What Lightning Protection product should be used with a Random Wire
setup.

Looking at the Zap Trapper.
I do realized that a direct hit will not save anything though.

Brian

wrote:

What Lightning Protection product should be used with a Random Wire
setup.

Looking at the Zap Trapper.
I do realized that a direct hit will not save anything though.

Brian

Most of what you'll be protecting againset is static (from wind, snow,
sandstorms, rain) and induced EMF (near-miss lightning). Direct
strikes CAN be protected against, but ya gotta be careful and you
gotta not shortcut anywhere. This includes in the money department.

You are protecting a system -- not only an antenna, but also a
feed-line and radio. How you protect a random wire directly connected
to a portable radio is *very* different from how you protect a
receiver plugged into the wall going to a transformer ("Balun") and
feedline.

So, what is the radio, and how is the antenna connected to it?

At a minimum, handling static and most induced EMF can be done with
something a simple as an NE-2 neon bulb between a good RF ground and
the antenna. A far better solution is to use a ceramic gas tube made
for the purpose.

Handling more requires more effort. For example, a radio plugged into
the wall should have an integrated RF and power solution, such as can
be provided by companies such as Polyphaser. At a cost. Now I have
several thousand dollars in radios so investing that much in a system
is no biggie to me... but if you have an Eton, you probably want to go
on the cheap.

So, back to you: What what kind of feed line, if any, what kind of
radio?

--
Eric F. Richards

"This book reads like a headache on paper."
http://www.cnn.com/2001/CAREER/readi...one/index.html

Eric F. Richards wrote:
wrote:

What Lightning Protection product should be used with a Random Wire
setup.

Looking at the Zap Trapper.
I do realized that a direct hit will not save anything though.

Brian

Most of what you'll be protecting againset is static (from wind, snow,
sandstorms, rain) and induced EMF (near-miss lightning). Direct
strikes CAN be protected against, but ya gotta be careful and you
gotta not shortcut anywhere. This includes in the money department.

You are protecting a system -- not only an antenna, but also a
feed-line and radio. How you protect a random wire directly connected
to a portable radio is *very* different from how you protect a
receiver plugged into the wall going to a transformer ("Balun") and
feedline.

So, what is the radio, and how is the antenna connected to it?

At a minimum, handling static and most induced EMF can be done with
something a simple as an NE-2 neon bulb between a good RF ground and
the antenna. A far better solution is to use a ceramic gas tube made
for the purpose.

Handling more requires more effort. For example, a radio plugged into
the wall should have an integrated RF and power solution, such as can
be provided by companies such as Polyphaser. At a cost. Now I have
several thousand dollars in radios so investing that much in a system
is no biggie to me... but if you have an Eton, you probably want to go
on the cheap.

So, back to you: What what kind of feed line, if any, what kind of
radio?

--
Eric F. Richards

"This book reads like a headache on paper."
http://www.cnn.com/2001/CAREER/readi...one/index.html

Definitely NOT thousands..

My setup is shaping up like this...

100 ft random, far end feed, into a 10:1 balum located at the far end
attached to a ground rod, balum feeds into coax which is buried for
125ft to a ground block connected to a second ground rod then into the
house to a Realistic DX-160 receiver.
Am looking at installing the lightning protection at the far end.

Brian

wrote:
Definitely NOT thousands..

My setup is shaping up like this...

100 ft random, far end feed, into a 10:1 balum located at the far end
attached to a ground rod, balum feeds into coax which is buried for
125ft to a ground block connected to a second ground rod then into the
house to a Realistic DX-160 receiver.
Am looking at installing the lightning protection at the far end.

Brian

Well, the "balun" will bleed off the static accumulating on the
antenna from wind, etc. But induced EMF will still be a problem.

I'd suggest getting a gas tube and putting it across the hi-Z (wire)
end of the "balun." The place for a "Zap Trapper" or equivalent would
be right behind the radio.

A better choice would be a supressor from Polyphaser (probably about
$70) or I.C.E. (probably about half that).

I.C.E. seems to move around a bit. Someone else should provide the
location since I haven't bought anything from them in a while and last
time I did, Google returned old and new locations.

As for a direct strike? Well, if you get one, without a full solution
-- probably about $400 -- you'll lose the radio, but this vastly
increases the odds of keeping the place to live!

Eric

--
Eric F. Richards

"Nature abhors a vacuum tube." -- Myron Glass,
often attributed to J. R. Pierce, Bell Labs, c. 1940