Topband: spark gap construction ideas for 160m tower

[donroden at hiwaay.net]

If you gap a pair of spheres .... graphite, brass, or stainless  
steel... typically the thickness of a credit card for a 1/4 wave  
broadcast tower at 1KW carrier / 4KW peak; unless you shield the gap,  
water WILL bridge the gap either side-by-side or stacked vertically.    
Rain drops are typically pure distilled water,  but if the water runs  
down a galvanized tower, all bets are off.    Make a rain shield out  
of a plastic Coke or Pepsi bottle  and replace a couple of times a  
year as you inspect all of your connections.

Don ( still doing Broadcast AMs after all these years ) W4DNR



Quoting Jim Thomson <jim.thom at telus.net>:

>> ##  Place  a plastic  cover  above  any  outdoor spark  gap.   Any
> bugs  will  be  fried.
>
> Jim   VE7RF