Safety

Lightning

8E1   Recall that limited protection of equipment against the build-up of static charge can be obtained from gas discharge arrestors, spark gaps and bleed resistors.

We know lightning is a very powerful force of nature and that power is shown when lightning flashes occur. We would not like this energy to hit our homes or come down our antenna and destroy all our delicate equipment but this has happened. Just having lightning near by, we can have induced static energy build up in our antennas which can also damage our radio equipment. Some of this energy build-up can be partly discharged with devices called gas discharge arrestors, bleed resistors and spark gaps to get the charge to ground. However this is not a total solution. In a lightening storm, even if only nearby, it is best to switch off all equipment and disconnect your antennas from that equipment so that lightening has no path to the ground.

The origin of some of the text on this page is from the RSGB with additions by the web master