RF lightning protectors are designed to protect RF equipment by equalizing the potential difference between the center pin of the coax cable and its shield. The majority of RF protectors do not feature indicator lights to show whether or not they are still functioning. Since power is not readily available at some installation points, an indicator light is not practical.
So how do we know if the protector is still functional?
PolyPhaser Coaxial Lightning Protector IS-50NX-C0
Since the IS-50 and IS-B50 are the most widely used PolyPhaser RF protector series, application in Land Mobile Radio, SCADA systems, amateur radio and many others, this paper focuses on their specific testing condition.
The following whitepaper from PolyPhaser includes an overview of how lightning protectors work and how to test for and assess possible damage from lightning.
See the PDF from PolyPhaser: Testing RF Lightning Protectors without Indicators.
