[Alexandria Radio Club Reflector] Boat RF Ground plans, plus do you know if anyone has a battery cable crimper and cable cutter that I can use?

Philip Brown phil at pjb3.com
Fri May 28 00:05:22 EDT 2021 

Great!

I’m still working in my wiring plan (draft attached), including figuring out what size wire to use for different runs.
While I don’t want to undersize anything, I’ll have to make the classic tradeoff between size and cost.

All wiring will be tinned aluminum. 

Also,  I’ve found a company www.batterycablesusa.com <http://www.batterycablesusa.com/>, that has  very competitive prices for wires, and for a little less than $2 per connection they
will crimp on a lug of your choice and heat shrink it…. so I’m looking at plans and budgets, but I’m tempted to let the pros do the crimping and heating since they
likely have hydraulic crimpers and other professional grade tools.

Thank you Jack W4JJ.

I will reach out to you and/or Don if I end up crimping my own cables.  (Don has some tools too).

A preview of my plans are attached, but they are still a work in progress, and once I’m done I’ll probably ask for some input from the more experiences hams.

I’m rewiring the whole boat, including moving the battery forward from the stern to under the passenger seat much closer to the bow, and also adding a 2nd battery and an automatic charge relay that keeps the batteries isolated except when the one of them is being charged, then the unit connects them in parallel so that both batteries charge.




73

     -Philip,  W3PJB



> On May 27, 2021, at 5:01 PM, W4JJ <jackparker at w4jj.com> wrote:
> 
> Yes, I have one that should work. 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone
> 
>> On May 27, 2021, at 1:32 PM, Ian <iann8ik at gmail.com> wrote:
>> 
>> Anyone have a crimping tool to handle 4ga battery cable?
>> 73, Ian N8IK
>> 
>> 
>> ---------- Forwarded message ---------
>> From: Philip Brown <phil at pjb3.com>
>> Date: Wed, May 26, 2021 at 9:22 PM
>> Subject: Boat RF Ground plans, plus do you know if anyone has a battery
>> cable crimper and cable cutter that I can use?
>> To: Ian Keith <n8ik at arrl.net>, Don (KI4D) <don.ki4d at gmail.com>
>> Cc: Philip J Brown III <phil at pjb3.com>
>> 
>> 
>> Hello Ian,
>> 
>> (Don,  I’m CC’ing as an FYI… since you’re clearly interested in everything
>> RF ! :-)     )
>> 
>> Do you know if anyone in the club has a battery cable crimper that I can
>> borrow?
>> Is there any way that you could pose the question to the membership?
>> 
>> 
>> I’m planning to run some 4 Gauge tinned copper wires in both the boat and
>> the 4Runner, and once I crimp and heat-shrink the cables
>> I’d have no use for a crimper or a cable cutter of that size…  not to
>> mention that this project is starting to get **expensive**  !!  :-)
>> 
>> 
>> Here’s the update on my plans for an RF ground for the boat, and also for
>> my 4Runner.
>> 
>> *Any feedback from you, Don or an Elmer would be warmly welcomed.  :-)*
>> 
>> 
>> I found a part on craig’s list for $45 and bought it today — New old
>> stock…. basically someone bought it and never used.
>> Westmarine sells the same part new for $109.   The manufacturer claims it
>> has the same effect as 12 sqft of copper foil.
>> 
>> It’s cool.  It’s extremely pourous bronze that is specially bonded together
>> to act as an electrical and RF ground.  You bolt it to the bottom
>> of your boat, and connect the ground wire to a gold plated bolt using gold
>> plated nuts that are provided.
>> 
>> It also protects the boat from lightning strikes by offering a high-current
>> path to ground.
>> It has some type of silver conductive paste that’s dried out in the box for
>> my unit… I could probably use a small amount if anyone has a tube of that
>> as well.
>> 
>> The guy who I bought mine from said that his boat had a lighting strike
>> while at the dock, and while it destroyed his dynaplate and fried his
>> electronics,
>> it didn’t blow-out his through-hull transducer, which he said is a common
>> problem that leaves a hole in the hull that sinks many boats.
>> 
>> This is pretty cool, and all new to me, but I find it exciting!
>> 
>> I’m planning to use one of these
>> as my “common RF ground” point for the boat, and another one for the
>> 4Runner.
>> I’m planning to run a  4 gauge copper tinned cable from this ground to the
>> dynaplate on the boat, and to the vehicles body near the battery ground
>> on the 4Runner.
>> 
>> From Westmarine:
>> 
>> 
>>  1. Marine Electronics <https://www.westmarine.com/marine-electronics> /
>>  2. Marine Communication <https://www.westmarine.com/marine-communication>
>>   /
>>  3. VHF Accessories <https://www.westmarine.com/vhf-accessories> /
>>  4. Grounding <https://www.westmarine.com/grounding>
>> 
>> [image: Dynaplate, Bonding Use]larged view of picture, opens dialimages
>> carousel, showing slide 1 of 1
>> GUEST <https://www.westmarine.com/guest>–Dynaplate, Bonding Use
>> 0 stars, 0 reviews, skips to reviews
>> $109.99
>> 
>> 
>> Model # 377010 | Mfg # 4008
>> SpecsDynaplate, Bonding Use
>> NameValue
>> Type Ground Plates
>> Product Overview
>> 
>> Bronze grounding plates replace yards of copper foil. Looks like a solid
>> bronze plate, but actually a porous matrix of bronze spheres, presenting
>> the same effective electrical surface as a much larger expanse of copper
>> foil. Use as electronic ground for SSBs, Lorans and ham transceivers, or as
>> a ground reference in bonding systems. Includes gold-plated bronze flathead
>> fasteners and silver contact paste for superior conductivity. Plates have
>> tapered ends and rounded edges for reduced turbulence.
>> 
>> Standard Dynaplate
>> Part No. 4006
>> Dimensions: 6.0"W x 2.0" H x 0.50" D
>> Mounting Holes: 2-1/2" center to center
>> Mounting Hardware:1-3" Gold plated bolt and nut, 1-3" Bronze bolt and nut,
>> 3 copper washers
>> Weight: 3 Lbs.
>> 
>> 
>>  - Use for basic bonding and grounding
>>  - Improves performance of electronics and reduces RF interference
>>  - Offers the best path for hull bonding without long runs of copper foil
>>  - Equivalent to 12 square feet of copper foil
>>  - Provides a direct, low resistance path for improved lighting protection
>>  - Deters electrolysis and galvanic corrosion
>>  - Sintered porous bronze sphere construction for maximum conductivity in
>>  a compact size
>>  - Low drag, non fouling shape
>>  - Easy to install
>>  - Easy to clean with wire brush
>>  - Conforms to ABYC standards
>> 
>> From the installation instructions:
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