Hello The Net: At one time the ICE lightning arrestors did not pass DC, so DC on the coax center conductor will be blocked and will not get to the preamplifier, up front at the antenna element.
Other lightning arrestors are simply a 50 ohm coaxial line with a gas discharge tube between the center conductor and the outer shield. With an over voltage condition, the gas discharge element conducts and shunts the voltage to ground. When the transient over voltage disappears, the gas discharge element stops conducting and operation is back to normal. For low level rain/precipitation static, the gas discharge tube will not shunt the noise to ground. Lightning can blow up a gas discharge element, So a periodic inspection serves a purpose. These gas discharge elements can be spec'd for RX only, with a lower conduction voltage or much higher to run lotsa RF power, as with a transmitter. Looks like disposal of the gas discharge element is controlled in Germany, as are smoke detectors. But like smoke detectors, here in America, these small radioactive wastes are handled like household trash. Maybe some municipalities have regulations. Be sure to understand if your lightning protector will pass DC or not, and is suitable for your frequency range. Stan, W1LE FN41sr Cape Cod ZZZZz _______________________________________________ time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there.