[TowerTalk] Station Ground

[Bill Turner]

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On Sun, 19 Oct 2014 16:09:27 +0000 (UTC), K7MKS wrote:

>
>Shack location dictates using a 25-30 foot ground level run from a new hams TS-530S to an exterior ground rod. He was planning on using #12 for the run but wonders if braid from RG-8 or a larger diameter single wire etc would offer improvement over a single wire? 

REPLY:

You don't need to run a wire from your rig to earth ground at all. All
you need is to connect your rig to the "third wire" ground in your AC
plug, which it probably already is, and to ground your antenna system
for lightning protection.  

Installing a ground wire for your rig is an old wives' tale that will
seemingly not die. You don't need it and in fact, it may actually
cause harm by providing a path for a nearby lighting strike. Lightning
does not want to go through your rig - it wants to go to ground. Why
provide a secondary path for it through your expensive rig?

One last thought:  If "grounding" your rig actually improves
transmission or reception, you don't have a grounding problem, you
have an antenna problem. Earth is lossy at RF. RF energy is expensive
to generate, so why waste any of it by running it through dirt? Keep
your RF up in the air where it belongs. 
A balun or unun is your friend. 

Does a flashlight need to be "grounded" to put out a beam of light?
Neither does your rig. 

73, Bill W6WRT