Topband: Beverage antenna static discharge

Missouri Guy, N0TT n0tt1 at juno.com
Mon Nov 22 11:17:03 EST 2004


> Are there other things 
> I
> can do do bleed off static buildup?  

Hi Dave,

The 500 ohms worth of resistance is all you will ever need to
bleed off any normal static charges from your Beverage antenna.  
In case of nearby lightning strikes an RF choke will have far 
too much inductance to protect the transformers, etc.  

The NE-2's do work, however you'll want to occasionally 
inspect them for damage.  Also, NE-2's and other "gas tubes"
take time to "fire" and fully conduct, so anything that is connected
across the device will have almost no protection at all for
a short while.  To increase the protection, place a small inductor
between whatever you are trying to protect and the antenna,
with the NE-2 on the "hot side" of the small inductor.  Just a
few microHenrys will do for the inductor (e.g, some enamel 
wire wound on a soda straw).  
To  crudely illustrate:

---antenna------////sm inductor////----xfmr, etc
                      |
                     0  ne-2 or gas tube
                      |
                 ====  ground

Hope that helps.

73,
Charlie
N0TT

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