Sent from my iPhone > On Oct 18, 2019, at 9:36 AM, Roger D Johnson <[email protected]> wrote: > > The ham reflectors are full of accounts > of putting in X number of ground rods, measuring the resistance at power line > frequencies and being fooled into thinking they have a good lightning ground. > > 73, Roger > _________________ Sorry Roger, but I don’t recall reading the accounts you assert the “ham reflectors are full of.” Seems to me what I mostly read are postings about three types of antenna grounds: (1) high Z grounds intended to bleed off static electricity and thereby protect receiver front ends, and (2) low Z grounds made of heavy gauge wire intended to absorb the EMP from nearby lightning discharges, and (3) super-robust low Z single point grounds intended to safely dissipate the energy from direct lightning strikes.
At my station I have all of the above, depending on the situation. For example, my 70 foot Sky Needle falls in the third category. It has 8 buried 80 ft radials of 4AWG copper wire fanning out from the base, with an 8 ft ground rod attached to each radial, spaced roughly 16 ft apart - 40 ground rods in all. This setup has absorbed several direct strikes with no damage to connected equipment. All of my grounds are based on information I obtained from ham reflectors, including this one. 73, Jim w8zr _________________ Searchable Archives: http://www.contesting.com/_topband - Topband Reflector
