[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?

Fri May 28 08:38:26 EDT 2021

Ancor is a gold standard for marine wiring.  Specify size by AWG, not SAE.
They are very different.

On Fri, May 28, 2021, 07:59 Philip Brown <phil at pjb3.com> wrote:

> Thank you, Ian!
>
> I will use yellow for ground instead of Black.  I appreciate the info.
>
> Also, I made a typo.  All wire will be copper wire that is tin coated.
>
> I don’t know why I wrote aluminum…. I know that aluminum is NOT a
> preferred wire, except for some feeder lines to homes call SER for “service
> entry round” where they use very thick aluminum wires for some reason, and
> you need to use a special paste where they connect to avoid some type of
> buildup that can cause high resistance over time that generates heat and
> can even cause a fire.
>
> With that said, Copper is the preferred wiring, and tinned copper is
> preferred for boats.
>
> I will look into getting yellow for the ground if possible… if it’s not
> available I guess I *will* use black, since — among other reasons — I don’t
> have A/C and don’t plan to add it… but at a minimum, I’ll buy yellow
> electrical tape and/or yellow heat shrink so that I can put at least two
> bands of yellow at the termination of the black wires as a way of marking
> them.
>
> Thanks again, Ian!
>
>          73!
>
>             -Phil
>
> On May 28, 2021, at 7:32 AM, Ian <iann8ik at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Phil,
>
> Be sure that you're using marine grade tinned wiring, not untinned
> automotive grade wiring.  In the ham world DC positive is red and DC
> negative is black, but in the marine world DC positive is also red but DC
> negative/ground is yellow.  This is so that the black wires are easily
> distinguished as AC hot single-phase.
>
> 73, Ian N8IK
>
> On Fri, May 28, 2021 at 12:05 AM Philip Brown <phil at pjb3.com> wrote:
>
>> 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, 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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