QK-AS15
2 of 4
2022
V1.0
Contents
1. Introduction
When the lightning strikes the mast of a ship, lightning current travels to the deck. Any cables
mounted on the mast (e.g., the VHF/AIS/4G antennas or navigation lights cables) could be the route
for the lightning current to enter and spread over the entire cabling of the on-board system. This can
cause damage to some of the marine navigation devices, or it can damage the whole system
The QK-AS15 is designed to ground the surge of lightning strikes on VHF/AIS/4G antennas. It
reduces the voltage spikes and shunt the voltage to the ground through the ground cable, thus
protecting the VHF radio and AIS transponders or 4G rounder. The coaxial construction of the AS15
assures excellent high frequency characteristics, wide-band, and low loss and VSWR. The built-in
gas-charging surge arrestor element ensures a fast response time and good functioning even after
multiple lightning strikes. A ground lug and the terminals on the lightning protector housing ensure
easy installation.
The AS15 is only aimed to protect the device connected to it. Please seek the help of a professional
electrical engineer to assess the lightning risk of your vessel. Lightning current distribution path
normally needs to be estimated.
Figure 1 Dimensions of the AS15