Topband: Shunt-fed Tower Ground Ring Insulators

[VE6WZ Steve]

Hi Gene,

I do not know why you would try to insulate the radials from the pad.
The tower is grounded (I hope), the tower base is in the concrete, and the concrete base is a big huge UFER ground. It makes no difference if the radials are insulated from the base, since they are already very much bonded to it through the tower ground.

My radials for the shunt fed tower are bonded both to the tower AND to 4 copper pipes imbedded into the concrete base. (Which is very redundant since the tower base is already imbedded in the concrete)

Steve, Ve6wz

From Babcocks iPhone

> On May 12, 2021, at 12:43 PM, Gene Smar via Topband <topband at contesting.com> wrote:
> 
> Gents:
> 
> When I constructed my Trylon tower in 2001, I also installed a
> shunt-feed wire up the side for 160M. My RF radial system consisted of
> about 11 #18 insulated wires in the dirt surrounding the tower base. I
> recently purchased additional wire to augment those initial few and
> hopefully improve my tower's performance on Topband.
> 
> The radial wires are mechanically connected directly to the three tower
> leg #2 solid copper ground wires with small SS hose clamps. I also
> installed a #2 wire "lasso" that rests in a circle atop the concrete base
> between the tower legs. The straight piece of the "lasso" wire connects to
> one of the Harger ground clamps to which the tower leg grounds also connect.
> Up until now the only connection to this ground ring has been the ground
> lead from my shunt capacitor box. I hope to change that by connecting my
> yet-to-be-installed - and hopefully numerous - radial wires onto this ring.
> 
> 
> Now to the point. When I built the tower and installed the ground
> ring, I insulated the ring from the concrete pad with PVC T's. I threaded
> six 1/2 inch T's onto the ground ring wire before I soldered the ring
> together. I drove a small wood screw through six 1/2 inch PVC caps and into
> six untreated wood blocks. I then snapped a block and cap onto the bottom
> of each T and arranged them evenly around the circumference of the ground
> ring underneath the tower. Yesterday I replaced the untreated wood with
> treated wood. 
> 
> In your opinion, was insulating the ground ring from the concrete
> unnecessary? If not, and you believe insulating the wire might be helpful,
> I'd be glad to send photos of the renewed installation. 
> 
> 
> 73 de
> Gene Smar AD3F
> 
> 
> _________________
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