Re: Questions - perhaps stupid ones - regarding Polyphaser Protectors
- From: Eric F. Richards <efricha@xxxxxxx>
- Date: Fri, 20 Jan 2006 20:35:14 -0700
Well, the thing is that a true lightning mitigation system is just
that -- a system, with multiple parts working together.
Ideally, in a perfect world, you'll use something called a ground
window -- a copper plate -- to mount that suppressor on. You'll also
mount a supressor for your power source (if it isn't an isolated
battery) and any other wire going into the device (radio) or devices
(associated computers, for example) you want protected. ANY wire
going to the outside world goes through some suppressor mounted on the
ground window. The ground window is tied to your home safety ground
(via the three prong cord on the power-line supressor) and to your
grounding rod system (via a flat copper strap from the ground window
to rods and/or radials).
Sound complex? It is. But if you have expensive radios, you want to
build to this level of protection: What do you lose if your radio,
computer, etc, all get nailed by a strike?
BUT... you can build it up gradually as you get a budget. Certainly
the Polyphasor suppressor is going to do as well or better than Brand
X, by itself. But, by itself, it's not a complete solution.
....as for the second question, that's much easier: The suppressors
block DC from passing through. Some people use that for antenna
control signals or for preamps. That's much more common in, say, a
satellite TV system or a GPS antenna, though.
Hope this is helpful...
"junius" <junjunius@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> Okay, so quite a few folks here have heaped praise on Polyphaser's
> lightning protection devices, so I decided to have a look see at their
> website. My interest in such devices is limited exclusively to
> receive-only applications. I have a few questions which I hope that
> someone here might be able to help me out on:
>
> First off, up to now, the lightning protection units I've used were of
> the variety that I would simply connect a grounding wire to the device.
> Looking at the Polyphaser website, I'm seeing it specified that
> Polyphaser's IS-50 units "should be mounted to a bracket or a flat
> single point grounding panel." So, is it really required that these
> units be "mounted" to something? Optimally, maybe I should have one,
> but I'm afraid I don't have a "grounding panel" as such. Is it
> inadequate simply to have a grounding wire connected to the device, as
> might be done with a Transitrap or Zap Trapper unit?
>
> Secondly, what exactly do they mean when it is stated that "This unit
> is used primary on HF, UHF, and VHF radios that do not use a DC
> voltage." Is this something pertaining specifically to ham
> applications?
>
> Thirdly, what are the differences between the IS-50 series and the B50
> series. (I guess this gets into this mounting issue again?).
>
> Thanks in advance for any help on these questions,
>
> Junius
--
Eric F. Richards
efricha@xxxxxxx
"Nature abhors a vacuum tube." -- Myron Glass,
often attributed to J. R. Pierce, Bell Labs, c. 1940
.
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