"Cecil Moore" wrote in message
...
JB wrote:
It is usually very dry when it snows but it can do that with rain too.
The
charge builds up as it falls and snaps when striking the antenna
elements.
Smog and dust can do the same thing and we hear that when it is very dry
and
the wind blows even on weak and long path FM signals.

During an Arizona dust storm, the charged-dust-particles
transferred their charges to my G5RV and the disconnected
coax connector laying on the floor arced with such intensity
that it caused my shag rug to smoke. :-( It was previously
arcing across the coax terminal on my IC-745 but apparently
didn't cause any damage with the power off. I can imagine
what it would have sounded like if I had turned on the power.

Navy ships use whip antennas for HF receive and these are prone to build up
static charges unless something is done. The usual solution is a 50K-ohm
resistor to ground near the base of the whip, enclosed in what's called a
termination box, where coaxial cable is interfaced to the whip. The
resistor is usually termed electrostatic discharge protection, or simply the
"static drain resistor."