"DJB" wrote in message
...
I'm will setting up my shack soon but the question of grounding has come
up.
I'll be driving a 8' copper rod into the ground and running wire to a
grounding bulkhead for the equipment to tie in. The problem is that my
shack
will be on the second floor. I know that you would have to keep the ground
run as short as possible. Could I use a use a larger guage wire for the
ground run? If so, what guage should I use? I plan to use originally #10
guage.

Thank you,

Dave


There are 2 issues here- a good lightning ground and a good RF ground. You
are probably fine for lighning, but RF is a different story. Consider an 18'
long ground wire - that's a 1/4 wave long at 13 MHz and will be virtually
invisible- i.e. no difference with it connected/disconnected from an RF
view.

Dale W4OP

There are 2 issues here- a good lightning ground and a good RF ground. You
are probably fine for lightning, but RF is a different story. Consider an 18'
long ground wire - that's a 1/4 wave long at 13 MHz and will be virtually
invisible- i.e. no difference with it connected/disconnected from an RF view.


Correct. The "fix" is to run as many wires as possible to as many ground rods
as possible. Keep the wires separated as much as possible, to minimize the
mutual inductance. The result is a reduction in affective length, i.e.,
reduction in the inductance by a factor that is the number of wires.

Using the given example, four wires would reduce the effective length to 1/16
wavelength at 13 MHz, or 1/4 at 52 MHz. Inductances in parallel act as do
resistors in parallel.

Get the desired number of ground rods (disperse them around your abode) and a
big roll of #16 insulated wire (I prefer white) -- and start "pulling." G You
might still run that #10 for aid against lightning, although the best you could
probably due is to dissipate static build up. Nothing will help should there be
a direct hit.

Oh, and make the runs as direct as possible to their respective ground rods.

73,
Bill, K5BY