Gerry there is NO one size fits all grounding solution. As Don suggests you are really dealing with four grounding systems. Your RF or rig ground, a lightning ground, your NEC or house power ground (neutral), and finally the safety ground (green wire) ground which is really part of the NEC ground. Often the requirements of one system will be at odds with other grounding requirements. For instance you generally want a high impedance for RFI issues and a very low impedance for lightning grounds. One system defeats the other so they really need to be separate systems. Your NEC and lightning grounds have very serious safety issues so running your proposed wiring changes by your local power company can often be very helpful. Most power companies have an expert on such issues although the existence of such a person is often a closely held secret. 73 Fred, AE6QL
-----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Don Wilhelm Sent: Saturday, September 26, 2015 12:08 PM To: [email protected]; [email protected] Subject: Re: [Elecraft] K3S proper grounding? Your grounding plan sounds fine, *if* and only if you connect that separate ground rod to the utility entrance ground rod using a #6 or #4 copper wire - that wire should be buried several inches and run outside your dwelling foundation. That connection is a NEC requirement and is necessary for safety. All ground rods *must* be connected together unless they are more than 100 feet apart. You cannot create an RF ground by connecting to a ground rod. It is only for AC safety and a measure of lightning protection. OCF antennas can be difficult to tame for RF in the shack. Use of a very good quality common mode choke at the feedpoint (in addition to the 4:1 balun) may help. 73, Don W3FPR On 9/26/2015 1:41 PM, [email protected] wrote: > The plan I'm thinking of so far. > > 1. Run an 8 gauge dedicated power feeder from my main panel (on the > opposite side of the house) to the shack with a 20A breaker. The 8Ga > is to lower ground losses. > > 2. Install a ground rod outside my shack and run a heavy gauge to the > shack to bond with the dedicated power line ground. > > 3. Ground all gear in the shack to the dedicated power ground. > > 4. ?? maybe do a run of 14-2 romex with all three leads bonded together up > to the mast, install a mast antenna switch and ground it with the 14-2. > > ______________________________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:[email protected] This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html Message delivered to [email protected] ______________________________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:[email protected] This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html Message delivered to [email protected]
