[TowerTalk] Shack ground

[Jim Brown]

On Fri, 18 Jun 2010 08:28:29 -0700, jimlux wrote:

>Hams get all hung up on the "ground" word and that leads to a lot of 
>confusion, for instance, if your shack is on the second (or tenth) 
>floor.  You still need a common point to tie/reference things to, even 
>if you're somewhere a long ways from the dirt.

YES! The word GROUND is badly mis-used here, and leads to a LOT of 
confusion. 

>A fascinating paragraph comes up much later in the emerald book (since I 
>have it open..)

>Importantly, and because of the high-frequency components in the 
>lightning strike’s current path, special wiring and grounding techniques 
>must be used to properly conduct lightning currents on sites where
>electronic equipment is installed. The use of appropriate low-inductance 
>wiring means with appropriate I2t rating for the conductor(s) and 
>multipoint grounding (MPG) *as opposed to* high rms current-carrying
>capability techniques and single-point ground (SPG) arrangements are the 
>core of this special design requirement.

>Note what that says... SPG may be the *wrong* way to deal with lightning.

You're right on target, Jim. This simple-minded SPG concept has some 
serious shortcomings, is built on some fuzzy thinking and false 
assumptions, and leads to a lot more fuzzy thinking. 

73, Jim K9YC