[HCARC] Grounding Straps For Safety Ground

[Gerald Migely]

Gary,
 
Until 2 weeks ago I was using a "long wire" antenna on my condo balcony here in Chicago.  It was about 45 ft of wire attached to the antenna tuner, out the window and around the balcony diagonally and vertically.  I had a counterpoise connected to the antenna tuner with the wire following the baseboard of the room the shack is in.  Didn't please the XYL but it worked.  Recently replaced the "long wire" with a Tak-tenna (http://www.tak-tenna.com/).  A dipole which pleases the XYL because I was able to eliminate the counterpoise inside the condo.  Both antennas are compromises, certainly, but for us space-challenged condo dwellers, they get out a signal and let us work the world. In both cases I use the building ground for my dc ground.
 
73,
 
Jerry
wa9kxz
 

________________________________
 From: Gary and Arlene Johnson <qltfnish at omniglobal.net>
To: Kerry Sandstrom <kerryk5ks at hughes.net>; hcarc at mailman.qth.net 
Sent: Monday, December 3, 2012 5:07 PM
Subject: Re: [HCARC] Grounding Straps For Safety Ground
  
Kerry,

I understand all except the RF ground part and that only the part at the tuner and does it only apply to long wire antennas??  Does anyone use these anymore??  How does one get from the average desk height to the floor and then out through a wall to a ground rod in much less than 6-10 feet???  I might be able to cut it to about 6 feet, but surely not much less than that. I will be using both dipoles and verticals and now maybe a beam too due to some new info that will help me get antennas up in the air.   I have agreed to buy another Hams 72 foot high (only 55 feet high without adding in the extra section) telecoping tower.  The tower has a hinged base so when it is dropped to approx 20-24 feet can be let down with another winch that comes with the tower to eye height with only one person doing the work.  It is a guyed tower with 2-3 sets of guys depending on how many sections are in the tower when in use.  Now I can get my antennas up where Kerry
 should agree that they can get good radiation patterns.  My neighbor has another tower she will give to me for taking it down (and at one time I understood the club was going to take it down, but it didn't happen)  that is a permanent tower that is about 40 feet high (give or take a foot or ten - it's 4 sections of triangular tower plus a base section) that I have a place for also.  I haven't got the faintest idea what to put up on 2 towers let alone one, but at least I have some height to play with.

BTW,  I happen to have a pile of 16-20 thirty foot tall telephone poles of which approx 8-10 are surplus to my needs.  They have #6 copper ground wire and a copper ground plate on the bottom still on them.  If anyone is interested let me know.  Cost as usual is a small donation to the club.  A contractor for Bandera electric and the phone company keeps donating them to the pile (with my permission) so I never have an accurate count on how many there are.  Sunk 2-3 feet into the ground they should make pretty good and inexpensive antenna masts.

Gary J
N5BAA
HCARC Secretary (2013)


----- Original Message ----- From: "Kerry Sandstrom" <kerryk5ks at hughes.net>
To: "Gary and Arlene Johnson" <qltfnish at omniglobal.net>; <hcarc at mailman.qth.net>
Sent: Monday, December 03, 2012 4:25 PM
Subject: Re: [HCARC] Grounding Straps For Safety Ground


> Gary,
> 
> I would use the 3/16 " braid because it is flexible and adequate for a safety ground.  None of your choices is an adequate RF ground as discussed in the past.  If you're using a vertical, the RF ground should be where the antenna base meets the ground.  If you're using a dipole, you don't need an RF ground.  If your using a ground plane (as in 2 meters), you don't need an RF ground.  If you are using a long wire, the RF ground should be at the antenna tuner and it should be much less than a wavelength at the highest frequency you intend to operate and as wide as possible.  Even ten feet is too long for an RF ground at ten meters
> 
> Kerry
> 
> 
> 
> -----
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