Thunderstorm Season (Yes, That's a Thing!)
In the wintertime, humidity levels plummet as temperatures drop and forced air heating systems dry the air out even more. During these months we are extra conscious of electrostatic discharge. Many will make a habit of grounding themselves to a doorknob or rack case before touching any controls in the studio, so as to avoid zapping the electronics with static electricity.
When winter gives way to warmer weather, thunderstorms and line surges present a new threat to our precious technology. Broadcast engineers take steps to protect their mains power inputs with spike suppressors and surge protectors. These devices can help, but can only do so much with the extremely fast transient swings in voltage that are observed during these events. There are also threats that are not so obvious.
Read MoreTopics: Broadcast Technology, Broadcast Engineering, Telephone Systems