Random Wire Antenna
Homebrew lightning arrestor:
How to make it
Drill a hole in the bottom and in the lid of a 2-1/2" long by 1-1/4" dia. pill bottle. File
the ends of two 3" #20 machine bolts into a sharp point. Then lock them in place on each end of the
pill box with double nuts. Adjust the gap to about 1/4".
Strip about 3/4" of #14 copper stranded wire and loop it under the outside nut. Do this on
both ends. The wires should connect to the antenna lead-in on one side and the ground lead wire on
the other side.
Seal around the lid and connections with clear silicone caulking to make the unit water
tight.
How it works
Electrical field intensity is a function of the amount of voltage divided by the surface area
over which it acts. The diameter of the tip of the screws when filed down is quite small, so the
surface area is quite small. Since field intensity is greater for a smaller area, it will take a
relatively small voltage to raise the field intensity inside the pill bottle to the point where the
air across the gap will ionize.
Once the air has ionized, it becomes a conductor; that is, a short circuit, and will bypass
the static charges to ground.
Contact me