Mike wrote:
> Hi Pete -
> I have given up on the idea of 'perfect safety 24/7' and espouse the
> disconnect everything philosophy. I'm only 6-10" above ground.
>
If disconnecting everything, the leads still need to be well grounded,
otherwise it's like Franklin's kite with the other end laying on the
floor in the shack where they can start a fire...or worse. I've seen
snow static create a fire and shock hazard in such a situation
(speaking from experience.). I've never been nailed that hard from an
electric fence.
73
Roger (K8RI)
> 73, Mike NF4L
>
> Pete Smith wrote:
>
>> It pains me to see hams with imperfect above-ground shack locations
>> thinking about installing hundreds of dollars' worth of Polyphasers in
>> pursuit of the wrong Holy Grail -- 24/7 antenna availability.
>>
>> My shack is on the second floor. Fifteen years ago, after a lot of
>> thought, I decided that I would not be able to get a low-enough ground
>> inductance, and decided to go another route. I simply disconnect all
>> the conductors coming from the tower at the shack entry panel. Three
>> years ago, I took a direct hit on my 40m yagi. The barrel connectors in
>> the entry panel arced (very loud, scary noise) but nothing went any further.
>>
>> I'm aware of the theoretical possibility of bonding everything in the
>> shack to a common ground, so that the whole thing rises above earth
>> ground during an "event" and then subsides, presumably without damage.
>> I'm not willing to risk it. 30 seconds unplugging three coax cables and
>> 6 control cables seemed (and seems today) like a more reliable solution.
>>
>> 73, Pete N4ZR
>> New Articles Daily - the Contesting Compendium at http://wiki.contesting.com
>> The World Contest Station Database, updated daily at www.conteststations.com
>> The Reverse Beacon Network at http://reversebeacon.net
>>
>>
>> On 11/3/2009 11:59 PM, Jim Brown wrote:
>>
>>
>>> On Tue, 03 Nov 2009 17:00:11 -0500, Mike wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>> Would it be a reasonable idea to pull a ground out of the breaker box,
>>>> and tie it to the tower and bring it into the shack also to tie all this
>>>> together?
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>> Yes, BUT: Don't use that circuitous route through the attic, because
>>> lightning won't follow it. Lighting will take the lowest impedance path,
>>> which is usually the shortest one. DO bond everything together by the
>>> shortest practical path, more connections are better. DO bond the tower
>>> directly to the electric service ground by the shortest practical path.
>>> Also, be sure to also bond together the telephone ground, and the CATV
>>> ground, the satellite dish ground with the electrical ground and the tower
>>> ground.
>>>
>>> 73,
>>>
>>> Jim K9YC
>>>
>>>
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>>>
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