Hi,

In the category of "why the heck didn't I do that years ago," thought I'd
relate my experience
with a new HF receiving only antenna.

Up to now, have had a simple random length wire running around the four
sides of my attic.
Worked, and was able to receive many stations, but was always disappointing.

Bought the PAR EF-SWL antenna, and just put it up outside as an Inverted-L,
and away from the house by
about 75 feet or so. Coax run-in to the receiver.
Wow, what an incredible difference.
The noise level is way, way down.

Question; The PAR ends in a Balun, from which I have a wire to a ground bar
I pounded into the ground next to it.
From there, the coax starts.

I also have a chassis ground from the radio to a nearby cold water pipe.
Have been putting it on and off trying to decide if it helps to have this
additional ground, or hurts.
There is of course the ground loop questions, etc. about having two grounds
(the earth ground by the Balun, and this one to the cold water pipe)

Hate to admit it, but am having trouble deciding if it helps.
At times, and for different freq's, I sort of think it
either helps, or makes no difference, at other time, perhaps a bit more
noisy.

Most of the time, I believe, it makes absolutely no difference whether this
chassis receiver ground wire is on or off.

**Anyone have any thoughts or comments regarding having this additional
ground ? **

Should it make a difference ?
I tend to think it shouldn't matter, as they usually suggest grounding the
coax, Also, right where it enters the house, which would
be pretty much equivalent.

There is, of course, also the grounding pin of the AC power line, which,
pretty much ends up at the same
place, namely a cold water pipe via a ground/neutral wire, from the AC
Service Box.

Curious about what all you experts think re these configurations.
Not too sharp with this, and would appreciate any thoughts on.

Thanks,
Bob

On Fri, 21 Apr 2006 17:16:11 -0400, "Robert11"
wrote:

Hi,

In the category of "why the heck didn't I do that years ago," thought I'd
relate my experience
with a new HF receiving only antenna.

Up to now, have had a simple random length wire running around the four
sides of my attic.
Worked, and was able to receive many stations, but was always disappointing.

Bought the PAR EF-SWL antenna, and just put it up outside as an Inverted-L,
and away from the house by
about 75 feet or so. Coax run-in to the receiver.
Wow, what an incredible difference.
The noise level is way, way down.

Question; The PAR ends in a Balun, from which I have a wire to a ground bar
I pounded into the ground next to it.
From there, the coax starts.

I also have a chassis ground from the radio to a nearby cold water pipe.
Have been putting it on and off trying to decide if it helps to have this
additional ground, or hurts.
There is of course the ground loop questions, etc. about having two grounds
(the earth ground by the Balun, and this one to the cold water pipe)

Hate to admit it, but am having trouble deciding if it helps.
At times, and for different freq's, I sort of think it
either helps, or makes no difference, at other time, perhaps a bit more
noisy.

Most of the time, I believe, it makes absolutely no difference whether this
chassis receiver ground wire is on or off.

**Anyone have any thoughts or comments regarding having this additional
ground ? **

Should it make a difference ?
I tend to think it shouldn't matter, as they usually suggest grounding the
coax, Also, right where it enters the house, which would
be pretty much equivalent.

There is, of course, also the grounding pin of the AC power line, which,
pretty much ends up at the same
place, namely a cold water pipe via a ground/neutral wire, from the AC
Service Box.

Curious about what all you experts think re these configurations.
Not too sharp with this, and would appreciate any thoughts on.

Thanks,
Bob


Is there lightning where you live?

In article ,
"Robert11" wrote:

Hi,

In the category of "why the heck didn't I do that years ago," thought
I'd relate my experience with a new HF receiving only antenna.

Up to now, have had a simple random length wire running around the
four sides of my attic. Worked, and was able to receive many
stations, but was always disappointing.

Bought the PAR EF-SWL antenna, and just put it up outside as an
Inverted-L, and away from the house by about 75 feet or so. Coax
run-in to the receiver. Wow, what an incredible difference. The
noise level is way, way down.

Question; The PAR ends in a Balun, from which I have a wire to a
ground bar I pounded into the ground next to it. From there, the coax
starts.

I also have a chassis ground from the radio to a nearby cold water
pipe. Have been putting it on and off trying to decide if it helps to
have this additional ground, or hurts. There is of course the ground
loop questions, etc. about having two grounds (the earth ground by
the Balun, and this one to the cold water pipe)

Hate to admit it, but am having trouble deciding if it helps. At
times, and for different freq's, I sort of think it either helps, or
makes no difference, at other time, perhaps a bit more noisy.

Most of the time, I believe, it makes absolutely no difference
whether this chassis receiver ground wire is on or off.

**Anyone have any thoughts or comments regarding having this
additional ground ? **

Should it make a difference ? I tend to think it shouldn't matter, as
they usually suggest grounding the coax, Also, right where it enters
the house, which would be pretty much equivalent.

There is, of course, also the grounding pin of the AC power line,
which, pretty much ends up at the same place, namely a cold water
pipe via a ground/neutral wire, from the AC Service Box.

Curious about what all you experts think re these configurations. Not
too sharp with this, and would appreciate any thoughts on.

Congratulations on the improved antenna.

You don't say which radio you own but chances are the third prong
(ground) is the radio chassis so another ground wire to the radio case
won't make a difference.

The important ground is at the antenna UNUN.

--
Telamon
Ventura, California

An interesting experiment is take an AC voltmeter on low range,
and measure the voltage between two places on your lawn.

I usually get about a quarter volt at about 20 feet apart.
--
Ron Hardin


On the internet, nobody knows you're a jerk.

Hi,

Sorry i forgot to mention: have a JRC NRD 545

You're undoubtedly correct.
Why, though, provide an additional ground connection off of the barrier /
terminal strip ?

Bob

----------------------------
"Telamon" wrote in message
...
In article ,
"Robert11" wrote:

Hi,

In the category of "why the heck didn't I do that years ago," thought
I'd relate my experience with a new HF receiving only antenna.

Up to now, have had a simple random length wire running around the
four sides of my attic. Worked, and was able to receive many
stations, but was always disappointing.

Bought the PAR EF-SWL antenna, and just put it up outside as an
Inverted-L, and away from the house by about 75 feet or so. Coax
run-in to the receiver. Wow, what an incredible difference. The
noise level is way, way down.

Question; The PAR ends in a Balun, from which I have a wire to a
ground bar I pounded into the ground next to it. From there, the coax
starts.

I also have a chassis ground from the radio to a nearby cold water
pipe. Have been putting it on and off trying to decide if it helps to
have this additional ground, or hurts. There is of course the ground
loop questions, etc. about having two grounds (the earth ground by
the Balun, and this one to the cold water pipe)

Hate to admit it, but am having trouble deciding if it helps. At
times, and for different freq's, I sort of think it either helps, or
makes no difference, at other time, perhaps a bit more noisy.

Most of the time, I believe, it makes absolutely no difference
whether this chassis receiver ground wire is on or off.

**Anyone have any thoughts or comments regarding having this
additional ground ? **

Should it make a difference ? I tend to think it shouldn't matter, as
they usually suggest grounding the coax, Also, right where it enters
the house, which would be pretty much equivalent.

There is, of course, also the grounding pin of the AC power line,
which, pretty much ends up at the same place, namely a cold water
pipe via a ground/neutral wire, from the AC Service Box.

Curious about what all you experts think re these configurations. Not
too sharp with this, and would appreciate any thoughts on.

Congratulations on the improved antenna.

You don't say which radio you own but chances are the third prong
(ground) is the radio chassis so another ground wire to the radio case
won't make a difference.

The important ground is at the antenna UNUN.

--
Telamon
Ventura, California

Robert11,

I never found there to be much of a difference in grounding any radio
chassis to a cold H2O pipe myself-- your mileage may vary, but it may be
more hassle than it's worth to implement if you notice no real difference.

The new antenna sounds like a very good installation compared to what you
had before. The rule of thumb I was taught to go by concerning antennas is
try get them outdoors and up as high as you can. In the case of an
inverted-L design, those work well for most receiver applications.

Good listening to you,

Jackie

On Fri, 21 Apr 2006 19:11:49 -0400, "Robert11"
wrote:

Hi,

Sorry i forgot to mention: have a JRC NRD 545

You're undoubtedly correct.
Why, though, provide an additional ground connection off of the barrier /
terminal strip ?

You can opt to use a ground lifter on the power cord and single-ground
the unit to a better ground via the ground terminal. Especially in a
facilitiy where the electricity mains are not in EMT and the ground
wire is a 12 g wire snaking through 50 or more feet of walls to a
breaker box.

Telamon,

Being Well Grounded is the Best Foundation for Every Radio Shack
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Shortw...a/message/9152

The Third Wire in the AC Power Cord is by-design an "AC Power
Return Path" -not- and RF Signal Ground Path.

Current Three Wire 'design' is for the delivery of AC Power.
(H)(R)
=(G)=
All three Wires are usually just 1/16" Multi-Stranded Copper Wire.
- - - The Current AC Power Electrical Plug End design looks like :
|| |
O

A better Three Wire 'design' is for the delivery of AC Power
to RF Signal Processing Equipment would be :
(H)(R) 1/8" Multi-Stranded Copper Wire
[===] Flat 1/4" Wide by 1/16" Thick Copper Webbing for RF Ground
- - - The better RF Signal Ground Plug End would look like :
|| |
=== 1/2" Wide by 1/32" Thick

B U T ! - Until then a Second Ground Wire that is by-design an
RF Signal Ground is recommended for most if not all equipment
in the Radio Shack - IHMO

The use of a Flat Webbed Cable or Copper Strap from the Radio
Shack's Ground to the Receiver is by-design specifically to create
an RF Signal Ground Path for that piece of equipment.

Ideally there is an RF Ground Window leading into the Radio Shack
and Everything is "TIED" into it to Create :

The Common RF Ground Radio Shack.
= The Zero Potential Radio Shack.
= The Noise Free Radio Shack.

NOTE - The RF Ground Window is 'tied' to a good earthen Ground Rod
that is Bonded to the House's own AC Power System.

Rec.Radio.Shortwave - Seaches :
* Ground + Bond + Electrical
GBE = http://tinyurl.com/kaxdn
* Ground + Window + Electrical
GWE = http://tinyurl.com/kz77e
* Radio + Shack + Ground + Window
RSGW = http://tinyurl.com/huxsn

Google Seach for : Radio + Shack
+ Ground + Window + Bond + Electrical
RSGWBE = http://tinyurl.com/lmv6z

being well grounded is the best foundation
for every radio shack - iane ~ RHF
Shortwave Listener Antennas = http://tinyurl.com/ogvcf
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Shortwave-SWL-Antenna/
SWL Antenna Group = http://tinyurl.com/ogvcf

In article ,
"Robert11" wrote:

"Telamon" wrote in
message

.com...
In article , "Robert11"
wrote:

Hi,

In the category of "why the heck didn't I do that years ago,"
thought I'd relate my experience with a new HF receiving only
antenna.

Up to now, have had a simple random length wire running around the
four sides of my attic. Worked, and was able to receive many
stations, but was always disappointing.

Bought the PAR EF-SWL antenna, and just put it up outside as an
Inverted-L, and away from the house by about 75 feet or so. Coax
run-in to the receiver. Wow, what an incredible difference. The
noise level is way, way down.

Question; The PAR ends in a Balun, from which I have a wire to a
ground bar I pounded into the ground next to it. From there, the
coax starts.

I also have a chassis ground from the radio to a nearby cold water
pipe. Have been putting it on and off trying to decide if it helps
to have this additional ground, or hurts. There is of course the
ground loop questions, etc. about having two grounds (the earth
ground by the Balun, and this one to the cold water pipe)

Hate to admit it, but am having trouble deciding if it helps. At
times, and for different freq's, I sort of think it either helps,
or makes no difference, at other time, perhaps a bit more noisy.

Most of the time, I believe, it makes absolutely no difference
whether this chassis receiver ground wire is on or off.

**Anyone have any thoughts or comments regarding having this
additional ground ? **

Should it make a difference ? I tend to think it shouldn't matter,
as they usually suggest grounding the coax, Also, right where it
enters the house, which would be pretty much equivalent.

There is, of course, also the grounding pin of the AC power line,
which, pretty much ends up at the same place, namely a cold water
pipe via a ground/neutral wire, from the AC Service Box.

Curious about what all you experts think re these configurations.
Not too sharp with this, and would appreciate any thoughts on.

Congratulations on the improved antenna.

You don't say which radio you own but chances are the third prong
(ground) is the radio chassis so another ground wire to the radio
case won't make a difference.

The important ground is at the antenna UNUN.

Hi,

Sorry i forgot to mention: have a JRC NRD 545

You're undoubtedly correct. Why, though, provide an additional ground
connection off of the barrier / terminal strip ?

The ground prong is for safety. Manufactures have two ways to go.
Either make the entire exterior non-conductive with a minimum value of
voltage insulation and use a polarized plug or go with the third ground
prong to earth ground that is not normally supposed to carry current.
This ground prong goes to the conductive cabinet of the unit. If a hot
wire inside the unit touches the cabinet it then causes a short circuit
blowing a fuse or breaker preventing electrocution. The white return
wire is supposed to carry the normal operating current for the device.

In the USA at least the black wire is the hot wire with gold contacts
on connectors, white wire is the return with silver colored contacts
and green is the ground. Often the screw to put the ground wire on is
painted green or marked in a obvious way. Wall sockets and power cords
to appliances are all polarized to maintain this relationship of hot,
return and earth ground.

--
Telamon
Ventura, California

In article . com,
"RHF" wrote:

Telamon,

Being Well Grounded is the Best Foundation for Every Radio Shack
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Shortw...a/message/9152

The Third Wire in the AC Power Cord is by-design an "AC Power Return
Path" -not- and RF Signal Ground Path.

Snip

I know that but it still operates as an RF return. The impedance is
higher than what you would want for it to be a good ground and worse it
usually has plenty of noise on it so it should be your last choice.

If the mutual inductive coupling to the hot and return wires was not bad
enough the ground wire often carries noise currents capacitively coupled
from the insides of devices.

--
Telamon
Ventura, California