Static Bleeder**Update**

[Dave K6XYZ]

Something woke me up in the middle of the night...sounded like a snapping electrical arc.
I tracked it down to my Ranger.
I disconnected the antenna and got the living gravy shocked out of me.

Well....that was 1960.

Last week I heard some lightening static on the receiver so I disconnected the antenna again...carefully....and grounded it.
Then I went straight to the computer and ordered an Array Solutions static bleeder.
I got it together today and am gonna install it tomorrow.
The outside pipe is 2" I/D.
The end caps have #6 breather holes.
Use socket head screws....I didn't and it was harder to tighten it all up.
I used Penetrox too.

Nothing really new here but considering it took me 50 years to do this, I hope others will be more prompt.
Don't go to an airport with this thing in your backpack!

[w3jn]

Nice work, Dave!

It's always best to disconnect the antenna completely when the station's not in use.  My tuna (a HB K1JJ style, made with an edgewound BC xmitter tank coil and a 7.5KV vac variable) will arc over due to snow static.  The secondary side is completely DC isolated from ground.  I solved that one with some high-ohm HV resistors from each of the balanced outputs to ground.  The resistors don't let the static build to the point where there's arc-over. 

[ke7trp]

Good job.    Here is mine for my open wire line.

C

[Jim WB5WPA]

" ...sounded like a snapping electrical arc.
....
I disconnected the antenna and got the living gravy shocked out of me."

Happened to me on a OCFD (windom) fed with twinlead  4 decades ago or so ... promptly tossed the twinlead out the basement window as I wanted _no_ part of that near me or my gear! Gained a new appreciation for what mother nature could dish out given that experience ...

[Dave K6XYZ]

Good job.    Here is mine for my open wire line.

C

Oh yeah!
Nice job!

[KM1H]

Is there any reason to not use a regular piewound low current 1 MH or similar RFC? I did that decades ago to a 4el 40M KLM which used an balanced 2el driven element. The freebie junkbox solution worked well until I took the antennas down and similar are used on the 2el CC clones. They measure around 25 Ohms.

The Navy used spark gaps and neon bulbs to bleed off close coupled TX power and lightning.

Carl

[ke7trp]

Probably not Carl.  My Elmer used Various plate chokes in all of his Static bleeders.  Plate, choke inside of old metal coffee can or metal box with two SO239s and a Ground lug on the side. 

Lots of us have tried this with our Modern transcievers.  I had a project box with connectors on it already so this took me about 5 minutes to complete.

http://www.oh7ug.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=344:static-charge-bleeder&catid=2:general

c