[HCDX]: Re: Grounding!

[Alf Aardal <alfardal@xxxxxxxxx>]

Hi Jerry.

Yes..Jerry.....there have been some great inputs in the mailing-list......both
for those who have the backyard and ground to connect good antennas and
groundings....and for those ,sorry enough,who don't have the space to do this.
I feel the only way to eliminate the noise...is to keep experimenting with
several solutions......

Besides having a receiver...we always want the no.1 on our list...a antenna
which is free from noise,
and no.2...a optimal grounding..whatever it takes.
If we can fulfill these 2 ....we are over halfway on our journey to doing it
right.

Some comments are still in the place....I surely don't have the perfect site to
erect beverages and other antennas..(caused by steep hills in the direction
where I have directed my beverages)...but I do have the space...and one thing I
also have,is almost a perfect ground..with moist clay...so why don't do the
best out of what you got!
Some comments:

1. Using the electricity grounding is something I never use... Make your own
grounding system....

2. Connecting the antenna(s) to a balun(transformer) isolates the antenna
electrically from the receiver,and doesnt let the statics go in to your
receiver either,but leads the static to ground.After all a static buildup can
cause up to 70 volts per meter on really long antennas.....
Also it makes the right input impedance to your receiver,thats another good
reason to use a balun.
I'm using 9:1 ratio baluns...perform good for me..but my main dxing is on
MW...but it seems to work well on SW too.

3. Driving 5 or more ground rods into the ground,demands of course a good moist
ground...but there is another solution to make a good conductivity for the
grounding system...if you are digging a hole,or just driving the rod through
the surface...make a hole with a iron stake for each rod...fill it with some
salt..coarse salt...water it half way...and drive the rods
down...strange.....put it works!!!
Also laying out grounding wires on the surface,is a good substitute ground that
works good too..they dont pick so much static noise up either....so if you dont
have the possibility to make a perfect ground,caused by poor
conductivity...this is a good solution!

4. Also using coax is a need......

5. If there is thunderstorms in the area....unplug the antennas..the grounding
wire...also unpluging the receivers from the AC outlets...is good rule!!
And if you're out of the house,and the possibility for thunderstorms are
there....this is a golden rule!!!

I guess all of these things have been mentioned many many times up through the
years,but I feel this is essential for all of us......

73's

Alf Aardal



jerry.monroe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx wrote:

> Hello Alf and others,
>
> There has been some great input on good grounding and a few comments are in
> order.
>
> One thing though I have not seen mentioned, is to utilize you local
> topography to its best advantage, by this I mean if you have water well
> which is basically a big metal pipe in the ground sometimes 200 feet or
> more, by all means use that.
> Also, if on your property you have a low lying wet spot maybe a swamp, put
> your ground there. Driving 100 10 foot ground rods and burying mesh screen
> in a sand dune does not do much, but a single ground rod into the edge of
> pond or small lake will go a long ways for creating superior RF ground
> performance.
>
> Secondly, safety. Creating a good ground can be quite shocking , especially
> when connection is made to your house powering ground. Realize the ground
> rods driven for the powering grid were probably done fifty years ago or and
> may be non existent or seriously degraded.
> Serious voltage potential could exist, exercise caution.
>
> And thirdly, lightning and static protection. Now that you have created a
> tremendous ground realize that lightning prefers to take the shortest and
> least resistance path, you may created the best local ground for mother
> nature. So if you do choose to bond this enhanced ground to the local power
> grid , all those other long wire antennas out there commonly known as "the
> power lines" may find there way to discharge themselves when struck, via
> your backyard ground.
> To alleviate this to some degree I would highly recommend transformer
> coupling your antenna/super ground to your receiver. There was some
> excellent postings on this topic in HCDX list just recently.
>
> Good luck keep us all posted,
>
> Jerry KC2UT
> Syracuse, New York
>
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This is a message from Alf Aardal <alfardal@xxxxxxxxx>
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For more information, please check http://www.iki.fi/rko/hard-core-dx/
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