[TowerTalk] FD ground systems

[Jim Jarvis]

And you thought the never-ending-story was exciting?

As prime driver of more than one top-ten entry, and of at
least one record score which will never be broken...
(that's a challenge!)

.....  Don't screw with safety in the field!!!!!!!!
I've never had a field day since 1958 where we weren't
standing in water, at least some of the time.  

Power safety grounds MUST be confirmed by the power team,
before anything hooks up.  Make one man responsible, and 
one responsible for double checking him.  A plug checker
is de-rigeur.

Computer networks are the next most fractious....and using 
WiFi to avoid the ground loop problems is not a bad idea.
But they're not a problem if the power ground is confirmed
intact.  The issue here is bypassing the power safety gnd.
If it's intact, it doesn't matter.

With respect to Lightning and RF....RF gnd resides within each
station.  As for Lightning?  Shut it off and go someplace safe.
Do it early.  

Running across a wet field, with 1kV/m potentials from dissipation 
of a lightning strike will only excite portions of your anatomy
best left alone.  

N2EA
jimjarvis at ieee.org