[TowerTalk] STEPPIR QUESTION

[Dave - AB7E]

Having just had the induced surge from a lightning strike fry the controller for my PST-61D rotator (blown PC board traces at the connector for the control cable even with surge suppressors across the cable lines), I wonder if a truly isolated system using a few feet of relatively inexpensive plastic fiber optic cable wouldn't be the best approach for control lines.  It wouldn't avoid issues of differential ground voltages since you'd still need power for the actual drivers, but at least it would help keep control line surges out of the controller boxes.  The driver transistors themselves at the antenna end of the fiber optic cable could be socketed for easy replacement.

Just a thought ...

73,
Dave   Ab7E



------Original Mail------
From: "Dan Zimmerman N3OX" <n3ox at n3ox.net>
To: <towertalk at contesting.com>
Sent: Mon, 13 Jul 2009 13:31:04 -0400
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] STEPPIR QUESTION

>
> Is there a way to build an external box with something like opto-isolators
>
to better isolate the driver chips from getting nailed so easily?


Well, you need to build something that can source as much current as the
driver chips.

Wonder what happens if you replace each output with a thousand-volt MOSFET ?

:-)

73
Dan
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