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Author Topic: Some thoughts on shack earthing  (Read 2142 times)

Offline vu2nan

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  • Nandu - VU2NAN since 1977.
    • Amateur Radio VU2NAN - Nandu

Offline GM0LVI

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Re: Some thoughts on shack earthing
« Reply #1 on: March 18, 2015, 20:32:51 UTC »
In the shack (ground floor) I have an earth busbar ( a bit of copper pipe) that runs along the back of my desk. All radios and PSUs are bonded to that which in it's turn is connected via heavy duty wire to a couple of earth rods. This is in addition to the mains supply earth pins.
My antennas are all conected to a relay box located in a garden shed and all are earthed via several copper rods when not in use. The feed into the shack is Heliax and the solid copper screen is earthed via the relay box. Static and to some extent lightning protection on my 40/80m vertical - a Butternut HF2v is taken care of by the impedence matching coil connected between the base and several copper pipes that form part of the ground plane mat.

When I was a young SWL I had a 132 foot long wire as well as some dipoles that ran up to a 30 foot pole on a hill behind the house and whenever we had heavy rain I could hear sparks coming from the little wafer switch I used to switch antennas.
Dave

Offline vu2nan

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  • Nandu - VU2NAN since 1977.
    • Amateur Radio VU2NAN - Nandu
Re: Some thoughts on shack earthing
« Reply #2 on: March 20, 2015, 17:18:11 UTC »
Hi OM Dave,

Real professional approach!

The metal enclosures of all my equipment have individual ground wires (no looping) terminated at an earthing strip connected to 'mains-supply-earth'. The HF antenna switchbox at the shack table is similarly grounded ensuring earthing of the coax braids.

I do not have a separate set of ground rods for the shack. But the 'mains-supply-earth' is bonded to 4 ground rods at the corners of the building.

73,

Nandu.