================================================================ Grounding HOW-TO by SM-2-YER Goran v.1.0 ================================================================ Notice! Every year many fellow radio-friends are injured or even killed when working with impovment of their equipment,- many of this accidents could be avoided if awareness of danger or risk. Therefore! Read this! Before you do any installations,- please read al of the instructions properly,- errors or failure in understanding some of the information might cause damage or even lethal injures. Content ------------------- - INTRODUCTION Unpropper grounding can cause problems Propper grounding can also give som advantage - VARNING!!! - RF GROUNDING RF-Grounding procedure - LIGHTNING ARRESTS First some warnings!! The lightning arrest system - COMPLETING YOUR GROUNDING The ground conductor The ground-wire Mast structure connections Itīs done! - GLOSSARY - DISCLAMER - COPYRIGHT STATEMENT INTRODUCTION ------------------- The subject of proper grounding for your HF-Radio equipment is an wide and interesting area. This document gives by no means the 'final' solution,- it is merely intended to give you some ideas, and as information to those who maybe don't know or have not realized its importance. Unpropper grounding can cause problems - RFI / TVI problems for yourself and neighbors. - Problems with static noise on reception/RX. - Problems with fluctuation on SWR (There by also RF Output) Propper grounding can also give som advantage. - Increased radiated power from antenna. - Stronger groundwave when working local with vertical polarization - Some Protection from damaging static discharges and thunderstorms. VARNING!!! ------------------- An un proper installation of lightning arrest system might increase the risk and damage in case of actual stroke of lightning,- also get some advice from your local electrician, he might have some information about local considerations that might concern you. Also some additional conciderations and general varnings when working with your antennas. - Always turn your Radio and Amplifier OFF and disconnect antenna cable before any antenna work. (An faulty power-supply or leaking anode condenser in your PA could give lethal voltage on your active antenna element!!) - Never work on hights (rooftops o.e.) when your tired or when alone. - Use safety belt / lifeline o.e. when climbing rooftops or antenna structure. - You should Never concider mounting your antenna att locations near owerhead powerlines,- safety distance to owerhead powerlines should be at least twice the lenght of your Antenna-mast with antenna in total. You must also consider that your antenna might 'come down' unintentional:-) RF GROUNDING ------------------- The first step to proper grounding of your radio is the RF-Grounding. Do not mix this with the grounding used for the lightning arrest system,- it is covered in next section of this document. RF-Grounding procedure ------------------- 1. Always connect your radio equipment / power supply to a grounded wall outlet. 2. Next is to make RF grounding of al your radio equipment,- make ground wires out of insulated cupper leads at least 1.5 in square millimeters. These grounding wires should be used to ground all your equipment together, Radio - Amplifiers - Tuner - Antenna switch a.s.o. to a single point,- this point should then be grounded to a sufficent grounding point,- this might be an water radiator,- water-pipe or a grounding rood outside your house. 3. Additional At this time you might also install some static-arrests to your Antenna cable. A static arrest is a 'Static grounding device' installed to protect your radio against damaging static discharges. It work with 'spikes' and an 'tuned air gap' witch allowe static electricity to be discharged to ground. The static-arrests is preferably placed on your antenna cable outside the building. (Before going true wall) LIGHTNING ARRESTS ------------------- If your antenna location is high and open,- you might also consider complementing your grounding system with a Lightning arrests system. First some warnings!! An un proper installation of lightning arrest system might increase the risk and damage in case of actual stroke of lightning,- also get some advice from your local electrician he might have some information about local considerations about ground conditions o.e. that might concern you. The lightning arrest system. ------------------- Mainly,- the lightning arrest system can be described as a strongly ower dimensioned grounding of your antenna-mast or other antenna supporting structure. It consists of tre important parts: - A ground conductor - made by cupper leads or roods at Sufficient length or deeply into the ground. - Sufficient ground-wire,- connecting the ground conductor to mast structure. - Firm attacment to mast structure,- and the mast structure itself. The above parts has two impotant electrical 'connections' that is critical to performance and function. These connections must be done proper. - The ground conductor in the ground on up to the ground-wire. - From ground-wire and to antenna-mast or other antenna supporting structure. If your about to install a lightning arrests system. At this time you MUST also install some static-arrests to your Antenna cable. COMPLETING YOUR GROUNDING ------------------- These is some 'suggestions' when planing the whole grounding system. If your about to make both RF-Grounding and a lightning arrests system,- Dont mix them by connecting to the same grounding point. Sufficient ground for RF-Grounding and static-arrests is obtained from a water-pipe o.e. However you MUST make a proper ground conductor for the lightning arrests system, the water-pipe will not do! Usage of it for this purpose is even DANGEROUS! The ground conductor ------------------- This is the main concern and most difficult part of the lightning arrests system. There is only one thing to be certain about this, you can newer dig down to much cupper into the ground!. A sufficient ground conductor is made of a solid cupper rood,- at least 10-12 millimeter in diameter and 8ft of lenght (240cm) if your on rock hard or solid rock ground you could use a number if shorter roods with some distance inbetween connected to the ground lead in paralell or simply extend lenght of the ground-wire down into the ground in sufficient length to make it work as the ground-conductor, The lenght under ground needs to be at least tree times the lenght of equal conductor rood. (In this case equal to 3x240cm = 720cm of ground-wire for ground-conductor) Simply drive the rood or roods into the ground using whatever force necessary (Sledgehammer o.e.) if you are using several roods you could make a ditch so that the connecting wire also reside in the ground. If using cupper-wire as ground-conductor it should be put down in to the ground as deep as possible, preferably down at ground-water level, this is infact any deept depending of ground conditions at your location. (If your not shure about ground-water level at your location you should at least dig the cupper-wire ground-conductor as deep as possible, that is more than 100cm!) If your using a cupper wire or several cupper roods in a ditch make shure the ditch is in direction strait from the building (90dgr angle) If your RF-Ground is connected to a ground conductor (ground rood) also make shure there is sufficient distance between the to. To connect ground-wire to ground conductor roods use metal tube-clamps,- if possible drill wholes and use metal (self drilling) screws to get good electrical contact. If available use water proof (outdoors usage) Cupper-paste in between the ground wire and rodds. The ground-wire ------------------- Use a multi threaded cupper-wire (Not solid!) with at least 20-40 square millimeters of area. If the ground-wire is going up a wood building-wall (Or other burnable material) You should use some supporting distances to bring the ground- wire out from the building-wall. Newer connect the ground-wire to any other metal objects on the building. (Balcony, Metal-roof, Roof-drain pipes, suers a.s.o.) Mast structure connections. ------------------- Make a firm connection of the ground-wire and the metal of your antenna-mast or other antenna supporting structure. Use at least two Metal tube-clamps,- if possible drill wholes and use metal (self drilling) screws to get good electrical contact. If available use water proof (outdoors usage) Cupper-paste in between the ground-wire and the metal of your antenna-mast or other antenna supporting structure. If antenna-mast or other antenna supporting structure is nonconducting - made from nonconducting material, wood, glasfiber o.e. you also need to extend the ground-wire lenght going al the way upp to the antenna mast or other antenna supporting structure. This means slightly below the antenna it-self. Itīs done! ------------------- This completes your grounding system,- your now set to go! with protection against both smaller static discharges and even lightning. However you could NEVER count any grounding as 'bullet proof' so the recommendation stands: --> IN CASE OF INCOMING THUNDER STORM - ALWAYS DISCONNECT ANTENNA CABLE AND POWER - CORD!! This is done preferably at the static-arrests outside your house,- disconnect the side that goes in to your radio set, doing this leave the static-arrests still connected to the antenna and the radio safely disconnected. GLOSSARY ------------------- DISCLAIMER ------------------- You must understand that this document is provided on 'As-Is' basis,- the author or distributor of this document can not take any responsibility for errors or omissions,- nor can any clames be made due to damages or other offence caused by use of information in this document. Al information is amed as 'just information'. ================================================================ The use of this information is strictly in the hands of the reader. IT IS USED ON YOUR OWN RISK!!! ================================================================ COPYRIGHT STATMENT ------------------- The text and material in this document is copyrighted and own by the Author,- However distribution or copying of the document is alowed and even encouraged with this in mind: - You must distribute or copy the document in total! - Distribution or copying of the document in part is NOT allowed! - Top and bottom lines reading 'Grounding HOW-TO by - (SM-2-YER) Goran' and '(c)1998-2001 By Author SM-2-YER Goran' may not be removed! - You are not allowed to 'ADD' - 'REMOVE' or 'CHANGE' any part or text contained within this document. ================================================================ Grounding HOW-TO (c)1999-2001 By SM-2-YER Goran (c) Al rights reserved! ================================================================ *** End of document ***