A lot of guys out here (and elsewhere) have a vertical (VHF and/or UHF) at the very top of their antenna stack. I'm pretty sure this qualifies as a pointy device. When I installed my first tower out
Roger, Five direct hits already this year? That's amazing! I've had exactly zero hits since 1961. Don't you get damage? Can you tell the point the strike hits? My SD friend, K0TY, has no trouble. I w
Fellow TTers, We have had an interesting discussion of grounding methods and I sure learned something new from the Ufer ground discussion. Now, keeping in mind the LXC Prime Directive (FOLLOW THE MAN
Hi Rick, You could be talking about my installation. I had exactly the same problem calculating the exact "lay-down angle" when I installed my MA550MDP with MARB. I don't think the diagram you are lo
Sorry if this is duplicate information; I haven't been following this thread completely. The pole I really like is the DK9SQ 10-meter fiberglass mast. If you remove the smallest, top few sections (th
It's been said by others but is probably worth repeating here that any ground system making use of the rebar in the foundation must have the rebar cage welded or bolted (not sure how practical that w
I assume you want one with the elements in the same plane. There are a few intended for satellite use that have the elements for the two bands mounted perpendicular to each other. The Cushcraft was t
I mentioned previously the strike at K0TY's repeater site. There was no visible indication of a strike anywhere on the tower, base, coax or any of the electronics BUT the vertical antenna at the top
Red says: == snip == The optimum pattern of radials for lightning dissipation from a tower or vertical antenna is a pattern of 6, equally spaced around the center. More won't hurt, but don't help a w
JEEZ WARREN!!! Haven't you ever heard of Global Warming? You're going to end up in an Al Gore movie if you aren't careful. 73 - JC, K0HPS Greetings: I am no expert in power generators. BUT, I do know
Again, we are getting more good education on grounds. Thanks to all participating. I've got a bit of a dilemma, which leads to a question. My old antenna book shows a ground system where everything i
It makes sense that all grounds be tied together, but a question is how? If you have all-copper plumbing in your house and all grounds are bonded to that, are they all tied together? My old antenna b
Hi Red, The ground situation here has been constantly improving. When we moved in there was one ground rod (presumably 8') tied to the electric service entrance with #10 solid copper wire, and also t
Here's a thought (probably mentioned previously). Assuming a tower has a good ground system, we still have cables connecting the antennas and other equipment on the tower to the house and electronics
Hi Bob, I've used scraps of copper tubing (I was a mechanical contractor) to build all sorts of low resistance conductors and busses, mostly for 12-V stuff. One of the things I did, without really th
Gary's right although copper strap can be overpriced depending on where you find it. Copper tubing is such a common commodity it's hard to overprice it. One other advantage tubing has is it's easy to
Hi Gary, I probably should have been more specific. I was saying the copper tube would be a better conductor at high frequencies because of its increased surface area (the stuff I use it typically 5/
Hi John, You probably already know the basics (as short as possible but avoid resonant ground lengths for the frequencies you operate). Other than that, consider a ground "tuner" like the MFJ Artific
Sorry, guys, but I must disagree. While a shack ground is NOT a sink for noise, it IS far more than lightning protection. It is supposed to provide a low-impedance path for stray RF that inadvertentl
Some of the experts on here may disagree, and while I don't think there is anything magical about hooking up a ground it does do a lot more than protect you from lightning. It may not improve your si