[time-nuts] GPS antenna selection — lightning

[Hank Riley]

>From UL "Lightning Protection (2016):

"When we look at a Lightning Protection System in its most elementary form, it is quite simple. An air terminal(s) to attract and catch a lightning strike, a low resistance conducting cable that connects the air terminal to the earth using a conducting electrode and provide a pathway to dissipate the high energy into the earth. This system provides protection for the structure."
http://www.ul.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/LightningProtectionAG.pdf
So plain lightning rods do not operate to prevent strikes.

The notion that even various exotic spiny gizmos being marketed by a handful of companies, can, by dissipating charges or by other mechanisms, minimize or prevent lightning strikes to structures where they're installed has been discredited.  Or, to be conservative, the manufacturers' claims of lightning-prevention-by-charge dissipation devices have not been supported by real world tests.
There is a wealth of research in the literature on the subject of "unconventional methods" of lightning protection; this article from the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society is a nice treatment and survey with many technical references.
http://www.lightningsafety.com/nlsi_lhm/Uman_Rakov.pdf
Hank