It is YOU that “gathers static charge” and “discharges” to earth” by touching the car’s metal frame (Zap!),
Yes Karl, I would agree to the extent, that the body is carrying a different potential to the car's metal bodywork, but this happens with synthetic cloth seats and clothing mainly
the latter beeing “tightened to ground” via the car’s tires, that are not “insulators” anymore as compared to earlier times, when a “ conducting strap” sometimes had been attached to the car frame in order to deplete its static build up to ground as one or the other might remember.
Nowadays, “conductive additives” as part of the tire’s building materials prevent a car itself to charge up.
The black in car tyre rubber used to be high carbon content, which did act as a bit of a conductor to earth, but some tyres today have virtually 0% rubber or carbon, but are long chain polymers derived from oil products (ie plastics/synthetics, as is also used in a crap road surface material SMA - Synthetic Mastic Asphalt - which is causing problems of its own!). Try putting a multimeter across a tyre, that's such one heck of a conductor, I'm surprised it isn't used instead of copper! - overhead high voltage cables are usually high aluminium content - much lighter than copper, a lot less stretchy and almost as efficient a conductor. Anyway, back to the post, in wet weather, you don't get these static build up and violent discharges on cars. You will more often than not notice a zp when it's very dry weather, especially when having driven across a field of dry earth and grass - had one last year at the Great Dorset Steam Fair! Long before plastic static discharge straps were thought up (around the same time as velour and synthetic cloth materials took over the car upholstery world from rexine and leathercloth - I tend to only buy cars with leather seats to avoid the static problems - I remember when a length of drain plug chain would be attached to the exhaust or the vehicle's chassis or bodywork to "earth" it, to prevent car/travel sickness![/quote]
A solution for grounding a Magmount might be a wire, attached to the (metal) outer connector (just at the input of the ANRB) by means of an alligator clip or similar. The lead then attached to a metal part of the car’s frame by another clip. (“Intuition” requested).
This problem doesn't exhibit itself with car radios, so actually maintaining the "earth" side of an RB at the vehicle's potential could well be an effective solution.
I have been involved in endless discussions regarding static problems with ANRB, getting tired finally, to be honest. Now feeling at least somewhat satisfied, that AirNav approaches it
in a serious manner, (beside of “DC Blocks” and other useless “solutions”) even resulting in a modifications of the receiver, that will solve the issue most hopefully.
No-one is twisting your arm to join in this thread, you but must find it of some interest or you wouldn't have!
Following from my comment above, in a domestic house, a proper RF earth would seem to be a good answer, these boxes are being run off totally isolated power supplies, and are not earthed in any way as they come - they have -ve and +ve supplied by the computer, totally isolated electrically, I know I've repeated myself, but it's only just sinking into my dense brain! AN themselves have been putting forward this "static" damage problem - I'd venture to suggest that it is the isolated potential nature of the RB which is causing the trouble and agree that a properly earthed wire to the case will prove to be the solution, be it to an RF ground earth or vehicle's bodywork. Sorry if this seems like wading through treacle,but I've spent the afternoon thinking about it, and the electrically insulated nature of the box (and PCs for that matter) has only just struck me, desktop PC metal cases are earthed to prevent shock (and provide RFI screening), but the power supplies within have no connection to earth.
