[Boatanchors] Clamp it or solder it, that is the question

[Phil]

Hi All,

As 'wifey' passed away last Sept I've decided to go "full-tilt boogie" 
on doing fix-it-up jobs this spring, some of of which are long overdue. 
Especially as I'm getting far enough up there in years that I want to 
start minimizing ladder work as much as possible.  There are only 7 
LF/HF antennas around this mobile home, looks like a "Cold War Era 
Russian Fishing Trawler".

The first order of the day was to go through the antenna farm and fix, 
repair or replace antennas.  The last month was spent doing that.  The 
"Low-Noise Vertical" (for LF work) came down and the Comet CHA-250B went 
in it's place.  NOT the best HF antenna, but it's secondary to the 
dipole anyway and fills a need for a vertical. The defunct "active 
mini-whip" Receive antenna came down and was replaced by a Ratzlaff 
Active whip (LF through HF).  Shorter element (5 foot 1/5" copper pipe), 
but higher output, runs on 24V instead of 12 and has MUCH better IMD 
performance than the mini-whip.

The Ringo Ranger 10M beacon antenna got new coax (all antennas got new 
high quality coax) and was pushed up a little higher.

The Tram 1481 dual band (2M 440) antenna was replaced with a Comet GP3, 
less gain, less bending in the wind but MORE than sufficient to hit the 
repeaters I use.

Anyway, now that the antennas are taken care of, I'm starting work on 
the ground system.  For 21 years the MAIN station ground system has been 
5 ground rods (4 8 foot, 1 4 foot) all tied together with 14Ga solid 
bare copper wire. That then runs to a copper bus bar under the operating 
table (the flat copper buss bars as used in some older rack cabinets, 
threaded screw holes).  This has served me well for 21 yrs, but the 
copper wire is all corroded and nearly eaten through in places, ground 
clamps corroded etc. . .

So today I went down and bought 3 more 8 foot ground rods to augment the 
main system (Ringo Ranger on other end of mobile home has it's own 2 
rods for it's mast), 10 Bronze ground clamps, 30 feet of 4Ga bare copper 
wire and some copper "Split bolts".  I intend to run one solid length of 
the copper wire to ALL of the ground rods, threading it through the hole 
in the clamp and tightening the screw down as I go.

I then intend to run an additional length of the 4Ga wire from the main 
line to each of the masts and clamp it to the mast. The split bolts are 
to clamp the feeder wires from the masts to the main run as the copper 
wire is far too stiff to try to wrap it around the main wire and solder 
it in the usual fashion (like I did before).

1.  Now for the $64,000 dollar question (remember that show?) is this.  
AFTER I've clamped the two 4Ga wires together with the split bolt, 
should I then try to solder the whole mess together to make for the best 
possible long term connection?  If so, I'll probably need to get a small 
propane torch as I don't think I could do it with either the Weller 260W 
Solder Gun or any other iron I have here.  Copper can draw a lot of heat.

2.  IF I do solder them, should I use Acid Flux like the plumbers use 
(after 65+ years of electronics I KNOW that Acid flux is a no-no for the 
usual electrical work)or just regular Rosin core solder.  I have a roll 
of Kester .062" Rosin core coming, my Kester .031 that I have on my 
workbench would have to be rolled off as fast as I could solder.

3.  Would it be a good idea to 'tin' the copper wire where it goes 
through each of the ground clamp clamping holes and the copper split 
bolts to keep surface corrosion at those points down?

4.  And finally, if I DO need a propane torch, any recommendations?  
Like any small town, "Harbor Fright" seems to be the go-to place for 
tools, especially if you only figure on either one-time or occasional 
use of them.

*****AND AS A FINAL NOTE, the Yaesu FTDX101MP was a gift from Wifey on 
our last anniversary (May 2020), I think she knew her time was very 
short and wanted me to have it (I didn't ask for it)*****

-- 
<>< 73 From "The Beaconeer's Lair" <><
Specializing in DXing NDBs (Longwave Beacons)
Phil, KO6BB,  http://www.qsl.net/ko6bb/
KO6BB/B beacon, ~23W on 28.290 MHz, Ringo Vertical

HF/LF RADIOS:
YAESU:    FTDX-101MP Xceiver, Dual SDR Receivers (~2020)
YAESU:    FTDX-3000 Xceiver, DSP IF, 300Hz Roofing filter (~2019).
Beacon:   Realistic HTX-100 on 28.290MHz (CW Beacon)
Uniden:   SDS-200 Scanner, 25-1300MHz (2020)
Eton:     Elite 750 (2), AKA Grundig Satelite 750 (2020)
HOMEBREW: 7 Tube+Rect 1v3 Regen RX for LF (built 2015)
SDRS:     Perseus 10KHz-40MHz (2020)
           Softrock Ensemble II LF Receiver (kit, 2017)
           Softrock Ensemble II HF Receiver (Kit, 2019)
          
ACC: MFJ-993B  Auto Antenna Matcher.
      HOMEBREW  LF-MF Pre-Amp, 8Hz Audio Filter.
      HOMEBREW  4 Port Antenna Multicoupler, Feeds 4 RX's.

ANTENNAS:      88 foot Long Ladder-line fed dipole, ~35 feet AGL for MW/HF.
                Top Loaded Tee (Dipole fed as single element) ~35 Feet AGL.
                Comet CHA-250B HF Vertical at ~24 Feet AGL For HF.
                Cushcraft AR-10 Ringo Vertical, ~20 feet AGL for 10M.
                Ratzlaff Active whip, 5 Foot Long, ~16 Feet AGL For LF/MW/HF.
                Wellbrook ALA1530LN Loop For LF/MW/HF at ~17 Feet AGL
                Diamond Discone ~35 feet AGL for Scanner.
Merced, Central California, 37, 18, 37N   120, 30, 6W CM97rh