Electrostatic Discharge And Lightning Protection - Campbell CR300 Series Product Manual

16.5 Electrostatic discharge and lightning
protection
WARNING:
Lightning strikes may damage or destroy the data logger, associated sensors and power
supplies.
Electrostatic discharge (ESD) can originate from several sources, the most common and
destructive are primary and secondary lightning strikes. Primary lightning strikes hit
instrumentation directly. Secondary strikes induce voltage in power lines or wires connected to
instrumentation. While elaborate, expensive, and nearly infallible lightning protection systems
are on the market, Campbell Scientific, for many years, has employed a simple and inexpensive
design that protects most systems in most circumstances. The system consists of a lightning rod,
metal mast, heavy-gauge ground wire, and ground rod to direct damaging current away from the
data logger. This system, however, is not infallible. The following image displays a typical
application of the system:
16. CR300 series maintenance 111