[TowerTalk] Station Ground

[Roger (K8RI) on TT]

On 10/19/2014 5:04 PM, Bill Turner wrote:
> ------------ ORIGINAL MESSAGE ------------(may be snipped)
>
> 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:

Many older rigs like the Yaesu FT101 series only had a two wire power 
cord and depended on a separate ground wire.  I think some of my old 
Hallicrafters equipment was the same.  Easily solved by replacing the 
power cord with modern 3 wire and tying the chassis to the green wire.

  I had one that nearly electrocuted me due to an over generous solder 
joint from the factory. The end of a radial on the 40 meter vertical 
(tied to a ground rod at the base of the vertical) measured 110 VAC. The 
end of the wire had come loose and curled up. I pulled it tight and 
knelt down to stick the end in the ground to hold it.  When my knees 
touched the damp ground, it grabbed me.  I fell over and when my knees 
broke contact with ground I threw that wire.  Had it been grounded 
through the outlet it would have popped the breaker, saving me some sore 
arms and chest, or possibly worse.  The other end of that wire tied to a 
ground rod.  The ground rod tied to the chassis through the coax 
shield.  The chassis was tied to a ground rod just outside the wall.

Use that green wire, or add one.  It's a lot more protection!

73

Roger (K8RI)
.
>
> 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
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-- 

73

Roger (K8RI)