| Author |
Message |
    
Bridge_man
Junior Member
Username: Bridge_man
Post Number: 26
Registered: 3-2006
| | Posted on Thursday, November 02, 2006 - 9:59 pm: | 
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i've got my system grounded to a 8' copper rod within 6 feet of it.no ground on my anntron99. my house has kinda old wiring.theres a ground rod at my meter box outside the house with a wire running to it from the meter box but theres no outlets in the house that has a ground socket.there just 2 prong outlets.
so do i still need to connect my radio ground rod to the house ground rod to make a single point ground system? or would that be useless since none of the outlets are grounded to to the house ground? |
Tech833
Moderator
Username: Tech833
Post Number: 1499
Registered: 8-2002
| | Posted on Friday, November 03, 2006 - 1:08 pm: |
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You need to ground your radio even more than someone with 3-prong plugs.
You should bond your antenna and radio with something other than the coax shield for safety. |
Bridge_man
Junior Member
Username: Bridge_man
Post Number: 27
Registered: 3-2006
| | Posted on Friday, November 03, 2006 - 1:41 pm: |
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so i need to run a 8 gauge copper wire to the house ground? and an 8 gauge wire from my anntron to system ground? or would another ground rod under the antenna be allright? |
Draft
Member
Username: Draft
Post Number: 89
Registered: 7-2006
| | Posted on Friday, November 03, 2006 - 7:36 pm: |
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There are 2 sides of the fence with that issue. On one side, some say "Ground EVERYTHING to one common ground INCLUDING the antenna" & the other side will say "Ground EVERYTHING EXCEPT the antenna to a common ground in order to avoid introducing the unwanted possibility of an antenna strike." You can ask 100 different CBer's or HAM's alike and you'll always get a 50/50 response. |
Tech808
Moderator
Username: Tech808
Post Number: 12060
Registered: 8-2002
| | Posted on Friday, November 03, 2006 - 8:01 pm: |
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Copper Forum Member's,
That is why the Copper Forum Member's are Very Lucky to have Paul / Tech833 who is a P.B.E. and owns his own Broadcast Engineering Services company donate his own personal time to help the Copper Forum Member’s dispel the false & mis-leading myths and rumors floating around. 
Lon
Tech808
CEF808
N9CEF
CVC#2 |
Bridge_man
Junior Member
Username: Bridge_man
Post Number: 28
Registered: 3-2006
| | Posted on Friday, November 03, 2006 - 10:39 pm: |
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yes i've read till my head hurts about grounding so i just decided to ask since i have kinda a diffrent situation with no ground on my outlets.my radio does'nt have a ground on the plug either so i guess im allright with the ground that i have on my system.its better than nothing at all!thanks everyone!
Copper forum needs a grounding section!!! |
Chad
Senior Member
Username: Chad
Post Number: 1197
Registered: 11-2004
| | Posted on Saturday, November 04, 2006 - 2:30 am: |
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Think this way.... It's a DIFFERENCE in potential that kills things. Sink EVERYTHING (from the hit) you can into the ground , and then let EVERYTHING attached rise to the left over potential.
It's not IF you get hit.. It's WHEN you get hit. You gotta ride the wave.
Chad |
Bridge_man
Junior Member
Username: Bridge_man
Post Number: 29
Registered: 3-2006
| | Posted on Saturday, November 04, 2006 - 9:27 am: |
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guess i need to run a new outlet from a new breaker to my setup with ground connected,then another wire from radio ground rod to house ground rod.then i'd have my system ran on its own grounded outlet seprate from the house outlets.I guess thats the right way to fix my problem.
just answered my own question!!! |
Tech833
Moderator
Username: Tech833
Post Number: 1501
Registered: 8-2002
| | Posted on Saturday, November 04, 2006 - 6:48 pm: |
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An easy way to do this with a single ground rod is to run a copper wire (#10 minimum) from the antenna to the radio along the coax (you can even tie wrap it to the coax if you want). Connect that copper wire to the ground rod wherever it may be (antenna base or entrance to house). This is the BARE MINIMUM requirement! This will not protect you from a lightning hit in most cases, but will do much more than no grounds, or differential grounds.
Now, I can tell you, my sites have been hit, and my personal tower at my house has been hit. No damage to anything. In fact, the radios are on the air most of the time when hit, and they just stay on the air and keep on playing.Some 'experts' (CB or hams) might say this is impossible. However, they need to make the trip to a commercial radio installation and see for themselves before they speak.
Handing me a driver's license does not make me an expert driver. Experience and training does. Remember that when an 'expert' tells you something that could burn your house down or kill you if they are wrong. |
Kid_vicious
Senior Member
Username: Kid_vicious
Post Number: 2234
Registered: 9-2004
| | Posted on Saturday, November 04, 2006 - 9:45 pm: |
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bridge man, this will give you a single point ground without having to run a new breaker or outlet.
you've got a ground rod outside the house coming from the electric meter.
connect that ground rod to the ground rod under your antenna. (you can bury the wire if possible)
run a wire from the mounting bracket of the A99 to the ground rod under the antenna.
run a wire from each piece of equipment to this ground rod making sure each piece of wire is shtorter than 96".
if the equipment is too far from this ground rod, pound in a ground rod just outside the shack, attatch the equipment to it, and attatch it to the other ground rod.
only the wires going from the equipment to a ground rod need to follow the 96" rule.
the others can be as long as is needed.
so all you need is some 6-8 ga. solid copper wire, and maybe one more ground rod.
one bonus is that your whole house electrical system will be better grounded now!
matt |
Bridge_man
Junior Member
Username: Bridge_man
Post Number: 32
Registered: 3-2006
| | Posted on Sunday, November 05, 2006 - 9:01 pm: |
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what if i left off grounding the antenna?is'nt that just for saftey?if lightning hit it?im mainly grounding for perfomance.trying to get rid of interference coming over my radio,and coming from my radio.or would grounding the anntron help?i've just allways heard that grounding a anntron doesnt do much but give you peace of mind. |
Tech833
Moderator
Username: Tech833
Post Number: 1504
Registered: 8-2002
| | Posted on Monday, November 06, 2006 - 10:11 am: |
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Grounding for performance, as you put it, means installing an RF ground. That means you need to bury a fan of radials around the base of the antenna and bond them to the antenna ground.
To help with noise, be sure to use fully shielded coax like Heliax or LMR cables. The difference is noticeable and amazing. |
Bridge_man
Junior Member
Username: Bridge_man
Post Number: 34
Registered: 3-2006
| | Posted on Monday, November 06, 2006 - 1:51 pm: |
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what do you mean by a fan of radials? made of what? got any pics? |
Kid_vicious
Senior Member
Username: Kid_vicious
Post Number: 2240
Registered: 9-2004
| | Posted on Tuesday, November 07, 2006 - 12:00 am: |
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i second 833's suggestion on coax.
upgrading your coax to LMR400 or 1/2" heliax will make a noticable improvement.
it did for me.
a fan of radials is a bunch of wires extending out horizontally from the base of your antenna mast. they are usually buried a few inches underground.
im not sure how long they should be, but i think its one wavelength which would be about 36 feet.
as for how many, the more the better, i have heard of people using 120 or more.
this is not feasable for many of us beacuse of lot size.
matt |
Tech833
Moderator
Username: Tech833
Post Number: 1505
Registered: 8-2002
| | Posted on Tuesday, November 07, 2006 - 12:09 am: |
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Run lengths of bare copper wire horizontally just a few inches below the ground surface in all directions away from the antenna base. Picture a * or 'pound' button on your phone, or the way you cut a pie. The more radials, the better. Make them at least 9 feet long, preferably longer though. |
