductor 51

6.3 Lead-in 51

6.4 Significant Physical Design Considerations 52

6.5 Optimization 55

7 Tower 57

7.1 Types 57

7.2 Tower Placement 57

7.3 Tower Grounding 59

7.4 Ground Kit 65

7.5 Coaxial Cable Take-off Point 66

7.6 AC-Power 66

7.7 Dissimilar Metals 66

8 Tower Mounted Equipment 67

8.1 Coaxial Switch 67

8.2 Complex Electronics 67

8.3 Other items 70

9 Structure Protection 73

10 Ground System 75

10.1 Introduction 75

10.2 Ground Rod 75

10.3 Perimeter Ground 79

10.4 Radials 80

10.5 Ufer Ground Considerations 81

10.6 Difficult Sites 82

10.7 Ground System Trade-Offs 83

10.8 Documentation 84

10.9 Nearby Metal Objects 84

10.10 Dissimilar Metals 84

11 Ground System Design Estimating 87

11.1 Soil Strike Energy Propagatio 87

11.2 Soil Resistivity Measurement 87

11.3 Ground System Maintenance 92

11.4 Tools 94

12 Whole House Protection 95

12.1 Installer 95

12.2 Types 95

12.3 Whole-House Protector Sizing 97

13 Wrap-up 99

PolyPhaser Story 101