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Grounding

i have been wondering about a certain antenna grounding setup, and since the guys who know about this stuff seem to be interested in this thread, maybe they can tell me/us whether or not its a good idea.

what if you were to isolate your antenna from its support structure using a fiberglass, delrin, or some other insulating rod, and send the coax to a polyphaser mounted just outside of the shack entrance?

the ground side of the polyphaser would be connected to the shack ground system, whatever it consisted of.

my thinking is that with this setup, if lightning were to strike the antenna, it would be forced to go down the coax (most likely burning it up) and into the polyphaser, keeping the strike from affecting the equipment in the shack.

LC
 
Mack, altho true that Zeus was Father of the gods, the last time I talked to him he was much more concerned with keeping an eye on Aphrodite because she was playing the field.
He said he had no time to be whipping it down on lowly Ham Operators,and that he leaves his light work to Thor anyway.
;)

73
Jeff
 
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hookedon6 said:
something i forgot to put in the prev post.

many people DO disconnect the coax during a storm (don't forget to put the end in a MASON jar(y))

people using a rotor on a directional antenna, often forget that the rotor wiring also comes into the shack and leave that connected.
Click to expand...

i no this is a old thread,but is this true? i was told by a guy that was on a navy ship for yrs that they put all there coax cables in one 5 gallon glass jar when theres a storm coming?he said you can see it dancing around if it gets thru?
i have a 5 gal glass one but if a mason will work that would be much easyer?

we have lightening 5 days a week and my quad tells me way ahead of time its coming.."static in my recieve" big spikes..then hrs later here it comes..
i un hook my coax and unplug meters and radios..lay coax on floor.
so much unhooking that im gonna wear out my antenna switch before the warranty goes out lol..
in the shack i dont have nothing but plugs in the wall from the radio ,no other grounds..antenna is quad with no grounds yet but the tower has a 6 ft 200lb steel post in the ground.and bolted to tower.i will be hooking up grounds and running them with my home service grounds soon..

just worried as my neighbor has been hit 3 times this yr and was unpluuged and unhooked so it only got the antennas..he says lightening will/can jump from the unplugged coax in the shack and jump to other stuff?
this is why i ask about the mason jar thingy cause i cant take the coax outside like he can.
 
Think about it for a minute. Lightning travels miles thru air. What is a sixteenth of an inch of glass going to stop? Also the idea of navel ships disconnecting their cables and throwing them in a five gallon glass jar is bogus. You don't disconnect cables on a navel ship. I am sure Beetle would like to comment on tbis one. He served on the USS Kitty Hawk carrier a REAL navel ship.
 
arent i glad i asked..i dont always belive what i hear..but i heard that a few times so there prob hard headed and not willing to learn.

however,i am! i have no choice but to always leave my coax in the house unless i add a bunch of conectors and i dont want that..only connectors i have is the coax going into the switch box,and i think im likeing it.
theres got to be some trick or ? i can make and screw the coax into it maybe..
maybe connect the coax to a block of some sort that connects thru the wall"i can do that" or floor "trailor trash lol" so if /when it happens it will go into, or thru something other than me..
if im in the shack "most always" and unhooked the coax is aimed 4ft from where i sit:eek: at head height:eek: just dont like the thought i guess..
i could move my chair..or set gunsome powder where the coax lays so there hopefully wouldnt be much pain:D
 
Here's a thought:

You live in the 'bikini state'? All the more reason to be prepared for lightning strikes, since Florida holds 1st place for the number of strikes per year in the US.

There are a number of informative threads on this forum about lightning protection. Very specific about do's and don'ts if you use the search engine. Just might be in your best interests to study the subject well, as the life and property you may be saving might very well be your own . . .
 
The ideal situation is to disconnect the cable outdoors but failing that you can disconnect it inside and screw tbe cable into a jack that has the center pin shorted to ground and mpunted on a GOOD piece of metal that is grounded well. There are no guarentees with lightning but thete are a LOT of things that can be done to lessen the impact of a strike. I used to be in the broadcazt business and we took many direct hits in a year and very rarely did we go off the air. You don't disconnect broadcast antennas in a storm.
 
the comment about the mason jar was kinda tongue in cheek;)

the point was to keep your hands off the end of the wire


BTW,.... what is a better elect ground than a steel hull in salt water?
 
There are so many misconceptions and people blowing hot air about this topic. I've seen very very few radio installations where grounding and bonding has been even remotely close to what it should be. Most FM and TV broadcasters have no clue WTF they are doing with this. I've been told we've done it this way for 40 years and we should know what we're doing by now. I agree entirely, they should know. Unfortunately they don't. Neither do smaller communications companies, ham radio repeater operators, and so on. It's very simple and nothing magical.

There is plenty of information online. Polyphaser has a very good document as does Nautel. If you're serious about reading and learning I'd be pleased to supply pdf copies. I just get tired of trying to explain this topic to people who refuse to listen or just can't grasp simple ideas.

For a properly assembled station a direct lightning hit is perfectly survivable. There is no need to disconnect any AC, RF, or control cables, and you can continue to operate throughout a storm.
 
im always willing to read and learn more..any links welcome(y)
my ham neighbor is grounded out the ying yang on his tower and unhooks everything daily when we have strikes,and he still has been hit dozens of times past 10 yrs he says..just gets the antenna mostly tho.
i will never be that brave to not unhook the coax tho..a storm last week had over 2,000 strikes if i remember correct..
still willing to learn more..
 

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