[TowerTalk] Grounding

n6sj at earthlink.net n6sj at earthlink.net
Wed Sep 4 13:58:58 EDT 2019


Motorola's R56 is the gold standard for commercial communications sites.  We
had to comply with it for all our microwave radio installations for
cellular, public safety, etc.  

I should apply it at my home station, where I sit atop the Butano Sandstone
Formation...but I don't!

73,
Steve
N6SJ
 

-----Original Message-----
From: TowerTalk <towertalk-bounces at contesting.com> On Behalf Of Jim Brown
Sent: Wednesday, September 4, 2019 1:45 AM
To: towertalk at contesting.com
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] Grounding

On 9/3/2019 2:47 PM, RCM wrote:
> Go here and download the R56 document.

Note that 1) this is a procedural document for VHF/UHF repeater sites;
2) it's written for industrial budgets; 3) these sites are usually on
mauntaintops, where soil conductivity is generally quite poor, 4) it's 99.9%
about lightning protection; and 5) I'll bet it's got of lot of overkill to
prevent any legal challenges.

That said, lighting is a bad motha, and cares not a whit about any of the
above. :)  I haven't read the document, but the most important fundamentals
are about BONDING EVERYTHING!

I once had an HF station at a decommissioned AT&T Long Lines site Microwave
on a mountaintop in Nor Cal that my friend owns, and I had the opportunity
to study the documentation for station grounding (it was built in the '50s).
This is an area with terrible soil conductivity, and it's all about bonding.

The tower is about 150 ft tall, 32 ft square at the base, 24 ft square at
the top, and originally had a bunch of BIG dishes and BIG feedline, some of
which has been removed to make room for antennas for other systems.

73, Jim K9YC
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