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[Amps] RF ground

To: <amps@contesting.com>
Subject: [Amps] RF ground
From: 2@mail.vcnet.com (Richard)
Date: Tue, 16 Apr 2002 23:24:03 -0700
>
>
>Richard wrote:
>
>>
>> ?   I use a Hertz antenna  (end-fed multi half-wave; high feed-Z).  Equal
>> currents flow into the antenna and the antenna tuner ground.  The lead to
>> the ground system is 5' of two-inch wide copper strap (c. 200nH of
>> inductance).  Thus, there is an RF voltage drop across the tuner ground
>> lead.  If the tuner ground is connected to the radio ground, the radio
>> becomes hot with RF.  I installed a coaxial choke balun to prevent RF
>> from going back to the radio.
>
>If you got an 18 kA lightning strike the voltage on the ground at your tuner
>would rise to around 18 kV due to the impedance of the 5 foot ground lead. 
>That is assuming you had a perfect ground at the other end of the strap.
>
?  18kV is a semi-reasonable assumption,Gary .  However, an 18kVpulse of 
c.100kHz RF on the tuner case should not be a problem since the antenna 
tuner is isolated from the amplifier with a 30uH, air-core  coaxial 
choke-unun.  Also. the Hertz antenna has a 300k-ohm shunt resistor to 
ground to bleed off static-charge build-up during thunderstorms.  

cheers

-  R. L. Measures, a.k.a. Rich..., 805.386.3734,AG6K, 
www.vcnet.com/measures.  
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