[Elecraft] Re: no PolyPhaser?

Tue May 20 14:03:00 2003

[email protected] wrote:

> Now, THAT'S a ground system!  I forgot to mention the polyphasers. (And
> that *IS* the brand to use!)  There are polyphasers on both the HF and
> VHF/UHF feedlines.

Something important to keep in mind (which I'm sure Steve has done but 
didn't mention) is that in addition to the antenna leads which go 
through the lightning suppressors at the entrance plate to the house, 
you should also pass ALL of the AC, telephone, rotor, etc. lines for the 
shack through the entrance plate with appropriate suppressors.  That way 
there shouldn't be any large differences in potential between circuits 
inside the shack if there us a nearby strike.

I have a sort of Mickey Mouse version of Steve's setup: several ground 
rods at the base of the tower with the outsides of the coax lines 
grounded there, a single entry plate (mine is aluminum) with suppressors 
mounted on it and a couple of ground rods near that.  All of my ground 
rods are connected together with a no. 4 solid copper conductor buried 
under the ground (which also goes to the ground rod at the AC line 
entrance).  I use the ICE brand of suppressors for the coax lines and 
the rotor wires, as well as a whole-house type of surge protector for 
the AC line.  All this stuff is mounted on the entry plate which is in a 
box on the outside of the house, and the plate is connected to the 
ground rods with a 2" wide copper strap.

I keep the only telephone in my ham shack about 4' from the equipment 
and the telephone line is not connected to the shack computer at all. 
If you need a phone on your operating table or have a modem in your 
shack computer, then the phone line should also come through the entry 
plate with a lightning suppression device.

My setup could be improved in many ways: the no. 4 conductor and ground 
straps from the entrance plate are only clamped, not bonded; the no. 4 
conductor should be buried deeper (mine is just a few inches below the 
surface), there should be more ground rods further from the house, the 
tower should be away from the house and not bracketed to it (!), and so 
forth.

Best regards,
Vic Rosenthal
TRANSPARENT SOFTWARE -- RAKEFET
(559) 226-5147
Visit us at http://www.rakefet.com