fiberglass V Metal Antenna which is better for avoiding a lightning strike?

As the title which would be less liable to be struck by lightning when mounted above the roof line.

I feel that fiberglass would be less attractive to the the violent angry sky pixies as the conductor is insulated  but am i misguided in this assumption? 

i did try some googling but did not get very far.

I do also wonder how well fiberglass works long term does the fiberglass break down and make any maintenance a bit scratchy?

Are we talking aerials or poles.
Dyslexic must read twice i missed the antenna in the title lol.

Hi Mike,

The chance of your antenna being struck by lightning is actually way more remote than you'd figure.
(If you search for actual examples you might find the same picture doing the rounds again & again!)

Most examples of radios 'damaged' by lightning strikes are usually from static build up during a storm more than anything else and are usually protected enough to survive such examples. Many still unplug their antennas during a storm just in case though. (When I was repairing radios many moons ago front end damage was usually because they'd transmitted on another radio into or very near it!)

There are examples of people 'earthing' their antenna which will dissipate static build up making a strike less likely but usually with a proper 'lightning arrestor' that has a gapped contact. Even an old spark plug works well in this instance and often utilised by the more miserly of us.

When there is a direct connection to earth you've effectively converted your antenna or rather the pole it's attached to into a lightning rod!

The only close lightning strike I've ever witnessed in all my years was to the telegraph style power poles we have in our village but despite the surrounding houses being higher with TV antennas and the like they weren't hit at all.


If you want definitive proof of which is less likely to be struck by lightning then you'd best put both up and wait to see which gets hit..........you may wait a lifetime and never experience that event.


As for fibreglass antennas there's been recent discussion here :-

Antron 99

The suggestion of varnishing it seems to be well founded.


Hope that helps.

All the best,
Victor

Victor wrote:

Hi Mike,

The chance of your antenna being struck by lightning is actually way more remote than you'd figure.
(If you search for actual examples you might find the same picture doing the rounds again & again!)

Most examples of radios 'damaged' by lightning strikes are usually from static build up during a storm more than anything else and are usually protected enough to survive such examples. Many still unplug their antennas during a storm just in case though. (When I was repairing radios many moons ago front end damage was usually because they'd transmitted on another radio into or very near it!)

There are examples of people 'earthing' their antenna which will dissipate static build up making a strike less likely but usually with a proper 'lightning arrestor' that has a gapped contact. Even an old spark plug works well in this instance and often utilised by the more miserly of us.

When there is a direct connection to earth you've effectively converted your antenna or rather the pole it's attached to into a lightning rod!

The only close lightning strike I've ever witnessed in all my years was to the telegraph style power poles we have in our village but despite the surrounding houses being higher with TV antennas and the like they weren't hit at all.


If you want definitive proof of which is less likely to be struck by lightning then you'd best put both up and wait to see which gets hit..........you may wait a lifetime and never experience that event.


As for fibreglass antennas there's been recent discussion here :-

Antron 99

The suggestion of varnishing it seems to be well founded.


Hope that helps.

All the best,
Victor

 

Haha thanks Victor.

Reminded me of the 1970's when we would switch the TV set off and disconnect the coax during a thunderstorm ️

Also, I was wondering about varnishing my Sirio gainmaster before erecting it.

Now I just need to get my backside into gear and sort it out. 
I haven't been on air for 2 or 3 weeks since I work nights, haven't been away on my days off, and I'm only mobile at the moment so I can't use the car of an evening as I like an alcoholic tipple and it's parked on the road cheers

Lightning will hit whatever it feels like, nothing you can do about it.
Lightning is just trying to find the easiest path to earth does not matter what that path is.
Just do not let it use your house or gear to get there.

Here all my antennas go into a large electrical box on the outside of the shack.
In the box all the ants connect to Alpha Delta arrestors which are mounted on
a thick copper bar made out of lightning rod earth tape, this then goes to an earth
rod via more lightning rod tape.
I still take out the rig connectors when ever I'm not using the gear.

Also all my gear is bonded together and sits on a copper sheet that covers the bench.
All then go to earth rod via 1.5 inch wide copper strip.

Over kill my be but last year we had a very close strike that hit a house two doors away.
My gear survived the near miss but it took out various electronics in that house.

thanks all for the feedback, in my qth there is a degree of paranoia about lightning strikes, all buildings have to have lightning conductors to pass inspection and the regs seem to be updated every few years.

i have had no experience of a fiberglass antenna and was out in the garden for a breath of fresh air today gazing up at the roof and pondering how to sell having an antenna up there and it struck me that one objection could be lightning so was thinking of using the reasoning that as its fiberglass it wont attract it, i am one of the younger residents at 53.... I doubt they would consider the TVI issue as cb is relatively new here.

I was always of the understanding that lightening will strike anywhere regardless of material but more often tall and pointy objects.

And not to take cover under a tree

Sharpshooter wrote:

And not to take cover under a tree

I was told not to stand under a tree when I was younger too.

Then things like YouTube came out showing golfers and football plays, in the open, being knocked out by lightning.

So being in the open is dangerous and being under a tree is dangerous.

Time to find a hole in the ground then

Sorry, for going off topic a bit.

Here, don't forget "indirect" lightning strikes by ground current Ray....

These occur when lightning strikes an object or the ground and the electricity travels through the ground until it encounters another object.

That object could well be you down that hole!


Besides, the odds in the UK of being struck by lightning are something like 1 in 1.2 million with around 1 in 19 million chances of dying from it.

Being static electricity it will pass through just about anything, even when it
hits earth it still makes a mess of the ground.

When I used to cycle to work it was normally over the Downs here.
At 600feet or so and not much cover I was often caught in thunderstorms.

Riding up the tracks and seeing lighting hit the ground not more than 50metres
away is quite an eye opener.
I never would shelter under a tree but just kept going and if it hits it's just unlucky.
Anyway, appears I got away with it.  

Mercphobia in that picture i think lol.