[AMRadio] ground sticks again

[W4AWM at aol.com]

In a message dated 6/5/2006 0:25:48 AM Eastern Daylight Time, 
k4kyv at hotmail.com writes:

> it can ruin the capacitors with excessive 
> instantaneous current surges.  Better to first discharge through a  
> resistance to limit the discharging current, then apply the "coup de grace" 
> by shorting  directly.
> 

How do you intend to handle the resistor while doing the discharging? You are 
still going to need a shorting stick. If the initial charge opens the 
resistor, tyou are still going to have a huge discharge when tou roun the cap 
directly.  It is much better to take the slight chance of discharging the cap the 
direct way than messing around with some Rube Goldberg resistor arrangement. If 
the Great Electron Gods had intended for capacitors to be discharged through a 
resistor (other than a bleeder) before working on a circuit, them he would 
have made discharge sticks with built in resistors. I have never seen one, have 
you?

Transmitting caps are not that hard to find, not that expensive.  You can 
find them at nearly every hamfest. At the Manassas, VA hamfest yesterday, there 
were 2 large piles of them at one vendor in the flea market and he would almost 
pay you to take them home.

73,

John,  W4AWM