Test Procedures for Shipboard Transient Protective Devices (TPD's)

The objective of this study was to develop the laboratory test procedures required to determine the effect of hf and vhf, shipboard-antenna transient protective devices (TPD), on the normal operational performance of hf and vhf communication systems. This is essentially a compatibility test-procedure development program. A significant portion of the energy released during a nuclear detonation appears as an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) having spectral components at the same frequencies as those employed by many military communication and other electronic systems. Protection of these systems against this potentially destructive and/or disruptive effect is required to ensure mission capability during and after a critical period. The objective of this report is to document how to determine that a protective device is compatible with system requirements and that it indeed does offer protection from a typical, high-level EMP. Requirements for transient protective devices and the text procedures and instrumentation recommended for determining the efficacy and system compatibility of selected TPD's for hf and uhf communications are listed and described. (Author)