Michael wrote:
"Telamon" wrote in message
...

In article ,
"Michael" wrote:


"Telamon" wrote in message
...

In article ,
"Michael" wrote:


"Telamon" wrote in message
.
..


Where he lives a common mode antenna is most likely the worst
choice for an antenna anyway.

What antenna would you recommend ??? Besides dead poultry.

People that meet RHF have a tendency to slap him over the head with a
dead chicken in case you were wondering where that came from.


Anything not a common mode antenna such as a random/long wire.

Make a dipole or a loop antenna. Those antennas don't need a ground to
operate.


I already have a di-pole. A 102' G5RV on my roof. I'm building a second
antenna because my current 150' long wire has fallen apart on the roof
after
being up there for three years. I have an ICE-180 balun that I can take
off
of that mess, so I figured I'd use that in the construction of something
that can make use of it, like an inverted L. So far I just spent money
on a
new 6' ground rod and a 20 buck spool of antenna wire. Under 50 bucks
total. Why the hell wont I get an effective ground here with a six foot
ground rod ??? I always thought the ground here in this area had great
conductivity. That is why there are so many MW transmitters here.

You should get a good ground with a 6 foot rod. I was commenting on the
retard from the San Francisco area spouting advise about the rod for
different soil conditions than what you have. Chances are for you the
water table is about 2 or 3 feet below ground. Chances are you have 4 to
6 inches of top soil then several feet of clay.

You were complaining about area noise before this and a common mode
antenna would be the worst way to go if you are surrounded by neighbors
with noise makers.


BTW... My G5RV works very well from 5 megahertz to 10 megahertz. Is
isn't
so good below of above that. My 150' long wire was great for anything
above
10 megahertz. Unbelievably, it was also very good for 3 megahertz to 4
megahertz. I have no idea why. The way I had that one grounded was, I'm
sure, a poor way to do it. I have a 12 gauge wire going from the radio,
up
on the roof to the ICE-180 balun's ground, and then back down the house
to a
ground rod in the earth. The current ground rod is only 3' long iron
bar.
Don't ask me how, but it worked.

Any time you have a wire in the air of an electrically significant
length then you do not have a ground wire. What you have is a counter
poise and its electrical length will sum with the characteristics of the
Random/Long-wire that is the other part of the antenna. The length is
the important consideration not the diameter.

You have made the investment so go and install the inverted L. Keep it
as far from your house and the neighbors as you possibly can. If you
like the performance, and the coax is traveling across the ground to get
to your house, you can bury it in a trench. You could protect the coax
in the ground with PVC pipe or buy the type of coax that is designed to
be put in the ground.

There is no point in running another ground wire from your radio to the
antenna ground point. The coax shield is that connection.

You would want a separate ground for the antenna ground at the ICE BALUN
because the ground at the radio is from the mains and is contaminated
with electrical noise from other devices.

The ICE BALUN is really an UNUN in this case. Unbalanced antenna to
Unbalanced transmission line.



For the inverted L, what tap on the the ICE-180 should I use ??? 300, 450,
600 or 800

Michael


I would try the 450 or 600. That seems to be the typical impedance range
of an inverted-L. Or you can try listening to various frequency bands
on the radio while someone changes the taps on the ICE. That's another
advantage of having the balun near the ground.