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noisemaker
12-08-2011, 09:56 PM
OK- everyone has something different.. here's what i want to know- When grounding your tower/antenna, would you just use grounding rods or would you tie it into you existing service ground in addition to the grounding rods. I hear 50/50 on this answer.

coolbreeze
12-08-2011, 10:13 PM
i have both

Mr.5150cbrn
12-08-2011, 11:05 PM
depends on what im after
dc/ac current grounding rod-rods, if close proximity to utility rod then yes there too.

RF ground, i use copper pipe in multiple paths near tower, ie. surface area is key where the need of a solid conductor isnt key to rf grounding , copper flashing coil stock up tower leg to mast (one continuous strip) wrapped around leg -surface area least resistance

D-MAX 2112
12-11-2011, 12:01 AM
Ok in all my rookieness... i deal with some grounding at work. Im a beliver..in each "system" House,tower..ect. having its own ground system. (isolation)If all systems are together malfunctions can carry though ground to another sysytem. Towers seperate from house wiring on there own ground array. I look at it this way.. if my tower is struck by lightning..do i want to allow that a path into the house via ground?
I had an indirect lightning hit here .. the damage was about 10k...this was before my tower was up and grounding done..and also a whole house surge protector. After grounding we had many big electrical storms... and my antenna up there at 85ft or so ..not a single issue. I have about 20 8ft ground rods in various configurations.. tower has a small array, the house added 2 more rods, my radios have a small array.. ect Nothing will stop a direct hit as we know.. can only try to minimize the meltdown.

Mistah Gravy
04-08-2012, 07:23 PM
i'm no electrical whiz but i agree with D-Max.you're tying both your house system and your radio set up to one grounding system so when one has an issue,both will have an issue.if you separate them then you have double the chance of one of them not having an issue should you have a strike.sure,you could get two strikes on your property and end up having both grounds stricken,but the laws of averages are against it i would bet.

i would never tie my radio into my home system for the simple fact that my radio set up could cause unwanted harm to my home.the radio is a hobby and i don't want the rest of my household to pay for that.i know the grounding on the home has been done very professionally but i think i can read up enough on grounding rods to put together a really nice set up for my antenna as well.

i wouldn't risk putting my home in line for a lightning strike for the sake of my antenna being done right.

CandyBar
10-30-2012, 11:29 AM
Wow, this is something I hadn't thought about, either. The more I read on this forum, the more I realize that I just don't know. I'm glad that I'm reading all this before buying and setting up my base as I think you all will not only save me some money, but also will save me aggravation because I'm learning how to do things right.