HOWS THE BEST WAY TO GROUND SHOOTING STAR ON 50' TOWER

[TREEDOG101]

Do I run a ground wire from the antenna bracket all the way down to rod or just ground tower to 3 rods in triangle configuration and call it done?

TREEDOG

[crazytruker]

No you attach a solid c*pper ground wire to an 8 foot ground rod pounded into the ground. if you want to triangle ground rods and whatever that's up to you. i've seen the triangle thing before.where people get these fancy schemes i don't know. If putting a ground at the antenna bracket was needed the manufacturer would put it in the instructions so you don't need to do that.

[Tracker16]

I'm not sure where Crazy got his info but according to the Technicians license test book you should put an 8 ft ground rod at ea leg and connect each one to the tower and also connect the rods to each other

[TREEDOG101]

Thanks guys!

[209 first class]

ok, more rods provide less resistance to the stray rf trying to get into the ground. if it is not easy for all the stray rf to travel into the ground, it will try to travel back up the conductor, the power unused by your antenna travels back down the coax to your radio. rf is funny like that. thats why its important to create a connection with less resistance than the ground connection in the shack, instead of the unused power going back to the radio, it will be drawn down toward the ground instead of your coax. arrl books state there are very few places(such as the midwest) where the ground conductivity is enough that one 8 foot ground rod will suffice. ok, now to the conductor:solid wire is the worst, a group of smaller stranded solid copper wire(like they sell at home depot,used for normal house grounding) is second worst, braid is ok, and solid copper strap the best. rf finds it harder to travel in the reverse direction in the solid copper strap. the professional tower sites(i mean tv, microwave, the big ones) use a heavy short ground from the tower base to the ground rods as well as the strap. this is the lightning protection. the tower does have as good as conductivity as the strap, but will handle much more voltage/amps and lightning is not picky about resistance as it strikes trees ect. ive happily had a tower up for 2 weeks with a new 6 element beam, i studied alot and that is the condensed version. all of this info is from arrl books and the web. not me. just when i thought i had finished spending tons of money i bought the copper strap from ebay ,propane torch solder, 3 rods, connectors ect. i wish we could all just put on a wire and a rod and be done with it, yes it will help some but you have to judge how far u want to go with it. i would not buy an expensive automobile and put on cheap tires,i would feel funny about it. here is a pic of my grounding system, all soldered like plumbing and spray painted so it wont get dull and corrode. i also sprayed the whole 40 feet of copper strap. 209
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[209 first class]

aw crappers, i forgot about co pp er being censored

[THE WATCHMAN]

I WILL BE MOUNTING A GROUND PLANE ANTENNA ON A CHIMNEY MOUNT I HAVE 50 FEET OF CO PP ER STRAP. WOULD IT BE BETTER TO RUN THE STRAP FROM THE ANTENNA MOUNTING CLAMP OR FROM THE BOTTOM OF THE MAST POLE TO THE GROUND ROD?

[209 first class]

attach it to the antenna itself where it mounts to the mast. i rolled the end of my strap into a tube and soldered it into an automotive ring terminal. the copper touching aluminum might corrode soon. the galvanized ring terminal will last longer. try to keep the strap as straight as you can down to the ground. 209

[BigX]

Do you have to do the triangle or can you just put the ground rods in a row? Also, can you use stainless steel rods for grounding?

[TREEDOG101]

Would the c o pp e r strap act as a antenna? 50' would be a long strap!

Treedog101

[THE WATCHMAN]

THE STRAP ACTING LIKE AN ANTENNA WAS ONE OF MY CONCERNS. IF I RUN IT FROM THE BOTTOM OF THE MAST POLE IT WILL LESS THAN 15 FEET TO THE GROUND ROD. I WOULD LIKE TO DO THIS RIGHT THE FIRST TIME AND BE DONE WITH IT. IT WILL BE ABOUT TWO MORE WEEKS BEFORE I HAVE EVERY THING I NEED TO INSTALL SO I HAVE TWO MORE WEEKS TO ASK AND LEARN BEFORE I GET STARTED.

[BigX]

Does anyone have the info for my post up a few?

[209 first class]

hi bigx, sorry for the late reply. the books suggest the triangle arrangement. i understand if its on the side of your house you wouldent want it sticking out for people to trip over ect.book also suggested if you cant drive a 8 foot rod is many short rods connected in a line. but i will guess 3 long rods in a line would be better than just one single. the more rods lowers the resistance. each rod only has to distribute 1/3 of the rf. if you cant do the triangle, id sat a line is the next best thing. stainless is not as conductive as copper, so it will be slightly less efficient. also i am not sure you can solder to stainless, soldering is important so your ground works as well 2 months later. all the minerals in rainwater ect will reduce the connection. rf requires a much more solid electrical connection than electricity.clamping and soldering are required, as the solder itself will not hold up long enough for the lightning strike to enter the ground. i read the station ground will act as an antenna if it is over 1/4 wavelength long. that was not mentioned about the antenna ground. if it were true, i dont think there would be any antenna towers over 1/4 wavelength tall. 209

[BigX]

Thanks 209. I do now have another problem. I put an antron 99 up and my swr on ch 1 is reading about a 2.0 and on ch 40 its reading a 1.2. Anyone know how i can bring the swr down.

[209 first class]

hi, you adjust the antron by the 2 metal rings around the base of it. you loosen them, then move one up 1/4 inch, and retighten the other one against it, and remeasure to see if you are going in the right direction. you want the swr almost the same on 1 and 40. if its up high on a house ect,,and you cant reach it, try adjusting it 4- 8 feet off the ground if you can get it back down to the ground. if you need any more suggestions or help, pm me, the response may be quicker. 209

[BigX]

Thanks man ill try that

[HOUND DOG]

Bump-Bump
I installed my shooting star two weeks ago on a 42' tower with 11' of mast above the tower. I was told that I should run a ground wire from the boom to a ground rod but I didn't. I planted one ground rod to ground the tower and another ground rod with a heavy stranded wire attached to the rotor mast which is located 6' off the ground. IMO, this is plenty of ground but if it makes a person feel better pounding in more $15.00 ground rods, then have at it:-)

[TREEDOG101]

Hound dog, did you guy that tower off? I was wondering how high I could go without using guy wires/

Thanks TREEDOG

[HOUND DOG]

No guy's, guy":-) My tower is a 42ft TV antenna tower thats wide at the bottom and gets narrow at the top with a tilt base thats cemented deep in the ground. I have a oak tree about 15 ft from the tower where I put a "snatch-block" about 20ft up. Then I run a long length 3/4" steel cable from about 15 ft up the tower, through the snatch-block on the tree and then to a tow hook on the front of my jeep. With the jeep locked in 4-low, I can raise and lower the tower nice and slow:-)

[North Texas Mudduck]

whats wrong with pounding 8 foot rods in the ground i hate the part of standing on ladder swinging sledge

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[BtyMONSTER]

never ever use coppper pipe for a ground on a station if you want to correctly protect it .

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[North Texas Mudduck]

as you can see in the bottom picture it comes right off the base of tower then elbows down goes to a tee then at the bottom of the tee is a 8 foot copper rod then back at the tee the copper pipes run about 1 to 2 inches under the dirt
and again at each turn is another 8 foot copper rod

and this is not for lightning protection (nothing and i say nothing is going to protect you from lighting if it decides to strike you )

if someone says this has lighting protection on it

tell them hold on to it during a lightning storm..
NO IF AND OR BUTTS SHUT UP AND GRAB HOLD OF IT

I WILL SAY THIS AGAIN I'M GOING FOR RF GROUND......

NOT LIGHTNING GROUND PROTECTION

example
i have almost 2 s-units of noise level i can go outside take the (RF straps loose from bottom of tower and the noise level jumps up to 4 1/2 s-units.)

[BtyMONSTER]

i apologize North Texas Mudduck . given the topic of this thread i thought the pics were a suggestion of what to do . my bad .

[North Texas Mudduck]

well booty monster i apologize also i got off topic there a bit i went back to reread the topic at hand and it just asks how to ground the antenna

i should have asked what kinda ground we looking to get

lightning ground ?
RF ground ?

[TREEDOG101]

My main concern was, do I just ground at the base of tower or run 50' of ground cable or strap to the antenna itself?

Treedog