On Mar 16, 5:37�am, "Dave" wrote:
I saw somewhere that you could use an NE-2 bulb between the antenna "hot"
lead and ground as a static discharge device for a receiver, but can't find
an NE-2 and don't know anything about neon bulbs. *Anybody know if a
standard neon bulb rated at 125 VAC could be used in this manner? *Or how I
could test it? *I'm thinking about charging up a 50V electrolytic capacitor
and hitting the bulb with that, to see if it discharges the cap. *I have *a
.22uF 630V mylar cap between the antenna and the input to the tuner because
the 35V disc I had there got blown, so I know that static can be a problem
with my setup even though it is grounded at two points.
Would welcome any ideas anyone has on how to make this work...

Back in the pre-history of most folks here (like 1940), the old
ARC-5 Command Set Receivers for HF had little neon bulbs
connected in parallel to the high-impedance antenna input.
Being IN aircraft that naturally developed some static
electricity charges on their wire antennas, the bulbs' kept
the static charges from accumulating beyond the (approx)
70 volt bulb breakdown. It was a rudimentary noise
reduction scheme back then.

For receiving or transmitting, a simple 1:1 (or any other
ratio) balun will both DC-ground the antenna and offer
DC isolation between antenna and feedline. Any static
that tries to accumulate on the antenna is quickly
drained away by the DC path to ground.

A 1K to 10K half- to 2-watt resistor at a receiver antenna
input shunted across it will serve to drain away static
electricity charges without seriously changing the antenna
impedance. For a balanced antenna input (like 300 Ohm
line common with TV and FM BC receivers), just use two
of them with the common point to ground.

Static electricity build-up is common on insulated long-
wire antennas in locations with lots of thunderstorm
activity (where I grew up in Illinois, for example). By
itself it could, possibly, pose a danger (certainly a very
rude shock). A continuous drain-away device such as
a balun (preferred) or a resistor will lessen that.

Above all - especially in thunderstorm locations - USE A
LIGHTNING ARRESTER ON ANTENNAS!

73, Len AF6AY