And we "chew" on it for the edification of all hams that may be listening.
There are myths and misinformation that I hear everyday on the ham
bands, and to a lesser extent on reflector postings.
We can all learn from posts of the nature that Jim presented. I have
echoed several derivatives of his comments in the past, but perhaps it
is time for a refresher (and some study) on what "grounds" accomplish
and how to implement them correctly. For Lightning protection, I refer
you to the information by Ron Block that can be found at
http://www.arrl.org/lightning-protection.
He does cover some AC ground protection in those articles as well. He
talks of a perimeter wire around any building and tying it into the
Utility entrance ground. That is important for AC safety of your
station and your home.
As I indicated, RF "Ground" is neither of those grounding systems. RF
Ground is a point in the antenna system where the RF voltage is zero.
That is entirely dependent on your antenna - for a balanced dipole, it
exists at the center of the antenna feedpoint, and for a vertical, it
should exist at the midpoint of the vertical radiator and whatever
"counterpoise" is used. That may or may not be associated (and usually
is not) associated with any reference to "mother earth" - it is a
concept that is unique to the RF voltage and current.
In other words, attempting to create an "RF Ground" with a connection to
earth may be an exercise in futility and may actually create "RF in the
shack" and depends on the length of the wire to earth. For instance a
"ground wire" 8 feet in length to a ground rod will be a high impedance
to RF at 28 MHz, so instead of providing an "RF Ground", it will create
just the opposite.
73,
Don W3FPR
On 4/25/2014 9:14 PM, Richard Solomon wrote:
Wow, when you guys get your teeth into something, you really chew.
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