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From: "RHF"
Organization: http://groups.google.com Newsgroups: rec.radio.shortwave Date: 23 Apr 2005 05:18:00 -0700 Subject: Antenna Suggestions and Lightning Protection Greg, . If you build the Shortwave Listener (SWL) Antenna as described in my post. Okay, thanks RHF. You answered my question about grounding to the household elec ground. At first I thought you meant it was okay to ground through the third hole in the outlet. But it's not. So I still have to run a heavy ground wire from the inside wall to the nearest elec ground, which would be 20 to 25 feet, up through the wall and across part of the attic. Greg |
Jack the Painter wrote:
Greg, before you entertain such suicidal thoughts again, please browse my website explanation of why your home's electrical wiring and ground system are not meant to handle lightning surges. (Snip) Well, by "entertaining such ...thoughts" I guess you are referring to my questioning whether it was safe to ground the antenna to electrical ground when not in use. As you, and RHF pointed out, it isn't. Drilling the patio won't help, as I still would have to run the ground wore across the room. Drilling through the floor? Nope. So here's the deal - I can put up the antenna, ground the coax (shield) & "balun" at the far end, run the coax to the AC service ground (& ground shield to it there), install lightning arrestor, then run the coax through the attic, down the wall, and out to my NRD-525. so far, piece of cake. Now, when when thunder storms come, I disconnect the coax from the xcvr and do what with it? Prob. just let it hang, since the coax pretty well grounded already? Thanks Jack, I will check your web site. Greg W. Central Fla. Lightning Capital of the U.S. |
"Greg" wrote Jack the Painter wrote: Greg, before you entertain such suicidal thoughts again, please browse my website explanation of why your home's electrical wiring and ground system are not meant to handle lightning surges. (Snip) Well, by "entertaining such ...thoughts" I guess you are referring to my questioning whether it was safe to ground the antenna to electrical ground when not in use. As you, and RHF pointed out, it isn't. Drilling the patio won't help, as I still would have to run the ground wore across the room. Drilling through the floor? Nope. So here's the deal - I can put up the antenna, ground the coax (shield) & "balun" at the far end, run the coax to the AC service ground (& ground shield to it there), install lightning arrestor, then run the coax through the attic, down the wall, and out to my NRD-525. so far, piece of cake. Now, when when thunder storms come, I disconnect the coax from the xcvr and do what with it? Prob. just let it hang, since the coax pretty well grounded already? Thanks Jack, I will check your web site. Greg W. Central Fla. Lightning Capital of the U.S. Greg, you've got it. And yet you still have that dilemma that faces thousands of hobbyists; what to do with that disconnected coax? Good news! Since yours will now be shield grounded at the antenna base and the AC service entrance ground rod, and a lightning arrestor providing center conductor protection at the AC service ground rod, very little potential exists at the end of that coax, and it should be left connected to your radio at all times. Congratulations. HOWEVER - you should disconnect the radio's AC power supply (from the back of the radio) before a thunderstorm. This is because there is still a high probability that damage from a nearby strike would be imposed on your electrical system. Only installing fairly expensive AC surge protection equipment can protect against this danger, and they are not available at WalMart or Circuit City, etc. I'm not saying you can't use cheap line-protector power strips to power your radios. But do not rely on them to do anything except cause damage if your powerlines take a hit, or a strike comes very close to your home, and imposes major energy on your house wiring itself. My cost to protect from AC surge damage was over $2,000 in labor and materials, and it cannot be done by the homeowner. So unplugging all AC power to sensitive equipment remains an important part of lightning protection, EVEN if you do the very sensible and safe things regarding antenna grounding, shield grounding, lightning arrestors, etc. That part is not very expensive at all, and provides a LOT better sleep when you don't have worry about those feedlines entering your home. About bonding. You are "bonded" to your home's AC power ground system when your radio's three-prong power cord is connected. As long as your radios have no other ground connection, that's fine. But when people bring coax feedlines into their station, there exists the possibility that a nearby strike (to a tree next door for instance) will cause massive ground potential rise around your antenna and radio grounding systems. This can be drawn up into your shack, and exit out the radios through the AC power line (including it's third-prong ground connection). That is serious, and can be avoided only by disconnecting the power cords before a storm. But it can also be mitigated by running good bonding connectors from the OUTSIDE shack-ground rod, around the house to the AC service entrance ground. Then, ground potential rise from a nearby or direct strike will MOSTLY go the low impedance path to your AC ground rod, and the system remains "balanced" with no terrible potential existing between any two points. As long as there is no exit path out the back of the radios (the AC power cord), and your coax shield grounding is done, and arrestors guard the center-conductors of the coax, you will be fine. Best regards, Jack Painter Virginia Beach, Virginia |
If your house/home has any plastic pipeing at all,you can not expect any
grounding at all by grounding to the pipes.And,the water meter(s) are made of Brass,no grounding at all can be made at those water meters. cuhulin |
wrote in message ... www.lightningstorm.com There is another real good Lightning watch website too.I have it in one of my many,many thousands of webtv Save Folders thingys somewhere,or maybe I emailed it to meself.I have to watch Fighter Squadon movie on tb now. cuhulin TB? Is that short for TBN, Turner Broadcasting Network? As in Ted Turner, the guy that was married to Jane Fonda for six years? If so, then shame on you. |
From: "Jack Painter" Organization: Cox Communications Newsgroups: rec.radio.shortwave Date: Sat, 23 Apr 2005 13:13:33 -0400 Subject: Antenna Suggestions and Lightning Protection "Greg" wrote Jack the Painter wrote: Greg, before you entertain such suicidal thoughts again, please browse my website explanation of why your home's electrical wiring and ground system are not meant to handle lightning surges. (Snip) Well, by "entertaining such ...thoughts" I guess you are referring to my questioning whether it was safe to ground the antenna to electrical ground when not in use. As you, and RHF pointed out, it isn't. Drilling the patio won't help, as I still would have to run the ground wore across the room. Drilling through the floor? Nope. So here's the deal - I can put up the antenna, ground the coax (shield) & "balun" at the far end, run the coax to the AC service ground (& ground shield to it there), install lightning arrestor, then run the coax through the attic, down the wall, and out to my NRD-525. so far, piece of cake. Now, when when thunder storms come, I disconnect the coax from the xcvr and do what with it? Prob. just let it hang, since the coax pretty well grounded already? Thanks Jack, I will check your web site. Greg W. Central Fla. Lightning Capital of the U.S. Greg, you've got it. And yet you still have that dilemma that faces thousands of hobbyists; what to do with that disconnected coax? Good news! Since yours will now be shield grounded at the antenna base and the AC service entrance ground rod, and a lightning arrestor providing center conductor protection at the AC service ground rod, very little potential exists at the end of that coax, and it should be left connected to your radio at all times. Congratulations. HOWEVER - you should disconnect the radio's AC power supply (from the back of the radio) before a thunderstorm. This is because there is still a high probability that damage from a nearby strike would be imposed on your electrical system. Only installing fairly expensive AC surge protection equipment can protect against this danger, and they are not available at WalMart or Circuit City, etc. I'm not saying you can't use cheap line-protector power strips to power your radios. But do not rely on them to do anything except cause damage if your powerlines take a hit, or a strike comes very close to your home, and imposes major energy on your house wiring itself. My cost to protect from AC surge damage was over $2,000 in labor and materials, and it cannot be done by the homeowner. So unplugging all AC power to sensitive equipment remains an important part of lightning protection, EVEN if you do the very sensible and safe things regarding antenna grounding, shield grounding, lightning arrestors, etc. That part is not very expensive at all, and provides a LOT better sleep when you don't have worry about those feedlines entering your home. About bonding. You are "bonded" to your home's AC power ground system when your radio's three-prong power cord is connected. As long as your radios have no other ground connection, that's fine. But when people bring coax feedlines into their station, there exists the possibility that a nearby strike (to a tree next door for instance) will cause massive ground potential rise around your antenna and radio grounding systems. This can be drawn up into your shack, and exit out the radios through the AC power line (including it's third-prong ground connection). That is serious, and can be avoided only by disconnecting the power cords before a storm. But it can also be mitigated by running good bonding connectors from the OUTSIDE shack-ground rod, around the house to the AC service entrance ground. Then, ground potential rise from a nearby or direct strike will MOSTLY go the low impedance path to your AC ground rod, and the system remains "balanced" with no terrible potential existing between any two points. As long as there is no exit path out the back of the radios (the AC power cord), and your coax shield grounding is done, and arrestors guard the center-conductors of the coax, you will be fine. Best regards, Jack Painter Virginia Beach, Virginia Okay, good information Jack. I do have surge protectors on all the electronics, but I know that's not the best protection. Our electric utility will install whole-house surge protection at a nominal charge per month. I'd better get that done ASAP. For now I'm using an active antenna in the attic. When I build one outside I will follow your guidelines for sure. Thanks, Greg |
From: "Honus" Organization: Death to Spammers Reply-To: "Honus" Newsgroups: rec.radio.shortwave Date: Sat, 23 Apr 2005 21:21:53 GMT Subject: Antenna Suggestions and Lightning Protection wrote in message ... www.lightningstorm.com There is another real good Lightning watch website too.I have it in one of my many,many thousands of webtv Save Folders thingys somewhere,or maybe I emailed it to meself.I have to watch Fighter Squadon movie on tb now. cuhulin TB? Is that short for TBN, Turner Broadcasting Network? As in Ted Turner, the guy that was married to Jane Fonda for six years? If so, then shame on you. TB - telebision. It's a Mississippi thang. Greg |
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"Greg" wrote in message ... From: "Honus" Organization: Death to Spammers Reply-To: "Honus" Newsgroups: rec.radio.shortwave Date: Sat, 23 Apr 2005 21:21:53 GMT Subject: Antenna Suggestions and Lightning Protection wrote in message ... www.lightningstorm.com There is another real good Lightning watch website too.I have it in one of my many,many thousands of webtv Save Folders thingys somewhere,or maybe I emailed it to meself.I have to watch Fighter Squadon movie on tb now. cuhulin TB? Is that short for TBN, Turner Broadcasting Network? As in Ted Turner, the guy that was married to Jane Fonda for six years? If so, then shame on you. TB - telebision. It's a Mississippi thang. Seriously? The TB thing, I mean? |
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