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
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
>
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questions and ask for Sherman, W2FLA.
>
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_______________________________________________
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.
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