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-MAY NEWS LETTERISOTRON 160/80 WE MADE IT EASY FOR YOU! THE BEST WAY TO OPERATE HF EASY INSTALLATION EXCELLENT PERFORMANCE DURABLE CONSTRUCTION CC&R FRIENDLY (XYL ALSO) PLEASE FORWARD THIS ARTICLE TO THOSE YOU FEEL WOULD BE INTERESTED. STATION GROUNDING We are certainly at risk from a lightning strike when we stick a piece of metal up just outside our home or on the roof. What is the safest way to install your antennas near your home? Keep in mind, electrical discharges from weather can go from the sky to ground, or from the ground up. A direct hit is less likely than a partial hit from nearby lightning. We can not do much with a direct hit, but the partial discharges can be handled. If you have a pole (metal) or a tower near your home, you will want to ground the structure to the earth. Using ground rod with a short heavy wire or braid to the bottom of your pole or tower. For a tower, 3 ground rods are recommend close to the tower. However, not in the concrete base. In the dirt. A pole or mast, one ground rod is sufficient. You can get ground rods from 2 feet to 8 feet. Which one do you use? Keep in mind, you are trying to dissipate a very high voltage. The earth can be referenced as 0 volts. When a storm comes in the atmosphere can get heavily charged, either negative or positive. Therefore, a discharge can go either way. You want as much surface area in your grounding to conductible earth as possible. Depending on your type of soil will determine the type and size of your grounding system. An eight foot ground rod in conductive soft soil may be sufficient. In some cases a 4 foot rod in harder, but conductive soil will work. Remember, it is area of contact you want to maximize. A horizontal ground system is quite affective. Much like a radial system, except it does not need to be a tuned length and should be of heavy wire or rod. Running a ground wire from your home to the grounding system of your antenna is a poor idea. You already have a coaxial cable entering your home to burn it down. You do not want to invite an electrical discharge into your home any worse than you have to. In most cases, it is best to use the grounding provided in your home for your equipment. Disconnecting during non-use is a good habit. Your coax cable can be protected with coaxial lightning arresters. These can be placed at the tower or mast and grounded to the same ground system. For added safety you can put one near your home with its own ground rod. If your antenna is roof mounted, grounding is still important. Use a heavy ground wire connected to the base of your roof mount. Do not lay it on the roof. Neatly run it over the side with stand-offs. Make sure none of it touches the building. This holds true for the coax also. Lightning is unpredictable, but using a few techniques can make your home and station safer. 73, Ralph WD0EJA 12-18 BILAL COMPANY 137 MANCHESTER DR. FLORISSANT, CO. 80816 U.S.A PH/FX: 719/687-0650 |
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