On 01/18/2016 07:13 PM, gareth wrote:
"gareth" wrote in message
...



All is rosy now in the garden,and thanks for suggestions.

Now, all I need is a 1/4" or so plug and socket so that I can quickly attach
the
ground terminal to whichever rig is now powerpoled to the ATU and the PSU.

I'm using the green/yellow 10mm sq stuff used for earthing in Brit, and 'tis
a bit
unwieldy to keep fiddling with the wing nut attachment on the back of each
rig.

Shack is upstairs, front bedroom, earth is ground stake and a fan of
microbore tubing apread out over the front lawn. House earth is a TT
installation so no
probs with PME, etc.
=========
RF earth for an upstairs shack can be effectively done with an "earth
tuner"
e.g. a series tuned variable C /variable inductor with a RF current
sensor ie wound toroid/
diode /mA meter and potmeter, having say the inductor end connected to a
random length of wire running on the floor in the room (under carpet )
The tuner needs to be adjusted for max RF current (low impedance).
Only disadvantage compared with a straight earth wire into the ground is
the requirement to retune when changing frequency.

The above is often used in apartment buildings where a direct earth wire
is not practical.
I made such a tuner myself for demonstration puposes ,but MFJ make them
(Artificial Ground Model MFJ-931)
See also Practical Wireless Mag , October 1990 ,page 21) for home brewing.

Frank , GM0CSZ / KN6WH