"Robert11" wrote
is it better to just leave the now "floating" antenna alone,
or is it better to ground one end of it ?
______________

In anticipation of a thunder storm just leave it floating. Not that it
will prevent a direct lightning strike but it MIGHT prevent damage to
equipment and, more important, to yourself.

But it is advisable not to attempt to disconnect it using bare fingers
during the progress of a thunder storm. I am a little superstitious
so I use the XYL's rubber kitchen gloves.

There's only one thing you can be absolutely certain of - lightning
exactly obeys the Mathematical Laws of Probability.

See the works of Sir Ronald Arthur Fisher, the greatest statistician
of all time. Beautifully explained in plain English. He dabbled mainly
in Genetics, Agriculture, the Weather, and the mathematics thereof.
But I'm not aware of anything specifically he had to say about the
statistics of lightning strikes. You will have to work things out for
yourself. In all probability nothing seriously will happen to YOU. So
don't worry about it.

Just DON'T fly kites using 1/2-wavelength metal wires during thunder
storms. Not even on the 10m band. Or shelter from the rain under
solitary trees. It's asking for trouble but you probably won't get
any.

As for me, I'm 80 years of age, and I'm still alive. I've never won
the national lottery. But perhaps that can be explained by the fact
that I've never entered it.

I hope the foregoing has helped to set your mind at rest.
----
Reg, G4FGQ
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