[TowerTalk] Site Grounding

[Tony King - W4ZT]

Brazing is a different process than the soldering done in domestic water 
systems (http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/Lab/3495/Temp/basic.htm).

If you look at MIL-HDBK-419A, Grounding, Bonding, and Shielding for 
Electronic Equipments and Facilities, (available as the complete 2 volume 
set at http://www.tscm.com/MIL-HDBK-419A.PDF but a large file around 9.7 
mb) you'll find that brazing and exothermic bonding are the two recommended 
methods for joining components in a grounding system.  Brazing requires 
higher temperatures than soldering so you would use oxy-acetylene or mapp 
gas, brazing flux, filler rod (brass, brass alloy or silver alloy are 
common) and technique but it is far superior to solder in both strength and 
conductivity when used in similar materials (copper/bronze/brass etc). 
Brazing can be done easily with a little practice but care must be taken 
that the filler material flows into the joint, not just lays on top of it.

Sorry for the long post.

73,
Tony W4ZT


At 11:02 AM 10/21/2003, Dan wrote:
>When you say "braze", Tony, do you mean soldered as in domestic water 
>systems or something else?
>73, Dan, N5AR
>
>Not if it is done properly... when properly brazed, it's a sweat joint with
>a much higher strength material.  Now if it's just glopped on like so many
>do their solder joints, it's not worth the time doing it.
>
>Tony W4ZT
>
>At 10:33 AM 10/21/2003, kb9cry at comcast.net wrote:
> >I believe a brazed joint will pop open if hit with a lightning induced
> >surge.  Phil  KB9CRY
> > > If you have but one chance to bury in the ditches and you're pressed for
> > > time, go get some copper plumbing pipe.  Brazing the joints would be 
> best.
> > >
> > > 73,
> > > Tony
> > >