[Elecraft] Is there a "grounding" Elmer on line?

[Don Wilhelm]

Charles,

To start with, you need a path to ground for RF.  That is ideally a short
wide conductor from your ham rig location to a ground rod.  Flat copper
strap is the best - the wider, the better and the shorter the better - but
be realistic given your physical shack location - we often must face
compromises.

Secondly, on the subject of lightning protecion, there was a good 2 (or 3)
part article in QST a year or two ago that I thought was good - you might
want to check it out - sorry but I don't have the specific issues at hand.

For good lightning protection, the most important item is a grounding frame
(or window) which is a large piece of copper that ALL the lines coming into
the ham shack enters through - and your surge suppression devices are
mounted on this plate.  By ALL the lines, the meaning is truely ALL of them,
antennas, telephone, Ethernet wiring, other computer wiring, and the shack's
AC power.

In addition to the grounding frame, you should have a buried ground system
in addition to the ground rod outside the shack.  An ideal location for this
system is at the base of a tower or vertical antenna - then connect this
system to the ground rod outside the shack. The QST article recommended a
radial system of at least 8 wires each 80 feet long (I am using # 8
grounding wire  and 1/2 inch rods for mine).  Each radial has several DRIVEN
ground rods, and the spacing between ground rods is twice the length of the
rods.  (i.e. each 80 foot ground wire needs 10 - 8 ft. ground rods.)

In addition to the radial ground, start at the ground rod outside the
hamshack, and bury a ground wire around the perimeter of your house - put an
additional ground rod at each corner and connect it to the utility ground as
well.

The whole idea is to create enough conductors in the earth to quickly
dissipate the energy in an electrical strike.  Since there is a LARGE amount
of energy in a lightning strike, there will be a finite time for that charge
to dissipate - the better your ground system, the faster it will be, but
remember that nothing is perfect - no matter how good your grounding system,
remove the antennas from your equipment when a lightning storm is near and
get yourself out of the hamshack!!!

If your protection system is not close to the ideal, I recommend that you
disconnect the antennas OUTSIDE  and ground them when there is the
possibility of a lightning storm nearby.  In addition, if you have any lines
running from your disconnect point into the shack area - do not leave them
dsimply disconnected because they can pick up a charge too - ground them.
You might consider bringing all the antennas into a box outside the shack
and in that box have provisions to connect everything to ground.  (this box
would connect with a short copper strap to a driven ground rod.

The gound wires should be either clamped to the ground rods above ground so
you cxan inspect them periodically, or exothermaly welded to the ground rod
if the connections must be buried.

I did say driven ground rod - do not dig them in or use the 'copper pipe and
water hose' technique we often hear about - these rods must be in the best
electrical contact with the soil if they are do do their job, and loose soil
will not provide good contact (watery soil is loose - it will shrink when it
dries out and inland water is not a good conductor like seawater).  If you
can't get 8 foot rods down, use shorter ones and use more of them.  A handy
device for driving ground rods is the same device sold for driving metal
fence posts - it is simply a piece of pipe closed on one end and handles on
it so you can lift it and bring it down with good force.

OK. I'm not an expert, but I am relating only what I have learned of
lightning protection.  Please check out some of the authoritive sources.  I
do know that we hams often cannot create an ideal grounding situation, so we
put in the best that we can given our circumstances and take whatever
additional precautions our limiting circumstances dictate.  BE SAFE.

73,
Don W3FPR

----- Original Message -----

Hello all,
I am setting up my shack and have been confused about how to go about
grounding the shack and the antennas.
This weekend I put up a 20' tall  (homebrew) guyed mast (top of mast is 38'
off the ground and is about 5 feet above the tree line) on my roof that will
secure one end of a 102' G5RV for the K2 (#3346) I am building and a Diamond
HV7A on top for a Quad band Yaesu FT-8900R.  I need to be comfortable with
the grounding and lightening protection before I run the cables into the
shack.
    One question is , can the same ground system be used for general
grounding and for lighting protection?  Can a #10 solid copper wire tied to
the base of the mast and run to a 5/8" grounding rod protect from lighting?
Can the same rod be used for the shack ground?  I remember reading someplace
(can not find it again) that 5 rods were required for lighting protection,
if so how far apart should they be and what size wire would be used to
connect them.  I am kind of lost here, hope there is a grounding Elmer on
the list.