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[TowerTalk] Cost Of Proper Gronding and Bonding

To: towertalk@contesting.com
Subject: [TowerTalk] Cost Of Proper Gronding and Bonding
From: Jim Brown <jim@audiosystemsgroup.com>
Reply-to: jim@audiosystemsgroup.com
Date: Wed, 22 Sep 2021 15:03:02 -0700
List-post: <mailto:towertalk@contesting.com>
On 9/18/2021 10:03 AM, Phil Coley wrote:
I guess all stations aren’t equal in protection due to a lot of factors.

Yes!

I am making changes/additions now that my income permits. It’s a basic station that I can’t spend a fortune on making it totally protected (if there is such a thing). May be cheaper just to give up the hobby.

I would assign priorities to bonding inside the shack, bonding to all grounds outside the shack, and bonding feedlines outside the shack or where they enter.

Most of the principles described both in my pdf and Ward's ARRL book are inexpensive to implement. It's more a matter of understanding what matters, what doesn't, and what are the right ways to do it.

Bonding inside our stations costs nothing more than time and wire. Bonding outside our stations is more time, the wire (larger size), maybe additional rods, and connectors (either clamps or CADWELDs).

Bonding coax where it enters our shack can be accomplished using the very nice AS-300-series arrestors that Array Solutions sells, and he shows a simple way to mount them to a driven rod that would, of course, be bonded to the rest of our grounds. They also sell an arrestor for 2-wire line. AND -- the GDTs are user replaceable, and he sells replacements. With Polyphaser, you get to buy a brand new arrestor.

I'm a serious contester and have a lot of land, so I have a LOT of antennas (including six RX antennas with long runs of CATV RG6), so I've mounted (with help from neighbor W6GJB) a bunch of the Array Solutions arrestors in a large weatherproof enclosure, bought from the REAL electrical supply house in town, which had multiple pieces of multiple sizes in stock. It supplements an in-wall entry panel that neighbor K6XX built for me in his shop that's loaded with Polyphaser feedthrus. In addition the cost of buying a replacement, it's a 2-person job replacing them. Now, when they blow, I'm moving the antenna to the new panel with the Array Solutions arrestors.

73, Jim K9YC


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