On Sat, 28 Jan 2006 09:21:09 GMT, HFguy wrote:


The antenna primary ground connection should be close to the balun,
which should also be close to the ground (earth) at the bottom of the
vertical antenna leg. My balun box is about a foot above ground. This
keeps the ground wire as short as possible to the nearby rod for good RF
grounding. The balun should be installed in a water tight box,
especially if you have a lot snow cover in your area. I used a plastic
electrical conduit junction box with a cover plate and gasket. These are
the kind made for outside use. Most good hardware stores have them. The
box came with a hole on each end for plastic conduit. I sealed these two
holes with plastic caps made for this purpose. I drilled a small hole in
the top cap and installed a brass screw from the inside, which protrudes
from the cap. This is where the vertical antenna leg wire is connected
(soldered). The bottom cap on the box has a hole for the ground wire to
exit. The wire is sealed with RTV silicone around the hole. I also
installed a female coax surface (panel) connector in another hole next
to the bottom cap for the coax lead connection. The balun is mounted on
a terminal strip inside the box where the connections are made to the
ground wire, the brass screw to the vertical antenna leg and the coax
connector. The latter should have it's ground lug connected to the
ground wire and the common side of the balun windings. The high
impedance winding (with the most turns) of the balun goes to the brass
screw on the top cap. The low impedance winding (least turns) connects
to the center terminal of the female coax connector. You can also ground
the shield of the coax near the house but I haven't found this to be
necessary. As you said, it's better to avoid another break in the coax.
Good luck.
Silicone is brutal stuff. CoAx Seal is much kinder to the plastic and
the metal.