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Shack Grounding

I have been in radio since 1965 & I have never had a station ground.I have a ground on my tower now but only because it is needed for my 160 meter half sloper antenna which is attached to it.If your gear is connected to any antenna when lighting makes a direct hit I don't believe any grounding or anything else Man Made with even slow it down.I have all 9 antennas on quick disconnects as well as my rotor so they are disconnected outside my shack when not in use.That is far better than any ground you will ever provide.Besides if GOD wants to hit it with a bolt of Lightning HE will be successful hooked up or not but if it gives you peace of mind then go for it & buy some replacement insurance as well because it will be of a much greater value in the end.Just FYI.I have T-Mobile Cell Service & the service was lost for a few days this last week due to a direct lightning strike on a local cell tower.I am pretty sure that the have the finest lightning protection & grounds that money can buy but it still wiped out that tower causing severe damage from what I have heard from those who repaired the damage.If grounding really worked they would have had Zero issues but as in so many cases before it failed to protect the system & it will fail more times than we can count in the future. Why provide the ground that Lightning is looking for in the 1st place???? {:>)

SIX-SHOOTER
 
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Wire Weasel said:
My long story was above .... here's the short one.
.
This mast pole grounding thing isn't about technique or money. It's about an operator's INSISTENCE on leaving his shack all connected up during a thunderstorm and counting on (any) protection scheme to protect him. And most people think that's dumb. Don't be LAZY. Just unplug. It's free :whistle:
Click to expand...

That works quite well if you are home when lightning moves in. Perhaps you advocate disconnecting the coax EVERY time you power down the gear.
 
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SIX-SHOOTER said:
I have been in radio since 1965 & I have never had a station ground.I have a ground on my tower now but only because it is needed for my 160 meter half sloper antenna which is attached to it.If your gear is connected to any antenna when lighting makes a direct hit I don't believe any grounding or anything else Man Made with even slow it down.I have all 9 antennas on quick disconnects as well as my rotor so they are disconnected outside my shack when not in use.That is far better than any ground you will ever provide.Besides if GOD wants to hit it with a bolt of Lightning HE will be successful hooked up or not but if it gives you peace of mind then go for it & buy some replacement insurance as well because it will be of a much greater value in the end.Just FYI.I have T-Mobile Cell Service & the service was lost for a few days this last week due to a direct lightning strike on a local cell tower.I am pretty sure that the have the finest lightning protection & grounds that money can buy but it still wiped out that tower causing severe damage from what I have heard from those who repaired the damage.If grounding really worked they would have had Zero issues but as in so many cases before it failed to protect the system & it will fail more times than we can count in the future. Why provide the ground that Lightning is looking for in the 1st place???? {:>)

SIX-SHOOTER
Click to expand...


You might be surprised just as to how good their ground may or may not have been. I have seen MANY commercial broadcast installations that upon first look the ground would appear fine however once you started to really look at it and realize that often the transmitter was in the middle of the tower ground and the electrical service ground it meant any strike current would flow thru the transmitter chassis to the electrical service ground and cause untold damage. I actually had one such installation that was corrected. I had an AM station take a DIRECT strike on the tower and the only thing that happened was that the RF line current meter was completely burned up but thankfully it fused the inside and the TX continued to operate. The only way I knew it was hit was a few days after a storm I visited the site and upon opening the door was greeted by the smell of brimstone. The meter was black and crispy but still completing the circuit. I also had an FM TX site that took a hit on the AC power lines that resulted in every rectifier in the three phase HV power supply as well as the 4CX250 driver tube being toast. Nothing else on the tower was damaged including three VHF/UHF transmitter/receivers and a commercial VHF commercial 2-way repeater.
 
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Wire Weasel said:
I hear ya CK ..... but tell me - What is wrong with spending no money and just unplugging your shack when it's not in use?
Click to expand...

Like I said above......nothing if it is practical. Not all stations allow the simple and timely disconnection of cables. Many stations use a dozen cables as well as several rotator control cables in addition to remote control cables etc. Leaving a cable simply disconnected but laying on the shack floor is foolhardy. Not all stations allow the cable to be disposed of out a window etc. One size does NOT fit all.
 
Mark me down as an unplugger. Have never had a ground rod. Had a nearby strike some years back and radio equipment was unharmed. :) HVAC compressor, garage door opener, microwave oven and inkjet printer weren't so lucky. :(
 
I was watching TV at my Grandmas house. Antenna took a direct hit. The twin lead acted like det cord. Whole entire run just flashed and vaporized instantly. Caught the attic on fire. Unplugging coax wouldn't have done nothing, except save the radio. My house is more important than my rigs.
 
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Captain Kilowatt said:
Leaving a cable simply disconnected but laying on the shack floor is foolhardy.
Click to expand...
Put in a heavy duty glass jar?

I route mine to a gallon oil can dummy load BUT only after the coax is broken up outside with polyphasers on each coax line that are connected to a 8ft driven ground rod along with 2 other 8ft rods connected in series.

Then I hope for the best!
 
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fourstringburn said:
Put in a heavy duty glass jar?

I route mine to a gallon oil can dummy load BUT only after the coax is broken up outside with polyphasers on each coax line that are connected to a 8ft driven ground rod along with 2 other 8ft rods connected in series.

Then I hope for the best!
Click to expand...


Lightning streaks across miles of air or 100 feet of wood (tree). That jar won't stop a direct strike from blowing it to pieces, think glass grenade. Besides that the cable is still laying on or running against stuff and it will easily arc over to anything grounded just like my buddy's place that had the kitchen cabinets literally blown off the walls because the cable was routed down from the attic behind them.
 
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Captain Kilowatt said:
You might be surprised just as to how good their ground may or may not have been. I have seen MANY commercial broadcast installations that upon first look the ground would appear fine however once you started to really look at it and realize that often the transmitter was in the middle of the tower ground and the electrical service ground it meant any strike current would flow thru the transmitter chassis to the electrical service ground and cause untold damage. I actually had one such installation that was corrected. I had an AM station take a DIRECT strike on the tower and the only thing that happened was that the RF line current meter was completely burned up but thankfully it fused the inside and the TX continued to operate. The only way I knew it was hit was a few days after a storm I visited the site and upon opening the door was greeted by the smell of brimstone. The meter was black and crispy but still completing the circuit. I also had an FM TX site that took a hit on the AC power lines that resulted in every rectifier in the three phase HV power supply as well as the 4CX250 driver tube being toast. Nothing else on the tower was damaged including three VHF/UHF transmitter/receivers and a commercial VHF commercial 2-way repeater.
Click to expand...

I am not sure exactly what was destroyed but it took them almost 3 full 10 hour days to get the tower back operational.My signal is better now than before the lightning strike and that is good news.

SIX-SHOOTER
 
fourstringburn said:
Put in a heavy duty glass jar?

I route mine to a gallon oil can dummy load BUT only after the coax is broken up outside with polyphasers on each coax line that are connected to a 8ft driven ground rod along with 2 other 8ft rods connected in series.

Then I hope for the best!
Click to expand...

Man what a mess all of that oil will make with the direct strike. Maybe even a fire with it be petroleum based ?

SIX-SHOOTER
 
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