[TowerTalk] Cost Of Proper Gronding and Bonding

[Jim Brown]

On 9/18/2021 10:03 AM, Phil Coley wrote:
> I guess all stations aren’t equal in protection due to a lot of factors. 

Yes!

I am making changes/additions now that my income permits. It’s a basic 
station that I can’t spend a fortune on making it totally protected (if 
there is such a thing). May be cheaper just to give up the hobby.

I would assign priorities to bonding inside the shack, bonding to all 
grounds outside the shack, and bonding feedlines outside the shack or 
where they enter.

Most of the principles described both in my pdf and Ward's ARRL book are 
inexpensive to implement. It's more a matter of understanding what 
matters, what doesn't, and what are the right ways to do it.

Bonding inside our stations costs nothing more than time and wire. 
Bonding outside our stations is more time, the wire (larger size), maybe 
additional rods, and connectors (either clamps or CADWELDs).

Bonding coax where it enters our shack can be accomplished using the 
very nice AS-300-series arrestors that Array Solutions sells, and he 
shows a simple way to mount them to a driven rod that would, of course, 
be bonded to the rest of our grounds. They also sell an arrestor for 
2-wire line. AND -- the GDTs are user replaceable, and he sells 
replacements. With Polyphaser, you get to buy a brand new arrestor.

I'm a serious contester and have a lot of land, so I have a LOT of 
antennas (including six RX antennas with long runs of CATV RG6), so I've 
mounted (with help from neighbor W6GJB) a bunch of the Array Solutions 
arrestors in a large weatherproof enclosure, bought from the REAL 
electrical supply house in town, which had multiple pieces of multiple 
sizes in stock. It supplements an in-wall entry panel that neighbor K6XX 
built for me in his shop that's loaded with Polyphaser feedthrus. In 
addition the cost of buying a replacement, it's a 2-person job replacing 
them. Now, when they blow, I'm moving the antenna to the new panel with 
the Array Solutions arrestors.

73, Jim K9YC