[TowerTalk] Copper strap bonding ideas?

[Jim Miller]

Jim

Thanks for taking the time to respond to my newbish question. Although I've
been a ham for a few years, my installation of a couple of new antennas
have caused me to get more serious about grounding. We live at the highest
point for several miles around and although I've not experienced any
lightning damage many of my neighbors have experienced recent losses due to
lightning damage on appliances, electronic equipment, etc.

So I thought since I was improving my ham related grounding it would be a
good time to look at ensuring my service panel ground was well done to
minimize problems due to power line surges from lighting. I'm having a
surge arrestor installed to clamp L1 and L2 to neutral. I thought that
making sure the impedence from neutral to Ufer was minimized would be a
good idea.

After reading Jim Brown's and Polyphaser's papers all day yesterday I
thought that inductance as well as resistance of the connection between
panel and ufer was relevant to minimizing surge potential rise in the
house. It sounds from your feedback that the frequencies involved in
lightning induced power surge don't warrant the use of strap. It also
sounds like augmenting the bonding from panel to ufer is not time well
spent.

Is the above correct?

My antenna and controls all come into the house adjacent to the service
entrance and terminate on a copper panel which will be bonded to the same
ufer. The length from this "antenna panel" to the ufer is about 10ft (floor
to celiing distance). What would you recommend as the bonding wire for this
length?

Thanks again!

Jim ab3cv