E1 HEMP Tests of Gas Discharge Tube Surge Protectors for HF Radios

Radio transceivers are vulnerable to E1 HEMP by their very nature; they need an antenna to collect radio waves, and so they collect E1 HEMP also. To prevent damage to the radio, especially its receiver front end, antenna-coupled high-level E1 HEMP signals must be prevented from getting to the receiver. Inexpensive gas tube surge protectors are marketed as protection of radios, and here we report on laboratory tests of samples of these for possible use for E1 HEMP protection.