Yes, and .. as I recall from the inquiring mind I had in my youth ... they
went from the metal chain, which created magnificent sparks .. which could
.. well, you get the scenario .. to a "belt" ... actually a rubberized belt
with metal wires in it. Somebody who knows, help us out here! Mark ..
AA6DX
----- Original Message -----
From: "Barrie Smith" <barrie@centric.net>
To: "Carl007" <Carl007@comcast.net>; <Towertalk@contesting.com>
Sent: Sunday, March 21, 2004 12:20 PM
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] Static grounding protection-experience
| Many decades ago, as well, I recall that the fuel tankers had a rather
large
| metal chain attached to the truck frame that drug on the ground as they
| drove.
|
| Barrie, W7ALW
|
|
| ----- Original Message -----
| From: "Carl007" <Carl007@comcast.net>
| To: <Towertalk@contesting.com>
| Sent: Sunday, March 21, 2004 12:45 PM
| Subject: RE: [TowerTalk] Static grounding protection-experience
|
|
| > To [TowerTalk] all:
| >
| > I recall when I was in high school (several decades ago) when people put
| > a 'leather strap' on their rear bumper that dragged on the ground.
| >
| > It was said that this would do two things:
| >
| > 1) It would reduce the static on the radio-Am radios.
| > 2) Prevent police radar from detecting your actual speed.
| >
| > The secret "word" was that this worked because a car does not have a
| > ground because of the rubber tires and this leather strap provided a
| > ground return for static and police radar signals to drain.
| >
| > I was not yet a Ham but I was a home brew electronics experimenter.
| >
| > It was unbelievable to me but the reasoning seemed logical. I doubted it
| > would work from the very beginning because I knew leather was an
| > insulator and that a good ground had to be made out of metal and be
| > connected below the tarmac or concrete road. Nevertheless, because of
| > all the testimonials, I was caught up with it too.
| >
| > I began diving around with a leather strap on my car to be "cool" like
| > my peers. Later on I learned from my younger brother that many of his
| > friends put old leather (leather belt) straps on their cars too. He
| > said he told them it worked because his older brother (me) was doing it
| > and I must know it works because I was the president of our high school
| > radio club and that I knew a lot about electronics.
| > The fad eventually died a natural death as the straps wore out and no
| > one replaced them. I even recall seeing dozens of over the road
| > truckers with long leather straps dragging behind them too. Surely, they
| > drive for a living and they must know something that I don't know. Of
| > course, we knew that fuel tankers attach a metallic 'ground strap' to
| > their vehicle when they are refilling underground tanks. This is done to
| > drain static charges that may exist between the tanker and the
| > underground tank, thus, avoiding a dangerous spark.
| >
| > Carl, NW8Z
| >
| >
| >
| > _______________________________________________
| >
| > See: http://www.mscomputer.com for "Self Supporting Towers", "Wireless
| Weather Stations", and lot's more. Call Toll Free, 1-800-333-9041 with
any
| questions and ask for Sherman, W2FLA.
| >
| > _______________________________________________
| > TowerTalk mailing list
| > TowerTalk@contesting.com
| > http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/towertalk
| > ---
| > [This E-mail scanned for viruses by CENTRIC INTERNET SERVICES]
| >
| >
|
|
| ---
| [This E-mail scanned for viruses by CENTRIC INTERNET SERVICES]
|
| _______________________________________________
|
| See: http://www.mscomputer.com for "Self Supporting Towers", "Wireless
Weather Stations", and lot's more. Call Toll Free, 1-800-333-9041 with any
questions and ask for Sherman, W2FLA.
|
| _______________________________________________
| TowerTalk mailing list
| TowerTalk@contesting.com
| http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/towertalk
|
_______________________________________________
See: http://www.mscomputer.com for "Self Supporting Towers", "Wireless Weather
Stations", and lot's more. Call Toll Free, 1-800-333-9041 with any questions
and ask for Sherman, W2FLA.
_______________________________________________
TowerTalk mailing list
TowerTalk@contesting.com
http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/towertalk
|