BFW
Installation Guide
AN-30e & AN-50e Systems
3.4
Lightning Protection Recommendations
WARNING: The following are general recommendations for system installation. The
AN-30e/AN-50e systems must be installed by a qualified professional installer and
follow local and national codes for electrical grounding and safety. Failure to meet
safety requirements and/or use of non-standard practices and procedures could
result in personal injury and damage to equipment. A direct lightning hit may cause
serious damage or injury even if these guidelines are followed for the system.
All outdoor wireless equipment is susceptible to lightning damage. Lightning
protection and grounding practices per the local and national electrical codes serve
to minimize possible equipment damage, service outages, and serious injury. The
two main reasons for these damages can be summarized as follows:
1. Tower/Antenna sites are not grounded properly and as a result could conduct
high lightning strike energy.
2. Lack of installed lightning protection equipment could cause equipment
failures from lightning induced currents.
The grounding system must provide a low-impedance path to ground for the
lightning induced current. A loose ground connection is a tremendous source of
noise that can cause sensitive equipment to malfunction.
Figure 14:
Lightning Protection Connection Diagram
The tower grounding system disperses most of the surge energy from a tower
strike away from the building and equipment. The remaining energy on the IF
70-00042-01-02
Proprietary Redline Communications © 2005
August
2005
Page 21 of 34
