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Topband: Lightning protectors

To: <topband@contesting.com>
Subject: Topband: Lightning protectors
From: Rick Stealey <rstealey@hotmail.com>
Date: Sat, 14 Jun 2008 01:51:24 +0000
List-post: <topband@contesting.com">mailto:topband@contesting.com>
The subject of lightning protectors on the 4 square system that has been going 
on today (some great work, Guys) has me wondering about the design of them.  A 
Polyphasor lightning protector has a blocking cap, and a gas tube (plus a box, 
and a couple coax connectors).  Presumeably there are gas tubes that fire at 
different  voltages, and thats why the arrestors are spec'd at  different power 
levels. 
But why are there HF, and VHF protectors?  Is it just because the HF capacitors 
are not efficient at VHF, because of inherent inductance?  
I have a couple VHF protectors, and see them on ebay much more often than the 
HF protectors.  Is there any reason I should not be able to take a VHF 
protector and put in an .01 cap and use it on HF.  I mean.... the lightning 
doesn't know or care what the label on the protector says, does it?  (there is 
no such thing as a vhf or an hv gas tube, is there?)
I've never seen a construction article on "build your own lightning arrestor,"  
And I wonder what's the big deal?  I'd like to take an aluminum box, put a 
bunch of SO239 connectors on it, some caps, and some gas tubes, and integrate 
it all together.  The heck with this $65 per lightning arrestor stuff.  Anyone 
have any knowledge on this subject?

Rick  K2XT



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