[TowerTalk] Braided Ground Strapping

K7GCO@aol.com K7GCO@aol.com
Tue, 19 Jun 2001 00:13:34 EDT


Very good point below.  I didn't mention I used 2 brass screws also which 
also soldered nicely.  I also suggsted one continuous 6" wide strip all the 
way across the desk and out to the bottom of the ground hole.  k7gco

In a message dated 6/18/01 8:13:40 PM Pacific Daylight Time, 
k4bet@bellsouth.net writes:
<< I would suggest one correction to a comment made and I quote:  "It's easy 
to
 solder any other wires...."!  Please, never solder any grounds!  The low
 melting point of solder will cause the joint to disintegrate extremely
 rapidly with a very small surge of lightning.  Then NO ground protection!
 
 Use clamps and good strong compression fittings designed for the purpose!
 
 
 ----- Original Message -----
 From: <K7GCO@aol.com>
 To: <towertalk@contesting.com>; <w5kp@swbell.net>
 Sent: Monday, June 18, 2001 11:00 PM
 Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] Braided Ground Strapping
 
 
 | In a message dated 6/18/01 6:33:17 PM Pacific Daylight Time,
 w5kp@swbell.net
 | writes:<<
 |     Copper roofing is all the rage for commercial buildings and some
 high-end
 |  private residences, so my local scrap metal dealer always has a bunch of
 |  leftover pieces on hand from the commercial roofers, who sell him all
 their
 |  copper roofing scraps. I buy it for $1 a pound, and 5 pounds is a lot of
 |  copper roofing, in pieces 6"-12" wide and 3 to 4 feet long. Cutting it
 with
 |  tin snips works fine, but will leave an edge you could shave with, so
 |  getting it roller-cut into 1" strips or whatever at a sheetmetal shop
 might
 |  be a good idea. I just clamped the strips between two pieces of wood in a
 |  vise and cleaned the dangerous edges up with a file. Took a few minutes,
 but
 |  no big deal. That was one of the several times I wished I had a power
 |  nibbler. I saw a 100' roll of 2" at HamCom in Dallas, the guy wanted $150
 |  for it.  Sheesh.
 |  73, Jerry W5KP
 |   >>
 | A local radio store here called Supertronics has copper sheet 6" wide on a
 | roll fairly cheap.  This would good to lay right on the radio table then
 run
 | outside--into the ground without any connections.  Take a post hole digger
 | and dig a hole say 6-8' deep.  Run this foil into the hole and pack the
 dirt
 | in around it. You will have 6 sq ft of area in contact with the ground.
 With
 | a ground rod you have only about 1 sq ft. It's easy to solder any other
 wires
 | to it also and there is no change of inductance.  This foil in the ground
 | would be a great way to make a ground for a tower also.
 |
 | In the 30's it can be seen in old ARRL Antenna Handbooks where they used
 | copper broilers they used for boiling cloths in for buried grounds.  There
 | was at least 15 sq ft of copper area--on both sides.  That's what I call a
 | "MAGNUM GROUND."
 | I used to buy copper sheet 3' wide 35' long from Alaska Copper and Brass
 here
 | in Seattle also.  I'd cut strips of copper that I coated with contact
 cement
 | and the element and wrapped it around the elements to eliminate joints and
 | increase conductivity. I rotated it slowly in the lathe and wrapped it
 with
 | plastic tape.  Shrink on tubing is too expensive.  It's a "Higher Q
 Permanent
 | Element."  It lowered the Z of the beam.  Someday I'll "Silver Plate" the
 | copper sheet and lower the RF resistance even more.  k7gco
 |
 | List Sponsor: Are you thinking about installing a tower this summer? Call
 us
 | for information on our fabulous Trylon Titan self-supporting towers - up
 to
 | 96-feet for less than $2000! at 888-833-3104 <A 
HREF="http://www.ChampionRadio.com">
 </A> >>

List Sponsor: Are you thinking about installing a tower this summer? Call us
for information on our fabulous Trylon Titan self-supporting towers - up to
96-feet for less than $2000! at 888-833-3104 <A HREF="http://www.ChampionRadio.com">
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