I bought a Force 12 beam, for 40M, 20M, 15M and 10M from a fellow TDXS
ham when he left Houston area. It has been in my garage ever since... a
few years.
Anyone interested in buying it let me know via email first....
Have a great day.
Bob Hardie W5UQ Magnolia, TX
Bob H. W5UQ.com
On 5/25/2022 2:17 PM, Gus Bernard via BVARC wrote:
Attached see the Motorola R65 manual I think Robert is referring to. I
don't know if there's a newer version.
BTW, salt ( with moisture) works well to improve ground rod
conductivity if you can get it down the hole. But as Robert says, it
kills grass and won't last forever.
Gus K5GMB
On Wed, May 25, 2022 at 11:19 AM Robert Polinski via BVARC
<[email protected]> wrote:
John, Hubbell & Nvent-Erico both make threaded ground rods. I
think both need a threaded coupling for both. Chemical grounds
work but are seldom used around here, they become less effective
over time, and need care to install as most use a sodium based
chemical the corrosion factor is high, also no grass will grow
around the rod for years. The practice here and in most locals is
to use multiple rods 6-10ft apart. That is the practice at most
all cell phone sites. Motorola published a grounding guide for
communications sites, deals with best practices in grounding and
lightning protection. Do not recall the publication # but it is
online It is Standards and Guidelines for Communication Sites. Due
note the book is 500+ pages long. Not easy reading, but a good
guide. Your sandy soil is great for pushing in ground rods by
hand, that type of soil is what N5XZ had at his tower site & we
pushed in 4 or 5 at his tower base. Sandy soil is fairly
conductive when damp but less so as it dries out (keep the water
hose handy) Robert
*From:* BVARC <[email protected]> *On Behalf Of *john
Parmalee via BVARC
*Sent:* Wednesday, May 25, 2022 9:14 AM
*To:* [email protected]
*Cc:* john Parmalee <[email protected]>
*Subject:* Re: [BVARC] grounding
Robert, thanks for your comments. I will check Elliott for screw
together g rods the next time I am in town. I live in far
southwest Montgomery county, We don't have gumbo here but sandy
loam. When I put my last g rod in I used a section of PVC
connected to a garden hose to wash six or so feet into the ground
then a sledge,
One thing that has not been mentioned is chemical grounds. I
recall trying to make a 35 mHz paging system work. One thing we
did was to install chemical grounds on all the towers involved.
That didn't work, the frequency sees a modern office building a as
a wave guide below cut off and just doesn't penetrate,
I have read stories about trying to get a good ground while
building across the desert power transmission lines.
John Parmalee
[email protected]
281-380-3811
K5VGM WI2XLJ
In a message dated 5/25/2022 7:13:24 AM Central Standard Time,
[email protected] writes:
Robert,
At my installation the only one I am really concerned about is
the ground for the DSL into my house (NOT installed by myself)
that is a pipe, not a rod. I clamped a ground wire to a
sanded portion of the pipe, and bonded it to my station
ground, but I think the pipe thing is a real bad idea. Given
that it is an AT&T thing, do you have any suggestions other
than what I have done?
Ron
Sent from Mail
<https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=550986> for Windows
*From: *Robert Polinski via BVARC <mailto:[email protected]>
*Sent: *Tuesday, May 24, 2022 8:29 PM
*To: *john Parmalee <mailto:[email protected]>; BRAZOS VALLEY
AMATEUR RADIO CLUB <mailto:[email protected]>
*Cc: *Robert Polinski <mailto:[email protected]>
*Subject: *Re: [BVARC] grounding
John, they do make thread together rods, when I did commercial
communications I have used them at comm sites. Here, a 10ft
ground rod is fine as are wet gumbo soil makes a pretty good
ground. The NEC requires 2 ground rods or a ground rod and a
ufer ground, which can be rebar in the slab, metal water line
or metal bldg. if in contact with the earth via rebar or
poles. I usually install 2 rods. Most 10 ft ground are easy to
push in the ground with just your hands. I just a few weeks
ago installed additional rods at a hams house in the Heights.
I wired a home in Elgin, just outside of Austin. Had to
install horizonal ground rods as the ground was solid rock 2
ft down. I always tie to an existing rod but always add an
additional rod as you never know if the old ground rod is 10ft
or 18” Here in the Houston area, testing is not necessary
because of the soil, but as the video shows, it is a neat
test. You are correct in your bends in the grounding
conductor, they will act as a choke if made sharp, also, you
should no run the ground wire in metal conduit for the same
reason unless you bond the ground wire to the conduit at both
ends. As far a lightning goes, remember, all the wiring the
strike travels thru on the way to the earth has resistance &
inductance, so by the time it gets in the circuit the voltage
& current are greatly reduced, still high, but since the
duration is short, a good grounding system will dissipate
quickly. Robert
*From:* BVARC <[email protected]> *On Behalf Of *john
Parmalee via BVARC
*Sent:* Tuesday, May 24, 2022 6:31 PM
*To:* [email protected]
*Cc:* john Parmalee <[email protected]>
*Subject:* Re: [BVARC] grounding
From what the great video says, if you are comfortable working
with 120V the simplest way to check out a ground rod is to see
how much current it will draw and do the math. Don't attempt
this without experience working with a live circuit. I have
been told by licensed /electricians/that when a new service is
turned up if there is the stub of a ground rod sticking out of
the ground it is good. No testing required.
The thing I don't know is where to get the ground rod to
ground rod connections and the ground rods with the blunt ends
so they can match the previously driven rod. Lowes only
carries the 8 or it 10-foot rods and the coupling to the flex
wire to the service box. I checked Amazon and found nothing.
I am told the local rental yard will rent a hammer drill and
the ground rod driving adapter.
Another comment regarding the ability of a ground to carry a
lightning strike. All bends of the ground wire should have the
gentlest bends possible. A strike of lightning is a very fast
rise time having many harmonics. We know this because we can
hear lightning almost to the VHF bands, A bend will look like
an inductor and raise the instant ohmic value of a ground
rod. On the other hand, a few turns on a coax or power source
lead will increase the ohms to you rig.it <http://rig.it> will
not protect against a direct hit but might fend off some
induced current from a nearby strike. In south Florida it is
common to tie several knots in your modem phone line. In
Michigan they wrap a phone line around a ¼” bolt , some
washers and a nut..
John Parmalee
[email protected]
281-380-3811
K5VGM WI2XLJ
In a message dated 5/23/2022 7:54:42 PM Central Standard Time,
[email protected] writes:
If any one is interested in ground rod resistance, you can
watch the link below. One thing I want watchers to note,
they have 2 50ft ground rods connected together, they hook
the hot side of a 120v ckt to them and it only pulls 13
amps (not enough to trip a breaker), that is why the
grounding system must have a bond back to the power co
ground always. Note this is not related to the RF grounds
used as a counterpoise to an antenna system other than
they will be tied together at a point. Robert
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yg6G5VUSsWA
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