Static Electricity discharge into antenna

[ion_op]

Hi,

I accidently discharged some static electricity when I touched my Pro-160's telescoping antenna. I know front-ends are sensitive to this but wonder if the scanner has any front-end protection so I can stop worrying? It appears to be working ok but I've read that the front-end transistor can fail later on.

Tnx,

Mike

 

[ilgrant]

There is some circuitry that will resist static discharge from getting into the radio. Even when a scanner is in a vehicle connected to an external antenna there is some static that is created when the vehicle is in motion. (now you know what the ball is for on top of the antenna...to bleed off static.)

Static discharge failure can happen right away or not show up for years. If the radio is still working then I wouldn't worry too much about it.

 

[DaveIN]

It also depends on how well your antenna system and radio is grounded.

 

[N_Jay]

If a normal static discharge to a normally accessible contact point on a consumer product damages the product, it is a very poor design.

Most products go through extensive ESD testing, just to find and fix these issues.

 

[iMONITOR]

The old SONY ICF-2010 was plagued by this problem. The slightest static discharge to the antenna would blow an FET almost every time! A lot of these were sold way below market value because they became deaf. It's a very inexpensive part, but a little work to get at to replace.