I am most likely going to buy a new Ameritron RCS4 antenna switch so I can
not have so many coax cables coming into the house. Question: does anyone
know if this switch shorts all the unused connectors to ground? How about
when the switch is turned off?

Thanks
--
Jim Bob Buckeye
AKA
**** Jim Leder****
K8CXM since 1961
IBM retiree since 1999
http://home.fuse.net/k8cxm/

You can download the manual he

http://www.ameritron.com/products.php?prodid=RCS-4

The schematic does not show any grounding for the unused ports, nor
does the word description. Hope this helps.

--
Alan
WA4SCA

Jim Leder wrote:
I am most likely going to buy a new Ameritron RCS4 antenna switch so I can
not have so many coax cables coming into the house. Question: does anyone
know if this switch shorts all the unused connectors to ground? How about
when the switch is turned off?

Thanks
I have I think the RCS8, there are 8 positions but none were grounded.
I grounded the #1 position and everytime I shut down I would chose
position #1 and my coax would always be grounded

On Mar 26, 11:50 am, "Jim Leder" wrote:
I am most likely going to buy a new Ameritron RCS4 antenna switch so I can
not have so many coax cables coming into the house. Question: does anyone
know if this switch shorts all the unused connectors to ground? How about
when the switch is turned off?

You might consider a Top Ten Devices switch. Six positions, full
grounding.

http://www.qth.com/topten/sixway.htm

Note that they also sell a weatherproof version of the switch

Thanks
--
Jim Bob Buckeye
AKA
**** Jim Leder****
K8CXM since 1961
IBM retiree since 1999http://home.fuse.net/k8cxm/

w3rv

On Mar 26, 12:50 pm, "Jim Leder" wrote:
I am most likely going to buy a new Ameritron RCS4 antenna switch so I can
not have so many coax cables coming into the house. Question: does anyone
know if this switch shorts all the unused connectors to ground? How about
when the switch is turned off?

Thanks
--
Jim Bob Buckeye
AKA
**** Jim Leder****
K8CXM since 1961
IBM retiree since 1999http://home.fuse.net/k8cxm/

Jim,

I have the RSC-8V and the manual says that the unit comes with the
unselected leads isolated from ground. If you want them to be
grounded you have to install a jumper and it shows a diagram on how to
do it.

Dennis, N8ERF

On 27 Mar 2007 18:02:20 -0700, "Dennis Klipa"
wrote:

On Mar 26, 12:50 pm, "Jim Leder" wrote:
I am most likely going to buy a new Ameritron RCS4 antenna switch so I can
not have so many coax cables coming into the house. Question: does anyone
know if this switch shorts all the unused connectors to ground? How about
when the switch is turned off?

Thanks
--
Jim Bob Buckeye
AKA
**** Jim Leder****
K8CXM since 1961
IBM retiree since 1999http://home.fuse.net/k8cxm/

Jim,

I have the RSC-8V and the manual says that the unit comes with the
unselected leads isolated from ground. If you want them to be
grounded you have to install a jumper and it shows a diagram on how to
do it.

Dennis, N8ERF

Hi Dennis,

I also have the RSC-8 (wire controlled version). I just put solder
bridges across the foil in the proper places. (They have a diagram?)
Of course by the time I got around to adding the "normally shorted" I
had long since lost the paperwork that came with it.

There has been so much corona around the top of that tower, I need to
replace the switch after about 4 years. The coax connectors are so
heavily etched they won't come apart. Inside the box is still nice and
shiny. No, I don't run that much power, but the tower has taken at
least 3 direct lightning strikes a year since it went up. Those are
just the ones the neighbors have seen, so it's likely more.
Roger Halstead (K8RI & ARRL life member)
(N833R, S# CD-2 Worlds oldest Debonair)
www.rogerhalstead.com

On 26 Mar 2007 14:34:30 -0700, "Brian Kelly" wrote:

On Mar 26, 11:50 am, "Jim Leder" wrote:
I am most likely going to buy a new Ameritron RCS4 antenna switch so I can
not have so many coax cables coming into the house. Question: does anyone
know if this switch shorts all the unused connectors to ground? How about
when the switch is turned off?

You might consider a Top Ten Devices switch. Six positions, full
grounding.

http://www.qth.com/topten/sixway.htm

Although a bit pricy DX Engineering has several very nice remote
switches.

Note that they also sell a weatherproof version of the switch

Thanks
--
Jim Bob Buckeye
AKA
**** Jim Leder****
K8CXM since 1961
IBM retiree since 1999http://home.fuse.net/k8cxm/

w3rv
Roger Halstead (K8RI & ARRL life member)
(N833R, S# CD-2 Worlds oldest Debonair)
www.rogerhalstead.com

Roger wrote:
On 26 Mar 2007 14:34:30 -0700, "Brian Kelly" wrote:

On Mar 26, 11:50 am, "Jim Leder" wrote:
I am most likely going to buy a new Ameritron RCS4 antenna switch so I can
not have so many coax cables coming into the house. Question: does anyone
know if this switch shorts all the unused connectors to ground? How about
when the switch is turned off?

You might consider a Top Ten Devices switch. Six positions, full
grounding.

http://www.qth.com/topten/sixway.htm

Although a bit pricy DX Engineering has several very nice remote
switches.

Note that they also sell a weatherproof version of the switch


It's hard to believe that anybody, anywhere sells a "weatherproof" unit
that uses bare bulkhead SO-239s and terminal blocks... but that is what
every company, everywhere seems to do. They are easy to manufacture, but
they dump all the weatherproofing problems onto the customer.

Until someone starts to sell remote boxes that use sealed lead-throughs
with tails of cable, and in-line connectors that can be made truly
waterproof, I will continue to make my own.



--

73 from Ian GM3SEK 'In Practice' columnist for RadCom (RSGB)
http://www.ifwtech.co.uk/g3sek