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Good info about grounding.


Here's what I do currently (pun intended). I only had two lightning arrestors on hand, and didn't have the cash to buy a bunch more. So only the top two have lightning arrestors on them because they're my most expensive radios. I'm in a low lightning area. Between 5 to10 events a year. So I manually disconnect the coax on the Shack side of the bracket if I'm aware there's going to be a thunderstorm. Disconnecting the shack is the only true lightning protection!! No grounding in the world will save your equipment if you take a direct hit!! All of this helps with RFI, static discharge, and turns the odds in your favor during a thunderstorm. Please don't ever think you are lightning proof though, unless you have disconnected the shack. I don't think you can see the ground rods but they are connected to the bracket and each other with solid core copper numbers 6 or 8 AWG I think. The copper line is buried between the ground rods. This is just for the coaxes and the radio chassis. The towers are grounded separately individually.
 

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ClaimJumper said:
Disconnecting the shack is the only true lightning protection!! No grounding in the world will save your equipment if you take a direct hit!! All of this helps with RFI, static discharge, and turns the odds in your favor during a thunderstorm. Please don't ever think you are lightning proof though, unless you have disconnected the shack.
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Having worked in commercial broadcasting for 22 years I disagree. All of our main AM/FM stations were connected to the antenna systems at all times, 24/7/365. All of out VHF/UHF repeater STL systems were as well. Many times they were hit and received no damage. One well know ham, W8JI maintains several 200 foot towers that he NEVER disconnects and he has had several direct hits without any damage. The problem is not so much the cost of doing it right as that is minimal actually,but rather KNOWING HOW to do it right. It is more an excercise in workmanship than needing deep pockets. I suggest you look at W8JI's website for some solid grounding ideas.
 
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While on the subject, a bane of grounding is a ground loop. It's not often addressed. If your grounding setup seems to have made the problem worse or you have hum appearing out of nowhere, that's a symptom of a loop in the system. "Star ground" where you can.
 
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I have a friend who lives a few miles away and he had his Shack completely grounded as per the ARRL handbook. His system took a direct hit ruined 2 radios. Basically welded the two coax connectors onto the backs of the radios. Evaporated the antenna that took the hit. There are photos all over the Internet of commercial sites with melted equipment after a direct hit. I guess sometimes you're lucky sometimes you're not. So be my guest and don't disconnect.
 
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My philosophy on lightning is: Why even take a chance? Sure, I could leave everything hooked up and hope that my ground and lightning protection systems will deal with the hit. Or I could do what any smart person would do and disconnect everything; power, antenna, and ground, before the storm reaches me. The lightning protection is there to deal with the possibility of an out-of-the-blue strike, not so I can be lazy and not disconnect before a storm!
 
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