[Hammarlund] Hamarlund Radio's

[Cecil Acuff]

Duane and group...

Disconnecting your ground will solve that problem but the reason you had a
problem is because of the difference in ground potential between your
antenna ground and your house ground system.  If the two are tied (bonded)
together the problem goes away also.  You have created a large value
resistor between the two grounds and when current flows through that
resistor a voltage is present across that resistor thereby lighting up
things on both ends usually.  If the antenna ground was a better ground than
the house ground (not hard to do) then any and most all potential on the
house ground system will seek the better ground, i.e. your antenna system
ground, and unfortunately through your radio equipment to get there.  (the
third pin on the a/c cord...you do have chassis grounds on your vintage gear
don't you...)

The best course would be to tie your two ground systems together with as
straight a run of 1/0 bare copper as possible with maybe a couple of ground
rods driven along the way in the same trench as the 1/0.  Now differences in
potential are eliminated and any current that might flow has a more direct
path than your gear to get there.

I know there is the worry of introducing noise from the house electrical
system into your radio's by tying the two together...but actually the
difference in ground potential of not tying them together (ground loop) is
more likely to introduce the noise than if the two were tied together...

By the way...I learned this the hard way as well....I lost all my Amateur
gear 10 or 12 years ago because of the same thing.  Lightning struck the
Ringo on my tower...all equipment was disconnected from the antennas and the
tower grounded with 60' of ground rods and tied to all radio gear.  The
ground potential on the house electrical system (a separate building
connected by an electrical feed) rose to such a degree it blew holes in the
romex sheathing to near by nails in the framing etc... I lost all phones,
answering machines, TV's, VCR's, Satellite TV equipment etc. in the house.
All this in a building separated by 50 to 60 feet from the shack but
connected by an electrical cable...and two ground points...one at the house
and one at the shack.  It got to the house through my two Kenwood
transceivers and my Amp...the only common points of contact between the two
ground systems.

Anyway sorry for the long windedness of this post...but grounding is an
important subject...and also a complex one.

Hope it helps..

Cecil...

WB5VCE

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Duane Fischer, W8DBF" <dfischer at usol.com>
To: "David" <maxtaz at shaw.ca>; <hammarlund at mailman.qth.net>
Sent: Wednesday, July 21, 2004 8:33 AM
Subject: Re: [Hammarlund] Hamarlund Radio's


> David,
>
> What color socks should you wear on Wednesdays? A matter of personal
taste, the
> phase of the Moon or what isn't dirty? About the same with preference in
general
> coverage antennas. Much depends on what you 'really' want to hear David.
>
> A simple long wire; bare or insulated wire, insulated standoffs of some
type,
> end or center tapped, at least ten feet or higher, about fifty to one
hundred
> feet, preferably outside, but an attic or gutter surround the house style
will
> do, and you can hear most anything.
>
> Many serious short-wave listeners use a longwire, styles and types vary,
and
> others love a simple diple with an antenna tuner. The dipole can be an
inverted
> vee type or simply parallel with the earth.
>
> Remember this! You need a 'good' earth ground! many reasons, ask about how
to
> ground something and you will get more opinions than anyone should have to
read
> about grounding in five long lifetimes! (chuckle) Suffice it to say, get
an
> eight foot Copper plated rod, about $15, drive it into the soil leaving
six
> inches above the soil, afix your #8 ground wire to the clamp on the ground
rod
> and atach the other end to your receiver.
>
> It is no joke about watering the ground rod. not the proverbial joke about
...
> Conductivity does depend upon soil moisture. Many an old timer rushed out
during
> a radio program and threw a bucket of water on the ground rod as the
program
> started to sizzle like eggs in a cast iron skillet laden with bacon
droppings.
>
> A good ground reduces noise of different types and does improve reception,
> especially signal strength, on weaker stations.
>
> Remember this David. During an electrical storm, disconnect the equipment
from
> the grounding system! Why? Because if lightning strikes the earth it can
be
> conducted through it to the ground rod and right into your equipment. Ask
me who
> did not do this in March 2001 and had ten grand in damage. Oh yes, all
antennas
> were disconnected, sent to the heavy grounding system for the station,
poly
> phasers operative ... But it came in through what I did not disconnect,
the
> ground system.
>
> Depending on what band you 'really' want to hear, if there are any in
> particular, of course, some antennas will favor them. many times you can
just
> use an inexpensive receive only antenna tuner and a longwire to accomplish
this
> end.
>
> Most of all, have fun!
>
> Duane Fischer, W8DBF
>
>
> ----------
> From: David <maxtaz at shaw.ca>
> To: hammarlund at mailman.qth.net
> Subject: [Hammarlund] Hamarlund Radio's
> Date: Tuesday, July 20, 2004 9:42 PM
>
> Greetings. I have been reading all the comments about the different rigs
> with great interest. I have one question and that is what type of Antenna
is
> being used for general coverage listing on these rigs. I have a HQ-180AC
> that I bought new in 1967 and have used all types of antennas over the
last
> 30 years, some good and some not so good. I would like to hear which one
is
> used the most. Thanks ....Dave  VA7DG
>
>
> _______________________________________________
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> ** For Assistance: dfischer at usol.com **
> ----
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> _______________________________________________
> List Administrator: Duane Fischer W8DBF
> ** For Assistance: dfischer at usol.com **
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