[RFI] w7ekb & ground rods

D C _Mac_ Macdonald k2gkk at hotmail.com
Thu Jan 15 17:45:19 EST 2015




DX Engineering carries flat copper tape.  I bought 25' to use divided into thirds to taper connect each tower leg to a ground rod outside the concrete foundation.  They also have special clamps for the tower legs AND 5/8" ground rods that will resist corrosion. 
 
Copper braid from coax will disintegrate from a lightning hit.  All those copper strands add up to a whole lot of inductance and therefore, inductive reactance and a huge voltage drop.  I have seen the little bit left of braid shield after a tower has taken a strike! 
 
* * * * * * * * * * * 
* 73 - Mac, K2GKK/5 * 
* (Since 30 Nov 53) * 
* k2gkk hotmail com * 
* Oklahoma City, OK * 
* USAF & FAA (Ret.) * 
* * * * * * * * * * * 
 

 
> From: kgordon2006 at frontier.com
> To: jim at audiosystemsgroup.com; Rfi at contesting.com
> Date: Thu, 15 Jan 2015 13:40:26 -0800
> Subject: Re: [RFI] w7ekb & ground rods
> 
>  
> Jim:
> 
> After reviewing the above link (and downloading it), it seems quite obvious 
> that I have one hell of a lot of work to do.
> 
> Can you suggest a source for flat wide copper "tape" ? 
> 
> And for copper braid, other than from old coax? (I suspect braid from old 
> coax will not be wide enough, and if it is corroded, the individualy strands of 
> copper may be insulated from one another.)
> 
> So....it appears that my moving that useless 30+ feet of #8 "ground" wire DID 
> reduce my local noise level by a good 10 dB.
> 
> I would never have thought of that in a million years.
> 
> Ken W7EKB

 		 	   		  


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