[TowerTalk] A unique and difficult grounding problem

Sat Jun 6 17:40:52 EDT 2015

Unfortunately, I'd have to hire it done.  My left arm and leg only work 
for basic functions.  I can't even scratch my nose with my left hand.  
It doesn't even work for pick 'em and flick 'em!

73

Roger (K8RI)

On 6/6/2015 8:22 AM, Joe Subich, W4TV wrote:
>
>> The garage apron which is nearly 30 feet wide by 20 feet long
>> prevents the installation of a ground ring with the shortest route to
>> the entrance being under the 30 feet of concrete, with the available
>> route being 110 feet longer.
>
> Saw cutting a six or eight inch wide path through the garage apron,
> installing that part of the ground ring and patching the concrete
> is neither difficult or expensive relative to the total cost of the
> ground ring/antenna system.
>
> 73,
>
>   ... Joe, W4TV
>
>
> On 2015-06-06 12:33 AM, Roger (K8RI) on TT wrote:
>> There is a problem with the best approach.  I agree with it in
>> principle, but In over half, ...well over half the installations I've
>> seen in over 54 years as a ham the best approach is not practical,
>> either from a logistics, and or cost approach.
>>
>> My house is typical for almost all homes in this area with the
>> electrical, phone and cable coming in the front while the antennas come
>> in from the back.
>>
>> The garage apron which is nearly 30 feet wide by 20 feet long prevents
>> the installation of a ground ring with the shortest route to the
>> entrance being under the 30 feet of concrete, with the available route
>> being 110 feet longer.
>> The best antenna entrance is almost opposite the power entrance
>>
>> I haven't been able to find a way around this.
>>
>> To make things worse, I operate SO2R with one station in the shop and
>> one in the house.  They are adjacent, but different addresses and
>> different power feeds from the same transformer. The neighbor across the
>> road is also on the same transformer.  As the antenna system is common
>> to both stations, that makes the tower system grounds common to both
>> stations resulting in both panel grounds eventually being tied
>> together.  I've not seen any practical way to avoid this.
>>
>> 73
>>
>> Roger (K8RI)
>>
>>
>> On 6/5/2015 2:39 PM, Joe Subich, W4TV wrote:
>>>
>>> The standard advice is to complete the ground "ring" around the house
>>> - extending counterclockwise from the 6M entry point to the service
>>> entrance.  Then relocate the 4" underground conduit from the main tower
>>> so it enters the shack at the same point as the 6M entry point.
>>>
>>> The combined entry point then becomes the common point for all coax
>>> and control line grounding - each line is connected where it crosses
>>> the "ground ring".
>>>
>>> The "ground ring" is about the only safe way to provide a common entry
>>> when cables (or any conductor - e.g. air conditioning lines, well
>>> power/control/water pipes, etc.) must enter/leave a building somewhere
>>> other than the utility service entrance.
>>>
>>> 73,
>>>
>>>    ... Joe, W4TV
>>>
>>>
>>> On 2015-06-05 2:01 PM, Peter Dougherty (W2IRT) wrote:
>>>> Once again, hello all.
>>>>
>>>> For 10 years I've wondered about the best way to ground my station. 
>>>> If I
>>>> just had one tower it would be easy. Likewise if all my feedlines
>>>> entered at
>>>> the same place. But here this is not the case. I have two towers-a 
>>>> main
>>>> 70-footer for HF and a 35 footer for 6m (and maybe someday a 10m 
>>>> Yagi as
>>>> well). The main tower is grounded via three 2" copper straps (and
>>>> stainless
>>>> steel clamps) connected to 8' copper-clad steel ground rods at the
>>>> tower's
>>>> base, and 4AWG solid bare copper wire Cadwelded to the rods and then
>>>> out to
>>>> a ground radial field. The small tower will soon be connected to one
>>>> end of
>>>> the ground field via strapping or braid.
>>>>
>>>> *See the following images (an overall grounding plan and photos of 
>>>> both
>>>> cable entrance points):
>>>> http://i291.photobucket.com/albums/ll290/W2IRT/Ground%20Plan.jpg
>>>> http://i291.photobucket.com/albums/ll290/W2IRT/6m%20tower%20and%20inlet.jpg 
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> http://i291.photobucket.com/albums/ll290/W2IRT/back-house1.jpg
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> The main tower's coaxes all connect to an Ameritron RCS-12L (8 ports,
>>>> equipped with lightning protection gas discharge tubes). The coaxes 
>>>> and
>>>> control lines enter the house via a 4-foot high crawlspace situated
>>>> under
>>>> the radio room, traverse about 25' of carpeted floor then rise up 
>>>> to the
>>>> radio desk. The secondary tower's coax enters the house via an 
>>>> inlet box
>>>> above floor level in the shack, about 30 feet away from the main 
>>>> tower's
>>>> inlet, and on the other side of the shack's floor.
>>>>
>>>> There *is* a Cadwelded, bonded ground line between the main tower,
>>>> the inlet
>>>> box and the secondary tower but the problem I'm facing, and the
>>>> question I'm
>>>> asking, is where the heck do I put the single-point ground panel?
>>>> Bonding
>>>> everything so a lightning strike's rise and fall would occur
>>>> simultaneously
>>>> is something.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> ---------------------------------------------
>>>> Peter, W2IRT
>>>>
>>>> www.facebook.com/W2IRT
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
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>>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>>
>>>
>>>
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>>
>>
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-- 

73

Roger (K8RI)

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