I used to have an ICE model 303 lightning protector which I believe was a gas discharge tube with a toroidal choke in parallel to ground.
I recall the toroidal choke was to continually bleed the electrons from the antenna so there would not be a buildup sufficient to cause damage and to not create a focus for a lightning strike. I may still have it in one of my boxes of Ham Gear still back in the midwest. I also remember my father running a not too terribly long wire outside with a Rf ammeter in series indoors & watching the movement increase as a storm approached. Gary KA1J > > On 2012-11-15, at 3:42 PM, Bruce wrote: > > > Dry blowing snow or high wind can cause quite some voltage build up > > on a antenna, especially a long one. It is possible to draw quite an > > arc to ground. There have been reports of high voltage > > electrocutions from antenna static build up in Short Wave Broadcast > > stations. A short stick was mandatory for maintenance periods. And > > yes, I did work at a shortwave station with 500 KW transmitter > > output. > > > > So receiving antenna wire insulation could have some benefit if the > > voltage on a bare wire is leaking to a tree limb or across an > > insulator. Beyond some point all insulators can fail. > > > > Indoor antennas do hear static, but I have never seen any evidence > > of voltage build up. ( The building may provide adequate > > insulation.) > > > > > > Out of curiosity, has anyone ever really done testing of voltage > > buildup on a insulated antenna wire, VS a non-insulated wire ? > > Indoor antennas VS outdoor antennas of equal size? > > > > > Hi Bruce, > > I am not so sure that the notion of insulated vs. uninsulated wire > holds true in long wire spans... > > Case in point: years ago when I first erected my 1500' long Beverage > antenna here, I was specific in using insulated wire though its entire > course because it runs through a grove of trees at one point. Well, > one day, in the advance of an approaching storm front, I decided to > ground the end of the Beverage in my shack. I could feel a "tingling" > sensation as I man-handled the wire, negotiating my way to the common > ground pipe that I have running the length of the back of my operating > table...imagine my complete & utter shock as I neared the wire to this > same pipe, and managed to induce 1/8" long blue arcs from the pipe to > the wire! > > Since that time---FWIW---I have always had a rugged 2.5 mh. RF choke > clipped between the wire's end where it attaches to the matching > transformer, and ground. In theory this acts as a static drain, I > guess, but does not induce signals to ground. I've heard that a > multi-megohm resistor will do the same thing at this point... > > ~73~ de Eddy VE3CUI - VE3XZ > > _______________________________________________ > Topband reflector - topband@contesting.com > _______________________________________________ Topband reflector - topband@contesting.com