[Lowfer] Lightning, for what it's worth...

[Bob Raide]

It has always been my understanding and has worked out well over the years in my BC exploits and ham stuff to keep the ants at ground potential and the use of spark gaps.  In BC service most ant tuning networks consist of a standard "T" network where there are a pair of large caps that are in series and an inductor to ground in between them.  This of course leaves the vert floating above dc ground.  That's the reason for a "drain".  Even with that and a big fat spark gap, damage can sometimes still occur.  It depends upon how steep the "front" wave of the strike is, I have been told.I have seen the center inductor of the T net melted and sagging.  Lightning never getting back to the TX.  Our group which I am part of owns 5 AM's and a big group of FM's.  Over the pasted 30 years I have seen allot of lightning!