lightning and computers

[Lloyd Smale]

every see the ground grid put down around a cell tower? It sure isn't one or two 6 foot ground rods like you have for a typical home. I did my own for my home and have 8 ground rods and don't believe they would come close to handling a direct hit of lightning. By the way we installed power to a cell tower while I was working and a few months after it was built it took a hit of lighting and it fried almost all there electronics. Blew the fuse in our transformer and required us installing a new service to the tower. About the only thing that wasn't damaged was the tower and antenna and our transformer. A few years before that our local direct tv company had a main dish up high on a hill near town that took a hit and did the same. That time though it not only took out our service but our transformer too along with all of there gear. Mary I respect your knowledge on a number of things but I spent my life in the outside electrical world and saw what lightning can do. It sounds like your set up is better then most. Sounds like you put a lot of thought into it but don't think you have a step up on mother nature because ive seen her beat the best of equipment and engineers

Even high voltage transmission towers not hit by lightning can be scary. To work 365kv towers we had to wear a suit with steel fibers in it that put us at the same potential as the tower to prevent static shock that alone can kill. Once you get about half way up the tower Your hair stands up and even with the suit you get arcs off of tools ect to the tower. Keep in mind that those towers each have there own ground grid not just a ground rod and still have a static charge like that. Ive never worked 500kv or 765kv towers and to be truthful sure don't want to. Ever watch them worked by helicopter when the lineman on a platform has to slap a wire on to the conductor that puts the chopper in the same potential as the line because if they didn't just the static charge would kill the lineman .

Now take that 365kv or even 765k voltage and increase it to a billion. Those towers cant even bleed off all the static at those voltage levels let alone if a wire comes off the insulator and hits the pole. Unless you've seen it you cant imagine the power even 69kv lines have and that compared to lightning is like comparing an ant to a t-rex.

Cell/TV/Radio towers take direct hits all the time and the surge suppressors stop it, this is a common spec on some: Max Surge 20 kA 8/20μs Waveform https://www.polyphaser.com/products/...on/is-b50hn-c2 They also make an 8MS EMP version(what I use on the back of the radios) with the other protector out in the grounding box so there is a double layer of protection.

[Lloyd Smale]

this is a sub station lightning arrestor. You have something like that? Along with a 10000 square foot ground grid (small substation) You think theyd spend that kind of money if a 500 dollar lightning arrestor and a couple ground rods would take care of it?

[MaryB]

every see the ground grid put down around a cell tower? It sure isn't one or two 6 foot ground rods like you have for a typical home. I did my own for my home and have 8 ground rods and don't believe they would come close to handling a direct hit of lightning. By the way we installed power to a cell tower while I was working and a few months after it was built it took a hit of lighting and it fried almost all there electronics. Blew the fuse in our transformer and required us installing a new service to the tower. About the only thing that wasn't damaged was the tower and antenna and our transformer. A few years before that our local direct tv company had a main dish up high on a hill near town that took a hit and did the same. That time though it not only took out our service but our transformer too along with all of there gear. Mary I respect your knowledge on a number of things but I spent my life in the outside electrical world and saw what lightning can do. It sounds like your set up is better then most. Sounds like you put a lot of thought into it but don't think you have a step up on mother nature because ive seen her beat the best of equipment and engineers

Even high voltage transmission towers not hit by lightning can be scary. To work 365kv towers we had to wear a suit with steel fibers in it that put us at the same potential as the tower to prevent static shock that alone can kill. Once you get about half way up the tower Your hair stands up and even with the suit you get arcs off of tools ect to the tower. Keep in mind that those towers each have there own ground grid not just a ground rod and still have a static charge like that. Ive never worked 500kv or 765kv towers and to be truthful sure don't want to. Ever watch them worked by helicopter when the lineman on a platform has to slap a wire on to the conductor that puts the chopper in the same potential as the line because if they didn't just the static charge would kill the lineman .

Now take that 365kv or even 765k voltage and increase it to a billion. Those towers cant even bleed off all the static at those voltage levels let alone if a wire comes off the insulator and hits the pole. Unless you've seen it you cant imagine the power even 69kv lines have and that compared to lightning is like comparing an ant to a t-rex.

8 rods in an x pattern and 16 surface ground wires off each that run halfway to the next rod or as far as I can the other direction... I have a pretty big ground screen down! Needed for 1 of the antennas. Over 5000 feet of #14 wire...

[David2011]

Someone I knew, a carpenter by trade, built a house and chose to put paneling up in all of the rooms without putting up sheetrock. Lightning struck the house and it was burned in about 5 minutes. Occupants and dogs survived but the house was a total loss. The replacement had sheetrock.