[Elecraft] [OT] Grounding Antenna when not in use

[Nick-WA5BDU]

My antennas come in to one manual selector switch, which connects the 
selected antenna to a second selector switch, which then connects that 
to the desired rig.  Both switches ground unselected inputs.

Since the K3 is switched to ANT1 when powered down, I keep my Cantenna 
connected to the ANT1 input and I use ANT2, which connects to that 
second selector switch.  The K3 remembers that I like ANT2 when I power 
up, so that's no hassle.  If I "accidentally" transmit into ANT1, 
there's a dummy load there.  So I have some level of protection even if 
I forget to rotate both switches to ground or unused inputs when not 
operating.  I usually do remember though, since I also lost my SWR / 
power measuring diodes to a nearby lightning strike, so I've got several 
levels of protection.  I admit this isn't as good as disconnecting coax, 
but I'd never get on the air if I had to go through all of that every 
time I turned on the rig. 

Some guys disconnect everything and throw it outside, seal the rig in 
the original shipping carton, sacrifice a goat and pray a novena when 
thunder approaches, but I can't go that far.  I think my next logical 
step would be to have the AC plug for my K3's power supply handy at 
desktop level so I can easily pull it when I'm going to be away from the 
rig for a while.  This in response to what W8JI said about the mains 
connection being the primary path for damage.

73-Nick, WA5BDU

.hank. wrote:
> Chuck .....
> Like you, I have never had to disconnect any radios in the past from the
> antenna - except during severe thunder storms.
> About a year ago when the SWR SMT diodes went bad in my K3, I admitted to K3
> support that I did not remove the coax from the back of the K3 but I
> grounded the Six Pak switch connections out in the garage.