[SixClub] Station grounding

[Tom Peters]

I wouldn't solder, I'd use a very tight mechanical connection, such as a #8 
screw. Everyone on the professional audio reflector I'm a member of warns 
of the hazards of tinning speaker connections before using them in a 
mechanical connector-- in their experience, they always loosen up over the 
years, the solder oxidizes slightly, and the contact becomes higher 
resistance than you want, or worse, a rectifier. Didn't they used to use 
galena as a detector in crystal radios? I think galena is either an ore or 
an oxide of lead.

The solder will compress more than just copper wire will, and will continue 
to compress after you've torqued down the screw or crimped the connector 
on. Dozens of repairs later, people who do professional audio will attest 
to the high failure rate of mechanical connections to tinned conductors.

Soldering the wire or braid to a ground rail avoids this problem, but 
again, I'd be concerned about the high voltage of a lightning strike 
causing a failure.

My 0.06 euro.

At 08:24 AM 2/26/2005 -0800, you wrote:
>Hi!
>
>By all means use flat braid. I use a 1/2" from the rod
>straight to the grounding strip behind the equipment
>rack. For the individual component  (meaning radios,
>etc...), I use 1/4" flat braid, which then go to the
>strip. For the strip, I use a series of connector
>blocks which I prepare first by soldering all the back
>tabs together with a strip of 1/4 flat braid. I then
>solder the strip to the incoming 1/2" ground braid.
>The advantage of using connector blocks lies in the
>ease of adding or removing equipment, and its
>durability. Also, you can solder lugs to the 1/4"
>braids from the components for an even easier and
>solid connection to the block.
>
>My two cents!
>
>Gabriel
>
>--- kg4ssy at comcast.net wrote:
>
> > Hi,
> >   I have moved my radio shack from the first to the
> > second floor of my house. I was wondering about how
> > to achieve proper station grounding . What would be


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