[CQ] Warning regarding kite antennas

[Bruce Perens]

Kite antennas can develop a _tremendous_ electrostatic potential even in 
good weather, the wind is enough to create one. Thus, upon touching the 
wire you can get a _lethal shock_ rather than the just-painful kind you 
get when walking across a carpet.

So, to use them safely you must have a DC ground, as from a ground rod 
driven two or three feet in (shallow enough that you can pull it back 
out at the end of operations), and you must connect the low end of the 
wire to the ground via a large 10K carbon (non-inductive) resistor. The 
value of the resistor is not that important, anything from 5K to 100K 
should work. But it is important to use a large resistor so that it 
doesn't get an arc across it when you transmit.

Correctly installed lightning protection is a good idea. Lightning can 
strike 50 miles from the thunderhead, when you have no idea there's a storm.