Lightning protection of microwave relay stations

IT IS generally recognized that the exposure of microwave relay stations to lightning is much greater than ordinarily experienced by most other types of communication plant. Relay stations are usually situated on isolated sites where there is no readily available means of grounding such as extensive buried piping systems found in urban areas. Furthermore, the nature of the location, frequently a rocky peak with little ground cover, not only makes it difficult to drive earth electrodes, but such efforts within economical limits usually do not provide an effective low-resistance ground. At an attended switching point, the station may have a drilled well. Frequently, however, such wells do not provide low-resistance grounding and are only useful supplements to other necessary grounding measures which will be discussed later.