[Antennas] static discharge from antenna

[Eric Lemmon]

Les,

I have a lot more experience with controlling ESD than I do with long-wire
antennas, but I'll give it a shot.

My gut feeling is that a high value resistor at each end of the antenna will
bleed off a static charge with minimal effect on the RF qualities.  An RF
choke will likely detune the antenna, due to its reactivity.  Resistors in
the range of 100K to 500K ohms are usually adequate to drain off static
charges, but have no reactivity at RF, so they should not change the
impedance appreciably.  This technique was used on ship wireless systems of
times past, when a long-wire antenna ran nearly the length of the ship

It might be prudent to experiment with different values of resistance.  I
suggest using a low-noise resistor in this application, preferably a
non-inductive type made of sputtered metal film.

73, Eric Lemmon WB6FLY

Les Severson wrote:

> Hi Wirehangers,
> I'm using a 280' balanced center fed zepp,  fed with 450 ohm ladder
> line.
> This much wire up in the air likes to collect a large amount of static
> emf
> when conditions are right..... especially in the winter when snow blows
> across the wire...
> A real problem on the windy plains of W. Mn.
> I can hear a "tic tic tic" in the tuner and it can give off a nice jolt
> if
> touched.  I've been forced to qrt and ground the antenna during these
> condx.  Just when a guy would want to curl up around a warm rig..
> Question:   Could I use an RF choke to ground on each leg where it comes
> into the shack  to eliminate this annoyance?   It seems logical that
> this could work if the chokes
> were hefty enough to handle the discharge.
>
> Just wondering....  Winter is coming   :-(      Tnx & 73,  Les,  W�OJH
>
> - - -
>
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