On Sun, 24 Apr 2005 05:54:02 -0000, (Dave Platt)
wrote:

In article ,
Bob Miller wrote:

Is there a good layman's book on grounding amateur gear? Ask 10 hams a
grounding question and you get 11 answers :-)

Well, I won't claim that it's layman-level or that it's small, but I
do keep a copy of the U.S. Government's military handbook on grounding
on my server's website:

http://www.radagast.org/~dplatt/hamr...-grounding.pdf

Lots of good information there about ground rods, bonding, making
solid connections between elements of the ground system, etc.

Thanks to all who replied on grounding info sources. The information
is out there -- I just have to dig around a bit to find it...

bob
k5qwg

"Ian White G3SEK" wrote in message
...
Richard Harrison wrote:
"Is there a good layman`s book on grounding amateur gear?"

The ARRL Handbook for starters, My newest is the 1987 edition. It has
several pages of good suggestions on "The National Electrical Code",
protective devices, and lightning protection. They suggest books and
pamphlets to request for planning your installation.

There is also plenty of information on the ARRL website. The ARRL
Technical Information Service contains good information on a huge range of
technical questions:
http://www.arrl.org/tis/

For an overview on grounding, and how the separate requirements for mains
safety, lightning and RF grounding join together, start with:
http://www.arrl.org/tis/info/grounding.html

Searching the whole ARRL site for "grounding" brings up other references
as well.

By the way, almost all homes in the UK are categorically exempt from
specific lightning protection requirements in the Wiring Regulations...
but that also means we are not very lightning-conscious,

I like that "we" bit.
"We" of the U.K are quite aware that if the U.K.was "careless"
Condoleeza Rice or Bush would not hesitate to quickly let us know.
And would threaten the U.K. with sanctions if it did not come
to heel and change it's practices with lightning speed..
Art



and UK radio
amateurs tend to be very careless about bonding of mains earths and RF
earths. This is a case where we'd do much better to follow US earthing
principles, if we possibly can.


--
73 from Ian G3SEK 'In Practice' columnist for RadCom (RSGB)
http://www.ifwtech.co.uk/g3sek

Art Unwin wrote:
"We" of the U.K. are quite aware that if the U.K. was "careless"
Condoleza Rice or Bush would not hesitate to quickly let us know."

I think not. No "shock and awe" for our U.K. peerless allies.

The U.S. just got a head start on lightning from our Bold Ben Franklin.
Luckily he survived. Then, after a Louisiana Purcjase and wars with
Mexico and Spain, it won tropical territories which are rife with
lightning. I know the sun never sets on the British Empire. It`s just
not the same when lightning tradhes some Zulu`s hut as when it strikes
your own digs. Lots of Americans live in Tampa-St. Petersburg. This one
spot holds the world record for lightning. I think the U.S.A. had more
motivation to mitigate the lightning problem.

Best regards, Richard Harrison, KB5WZI

"Joe" wrote in message
news:5Xaae.9574$NU4.2639@attbi_s22...
Just moved into my new home and I am in the process of building my shack
in
my basement. I would like to use my house ground rod and run a heavy
copper
wire from it to a ground strip on my table in my shack for my rig and amp.
I would also like to use this ground rod to ground my Butternut H9V
vertical
antenna. Do you folks think it would be OK to do this or should I buy
another ground rod to install it for the shack and vertical? Thanks for
your help.

Hi Joe,

I have been reading the responses to your request for help with interest.

Perhaps I should have paid more attention to your wording and been more
careful in my response. Though my intention was never 'to teach a hen to
suck eggs'.

My answer, I believe, was correct as far as RF is concerned. This should be
isolated as far as possible from the domestic supply to avoid EMC/RFI
issues.
I should have stressed, however, (eggs and hens beware, here) - All
mains-powered equipment must be earthed for safety reasons. The only
exception to this rule is where equipment is 'double insulated' - otherwise
it must be earthed using the earth pin in the 3-pin mains plug.

'The RF earth is there to divert RF currents away from the mains earth and
safely down to ground. It consists of one or more earth rods driven into the
ground, preferably in damp soil.. These rods aremade for the purpose and are
available from both amateur antenna/feeder suppliers and good electrical
suppliers dealing with the trade and local electricians. These rods are some
two meters long and are usually made from cooper-coated steel. They should
be hammered into the ground close to the shack, taking care to avoid hidden
services and drainage pipes. A heavy cable should be clamped to the rods and
connected directly to the transmitter or AntennaTuning Unit.' The RSBG
guide to Good Radio Housekeeping then refers to a figure showing a typical
arrangement.

Also suggested is keeping any mains leads as short as possible and the low
voltage DC power leads should be fitted with ferrite rings as close to the
equipment as possible.

Mains-born interference can be a significant problem in a densely populated
country such as the UK and as such is given a high profile in the RAE.

This topic has brought to mind something that has been nagging me for some
time. Please see my posting on lightning.

Rob.