Normal practice is to connect the "ground" to the station ground buss. The station ground buss may be connected to a ground system at the base of the tower or somewhere near the station, provided it is ALSO tied directly to the AC mains ground for the structure. The point is to be certain there is but ONE mains ground for the structure and the station **without** relying on connections from the coax cables to the chassis to the mains outlet ground.
Also, external devices normally have a seamless enclosure with only one side that opens for access to internal components. Normally it must be mounted with the side that opens facing downward, so rain will not get inside. Sealing such an enclosure is also possible, if you insist, but be sure to provide plenty of desiccant inside to absorb the moisture that will condense out of the air trapped inside unless you have an opening in the side facing downward. Otherwise you'll see a huge amount of corrosion in spite of sealing it against salt air. I would recommend calking only any seams that are facing to the sides or upward. Also, it is very important to provide "drip loops" on all cables entering the enclosure. Good designs have the connectors and any cable openings facing down since they are not 100% water tight. Drip loops will form naturally for any conductors coming from above. Be sure to run conductors coming from below to a point above the unit, then loop back down to form a drip loop. You guys in the warm climates really have it tough. Here on the Oregon coast I'm a few hundred yards from the surf, close enough that it's a constant background sound, and several times each winter we experience Cat 1 or 2 hurricane force winds blowing in off of the ocean, yet I have yet to experience salt corrosion on anything. Ron AC7AC -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Clint Sent: Saturday, February 18, 2012 2:51 PM To: [email protected] Subject: [Elecraft] To ground or not to ground OK, this is OT, sort of. It will be connected to my K3 so.. I just bought a remote mast mounted antenna switch (Ameritron RSC-8V). It comes with the center conductor electrically floating when the port is OFF. It seems to me I would be better off (safer) if the center conductor was grounded (or had a gas discharge tube or choke or resistor or??? when OFF. What do ya think? One thing is for darn sure, I am going to paint the cruddy polystyrene box and steel brackets (with "Rust Bullet" FYI), clean off the flux and coat the PC board before it sees the costal weather! Caulking will be in order also. Salty rain and spray are nasty even 5 miles in. 73, Clint KI6SSN ______________________________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:[email protected] This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
