[TowerTalk] [Fwd: Re: LOW INDUCTANCE COPPER GROUNDING STRAP]

[Tom Rauch]

> After watching a similar discussion on using braid for
grounding equipment
> and right after I had just  just finished grounding every
piece of equipment
> with copper braid.

Actually there are many case where we MUST use braiding.
Those would be cases where the connection has to be flexed
or twisted.

I use braiding on my truck grounds. I use some in my shack
and some on antennas.

To see how I make connections look down the page at:

http://www.w8ji.com/rf_noise_powerstroke_diesel.htm

I heavily tin the braid ends. I drill or punch a hole
through the ends. Then you can bolt it down solidly and the
strands all make a connection.

Braiding has significantly higher impedance than solid
conductors. A textbook I have on transmission lines says it
is 3 to 4 times worse than a solid conductor but that is for
a transmission line lay that is clean and tightly pressed.
Lays used in transmission lines are generally not at sharp
angles and are not densely woven, so they have less
resistance per unit length than a rapid weave that is at
more at right angles to the current path.

Still, there are case where we have to use braiding. What we
do then is oversize it. We don't want to sacrifice
reliability for resistance. An open connection from a break
is worse than a braid by far.

73 Tom