Static, lightning and scanners.

[Mike Alpha]

A friend has had a Stridsberg MCA208 multicoupler get zapped by static build up during the last few electrical storms we've had in Sydney.

The first time it happened a few months ago he said there was a nearby lightning strike and afterwards he noticed all his scanners went silent. He worked out it was the multicoupler. I pulled it apart and found the small RF amp (Mini-Circuits ERA-4XSM) was not passing the RF signal from the antenna input to the splitters. I replaced it and all was good.

Just this week it happened again. Same thing, the RF amp was fried during the electrical storm. I'm assuming it's all the static build up that is zapping the amp.

Stridsberg have lightning arrestors built into their multicouplers but I think my friend doesn't have a path to earth on the metal case. He uses un-earthed plug packs to power the scanners and the multicoupler and I don't think the antenna is masted to ground either.

I use Stridsberg multicouplers and have never had this issue. I checked my scanners and multicouplers and the metal cases have continuity with the household earth connection.

So he is now getting an electrician to make sure the household earth wiring is grounded outside and he is connecting a separate lightning arrestor to the antenna input.

Mike

[col05_au]

When he earths things properly he may find an improvement in his SNR too.