Motorola R56 is your best reference on proper grounding/bonding/lightning suppression. No mention in this video of the REQUIREMENT to bond this ground to your existing electrical panel grounding electrode system
@Jim Coon there should be at least one ground rod tied to your panel and you should be able to find it outside, possibly below grade. You may have to do some careful hand-digging to find it. This would allow you to bond at this point. As far as having to run a long distance past an asphalt driveway, unfortunately there is no good way around that, but it does give you the opportunity to add several additional ground rods along the way, significantly decreasing resistance to ground and creating a great counterpoise in the process. A ditch witch or similar might be the way go go if it is too far. Make sure to call 811 before you start trenching.
Station grounding & lightning protection. Always a fun, and sometimes contentious, topic. When I do take the time to ground my home station, I’ve always done exactly as your video shows. At my retirement QTH here in Arizona, I’ve not yet placed the ground rod (bought it at Home Depo) so I always disconnect the coax and push it outside when off the air. Like your videos. Keep ‘em coming 👍 Bill - W7JZE
How do I ground a second floor shack whose antenna is attached to a balcony? The run from the antenna is relatively short. The ground wire will likely be longer as it must come up the wall outside the shack and go through the balcony floor or wall to get to the shack. Complicating this is the fact that my balcony wall is faced on both sides with bricks.
i put the ground plane kit on my antron 99 it really helps the recieve . i bought a 8 foot copper clad ground rod at lowes less then 10.00 i need to hit it into the ground i have a 3 pound sledge hammer. water level is 6 feet down here in florida
Could you do an episode on 2nd story shacks? I have to relocate my shack to the second floor. I have the capability to put in an entry box to hold lightning arrestors, attach the ground and extend it into the shack. 73' N7FZ
yeah that would be amazing indeed. similar situation for me. my habitat including all the RF stuff is on the attic. i just run my antenna feedlines as IPEX for it's low diameter cabling and run these cables through the weather stripping. just dangling out of the rooftop window lol. my singular bit of surge protection is a chunky TVS diode on my transmitters and cursed spark gaps i built, also located at my transmitters. also the only bit of grounding i have access to on the attic seems to be protective earth from my outlets which are not really that well suited for lightning protection at all. any ideas how to properly do that? maybe i can throw a hook attached to a large diameter cable over the lightning rod and tension it with a spring to connect to the lightning rod directly? this just seems way too janky... at the very least my antennas aren't the highest point on the roof so a direct strike is somewhat unlikely but still i really need to fix that. if any of you have some recommendations on how i might do that that would be hugely appreciated.
Pls mention how your house or bldg ground you are in, often on the cold water pipe, must be bonded to any other ground you make or create. In most places it's actually CODE.
Note that if you use a Bias T or similar where the coax supplies DC power to for instance a remote tuner, you should choose a lightning surge arrestor that allows DC to pass.
I lived in a high lightening area. Several times lightening would come in thru the telephone lines. 3 times we lostt phones and computers. When the repair guy came to look at the box, he showed me a large blob of melted metal. Like a 3" bolt 1/2" thick was used as an arrestor. Lightening melted that an still took out the phones and computers.
I hear it as "Auggies" and have no idea what he means. By the way he speaks, it's likely a local term of endearment for some group of people who identify as such. I'm glad you posted because I too wonder wtf he means in every vid he say this.
Beware beware beware. Got a few lightning arrestors on ebay and amazon that had no gas tubes inside just a couple small screws on the sides. No protection at all. Got ones with flush screws and some labeled 230v with big bulging screws. Tested them with a 0-230v supply with a 20k protection resistor. Big surprise. The flush screw ones were 230v rather than 90v advertised so checked the tubes. Yep 2r230's. Some sold at 90v had 230v tubes. The ones with big screws have double gas tubes rated at 230v but the tubes are meant for a center ground so 460v end to end. Bad news for most radios. So far only 1 of 8 have had what they were sold as. Beware the big bulging screw ones and check the small inset screw ones.
My antenna is on the other side of the house from my station. Should I add a ground rod outside my station OR run a ground wire 80 feet back to the antenna ground site ?
Wasn't it Alpha Delta that recommended tossing the coax outside the window or room, I live in the Philippines, and been times when I have to do this to avoid damage to my antenna? My only antenna that stays connected is a mag mount for my scanner. One question is what size wire is good for ground rods
Question Dave my ground is going to have to be 9 feet from the radio shack what works best round solid copper wire or is there something better also your opinion on a copper plate under a radio and strap it to ground is that a good idea as well thanks for your videos and your time de Kg4muk 73”s
If i only use one ground rod, and i have a direct hit from an Lightning Strike . Is it possible that it grill all my connected radios, tuners and amps that are connected with ground to that same one rod? 73 from OE3SZE Nik. Austria
Anything that takes a direct hit will be destroyed. This bonding is to safely discharge induced current from a lightning event. Essentially, even if lightning strikes a mile away, all metal in the area will become energized and needs a place to go. Lightning arrest systems are different and require parallel paths etc, but count on replacing anything that gets hit directly.
Great videos very informative.I'm a newbie I have around 2 metres of concrete around my house and not able to install a ground rod by the house wall so I'm not sure what to do.Any help would be much appreciated.
I’m no expert when it comes to code, but I believe most locations require a ground rod to be fully 8 feet under the surface of the ground. So I got a 10 foot rod for the point of entry, since obviously you can’t clamp lightning arrestors to an 8 foot one and then drive it all into the dirt.
Dave, You help me in SOO many ways. Thank You
Motorola R56 is your best reference on proper grounding/bonding/lightning suppression. No mention in this video of the REQUIREMENT to bond this ground to your existing electrical panel grounding electrode system
@Jim Coon there should be at least one ground rod tied to your panel and you should be able to find it outside, possibly below grade. You may have to do some careful hand-digging to find it. This would allow you to bond at this point. As far as having to run a long distance past an asphalt driveway, unfortunately there is no good way around that, but it does give you the opportunity to add several additional ground rods along the way, significantly decreasing resistance to ground and creating a great counterpoise in the process. A ditch witch or similar might be the way go go if it is too far. Make sure to call 811 before you start trenching.
Station grounding & lightning protection. Always a fun, and sometimes contentious, topic.
When I do take the time to ground my home station, I’ve always done exactly as your video shows.
At my retirement QTH here in Arizona, I’ve not yet placed the ground rod (bought it at Home Depo) so I always disconnect the coax and push it outside when off the air.
Like your videos. Keep ‘em coming 👍
Bill - W7JZE
Your right every time I talk about electricity it makes my hair stand up
And unplug everything!!
How do I ground a second floor shack whose antenna is attached to a balcony? The run from the antenna is relatively short. The ground wire will likely be longer as it must come up the wall outside the shack and go through the balcony floor or wall to get to the shack. Complicating this is the fact that my balcony wall is faced on both sides with bricks.
i put the ground plane kit on my antron 99 it really helps the recieve . i bought a 8 foot copper clad ground rod at lowes less then 10.00 i need to hit it into the ground i have a 3 pound sledge hammer. water level is 6 feet down here in florida
Could you do an episode on 2nd story shacks? I have to relocate my shack to the second floor. I have the capability to put in an entry box to hold lightning arrestors, attach the ground and extend it into the shack. 73' N7FZ
Would look forward to seeing that as well
yeah that would be amazing indeed. similar situation for me. my habitat including all the RF stuff is on the attic. i just run my antenna feedlines as IPEX for it's low diameter cabling and run these cables through the weather stripping. just dangling out of the rooftop window lol. my singular bit of surge protection is a chunky TVS diode on my transmitters and cursed spark gaps i built, also located at my transmitters. also the only bit of grounding i have access to on the attic seems to be protective earth from my outlets which are not really that well suited for lightning protection at all. any ideas how to properly do that? maybe i can throw a hook attached to a large diameter cable over the lightning rod and tension it with a spring to connect to the lightning rod directly? this just seems way too janky... at the very least my antennas aren't the highest point on the roof so a direct strike is somewhat unlikely but still i really need to fix that. if any of you have some recommendations on how i might do that that would be hugely appreciated.
Pls mention how your house or bldg ground you are in, often on the cold water pipe, must be bonded to any other ground you make or create.
In most places it's actually CODE.
Note that if you use a Bias T or similar where the coax supplies DC power to for instance a remote tuner, you should choose a lightning surge arrestor that allows DC to pass.
I lived in a high lightening area. Several times lightening would come in thru the telephone lines. 3 times we lostt phones and computers. When the repair guy came to look at the box, he showed me a large blob of melted metal. Like a 3" bolt 1/2" thick was used as an arrestor. Lightening melted that an still took out the phones and computers.
Thank you for the info.
LEAVE IT TO BEAVER
very helpful info
IRC CODE WILL GIVE YOU SOME IDEAS ON GROUNDING
What does "August worldwide" mean?
I hear it as "Auggies" and have no idea what he means. By the way he speaks, it's likely a local term of endearment for some group of people who identify as such. I'm glad you posted because I too wonder wtf he means in every vid he say this.
That's us, silly, we are the Auggies
Beware beware beware. Got a few lightning arrestors on ebay and amazon that had no gas tubes inside just a couple small screws on the sides. No protection at all. Got ones with flush screws and some labeled 230v with big bulging screws. Tested them with a 0-230v supply with a 20k protection resistor. Big surprise. The flush screw ones were 230v rather than 90v advertised so checked the tubes. Yep 2r230's. Some sold at 90v had 230v tubes. The ones with big screws have double gas tubes rated at 230v but the tubes are meant for a center ground so 460v end to end. Bad news for most radios. So far only 1 of 8 have had what they were sold as. Beware the big bulging screw ones and check the small inset screw ones.
My antenna is on the other side of the house from my station. Should I add a ground rod outside my station OR run a ground wire 80 feet back to the antenna ground site ?
Love the videos. They are so easy to follow and you always provide valuable information. We appreciate you!
Wasn't it Alpha Delta that recommended tossing the coax outside the window or room, I live in the Philippines, and been times when I have to do this to avoid damage to my antenna? My only antenna that stays connected is a mag mount for my scanner. One question is what size wire is good for ground rods
Thanks Dave, for the very interesting grounding / bonding video. 73, AC3HT 🎙️📻🗼
Yes, Dave has all of his subs, "bonding"!!
Like his programs.
Where do I put the ground on a long wire antenna?
Always put it where you want lightning to hit.😊
Yeah I've heard that that if you crown antenna you're just asking for a lightning strike
Question Dave my ground is going to have to be 9 feet from the radio shack what works best round solid copper wire or is there something better also your opinion on a copper plate under a radio and strap it to ground is that a good idea as well thanks for your videos and your time de Kg4muk
73”s
If i only use one ground rod, and i have a direct hit from an Lightning Strike . Is it possible that it grill all my connected radios, tuners and amps that are connected with ground to that same one rod? 73 from OE3SZE Nik. Austria
Anything that takes a direct hit will be destroyed. This bonding is to safely discharge induced current from a lightning event. Essentially, even if lightning strikes a mile away, all metal in the area will become energized and needs a place to go. Lightning arrest systems are different and require parallel paths etc, but count on replacing anything that gets hit directly.
Oneac will protect any electrical device from power surges and Lightining
You can "NEVER" Have too much ground!!!
Eric where were you Saturday night
Actually, you can...
YOUR RIGHT ERIC NEVER TO MUCH GROUND ( runway ) FOR A NEW PILOT
@@cornbread-KO5RN LOL
@@erpecelol. ground loops lol
Great videos very informative.I'm a newbie I have around 2 metres of concrete around my house and not able to install a ground rod by the house wall so I'm not sure what to do.Any help would be much appreciated.
💝
Hire a local electrician and inspector to help. It's pretty straight.
I’m no expert when it comes to code, but I believe most locations require a ground rod to be fully 8 feet under the surface of the ground. So I got a 10 foot rod for the point of entry, since obviously you can’t clamp lightning arrestors to an 8 foot one and then drive it all into the dirt.
So much conflicting information on ground rods, electricians do not agree with hams...
Electricians aren't typically worried about lightning
Thank you. N0QFT