[TowerTalk] Station Ground

[Tom Rauch]

> I would say that a significant number of modern cars have
body panels that
> are not electrically bonded to the rest of the panels.

Jim, I take apart a lot of cars. I can't think of a way to
build a car that won't kill people like bugs in a collision
if the passenger cage isn't part of the structure.

The only vehicles that have some potential for problems are
framed vehicles, where the chassis sometimes sits on rubber
mounts to reduce noise, vibration, and harshness of the
ride. Those are things like full size pick-up trucks. Even
those vehicles have the battery ground to the inner fender
wells, and the inner fenders are integrated with the
firewall and passenger compartment. The frame may be poorly
bonded for RF to the passenger compartment and front end
because of rubber mounts, but the inner fenders and
everything else is fully integrated.

Quite frankly I can't think of a way to have a vehicle with
a loose passenger compartment that won't have alignment
problems with seams in sheet metal.

Now a few vehicles have non-metallic outer panels, but if
you don't do something butt stupid like drilling a hole in
an outer panel (like a door or fender) you won't have an
issue.

Even if you do connect to a panel that isn't grounded, which
would have to be a really silly and extremely rare thing to
do, it is basically harmless. The radio just won't run.

Connecting to the battery, however, sets the person up for
EXACTLY what you were complaining about earlier. I find it
puzzling that you first say too good of a ground is a
problem, and now you seem to be telling people to do EXACTLY
what would cause the problem that couldn't be caused by a
good chassis ground!

.......but then a lot of things perplex me.

73 Tom