Base Setup Questions

[NightOwl]

Hi All, This is my first post on this forum, I've been reading alot of the topics and there sure is alot of information. Thank you for all that take the time to contribute so us Newbies have a starting point. I first got into CB'ing back when I was a kid, using what I have now (TRC-479) out of my dad's pickup truck. And looking to get back into it, so I have decided to create my first base setup. From what I've read so far on the forum, I get the general idea of grounding and the purpose of it, to protect from lightning and reduce TVI. But my questions are..

1. I live in a two-story apartment building and Im on the second story. On the side of the building, which is close to my window, there is a good area of dirt with some sprinkler rods in the ground already, sticking about 7 inches out of the ground and they are made of galvanized pipe I believe and I dont know how far they go down in the earth, Can I attach ground strap/wire from my attenna and radio to these sprinkler rods? Or should I just forget that idea and put in a couple of grounding rods? And does anyone have a site or pics where I can see close up of how the wires/strap are attached exactly to the ground rods and antenna?

2. And also, in regards to my location being on a 2nd story, How can I ground my radio? Since running a ground strap from my apartment window to down the building and to the patch of dirt where the ground rods will be is well over 9'... Does the power supply have to grounded to a grounding rod also?

3. Im most likely going to be going with an IMAX-2000, and most likely going to mount the antenna to one of a few 1 inch diamter or so vent pipes sticking out of the top of the building roof, I think they are pipes having to do with the plumbing of the building (I know, sounds so naive). Would it be ok to attach the IMAX to one of these pipes? Should I attach the IMAX directly to this vent pipe.. or attach a piece of antenna mast to the pipe and attach the antenna to the mast? Is using hose clamps to attach the mast to the vent pipe ok?

Sorry for the ton of questions, I feel like such a naive newbie that one or two of you CB vets, if not all, might shake your heads at or laugh at, lol.. but I'd rather look like a naive newbie then trying to go setting up my base without a clue in hell, and screwing it up in the process, lol. So any replies at all are very much appreciated guys, Thank You!

P.S. My Equipment I have at the moment is the stuff I used back in 93' in my dad's pickup, its consists of: Radioshack TRC-479, Radioshack mag-mount whip antenna about 4 feet long with attached coax, RadioShack Regulated 12 Volt 3amp Power Supply, Realistic 5-pin Power Mic cat no 21-1178, . I am just using this setup strictly for monitoring now..which isn't that great, when I setup base.. I plan on going with 50' of RGX8 Coax and an IMAX-2000, I'd like to keep using the same radio and power supply if possible. Mic Suggestions?

[TX_Dj]

First of all, the antenna you're talking about is 24 feet long. Second, the pipes you're talking about are not designed to have a 24 foot tall "lever" pushing on them all day. I wouldn't recommend using your plumbing vents as an antenna mounting point, unless you want to get expensive plumbing and roofing work done next time a storm blows through your way.

An alternative would be a roof-mount tower (like the kind you'd use to mount an old TV yagi to) which is typically a tripod mount with guy wires. This distributes the wind loading across a wider area of the roof. A better choice may be to mount it with a chimney mount. The best choice is to construct a tower.

Height is might. If you have a chimney that is 5 ft taller than your roof line, and you put your 24 foot antenna on a 15 foot mast at that location, the tip of your antenna is now 44 ft above the roof line.

Get good coax, the best you feel comfortable paying for. I'd suggest at least RG8X. If you decide to upgrade your power later, or if you end up having to make a longer run than you originally anticipated, the better coax will handle the power and will handle the distance with less loss. It's better than having to buy another big long length of wire and re-string it.

No worries on your feelings of naivety, we all started somewhere at some point, and we all could stand to learn more about our hobby.

Good luck in getting the base running!

[Lost Sheep]

Dj is right about the vent pipe. BAD IDEA!!! That would cause big problems down the road, mainly because that cast iron pipe cannot hold up to the stress and strain of the antenna swaying back and forth (lever). Trees, chimneys, or a tri-pod mount is gonna be your best bet for mounting.

Now, for the grounding q's. No, your power supply does not have to be grounded to a ground rod. It is a self contained system that doesn't require an external ground. The only reason I would ground your radio externally is if you end up with TVI or some other type of annoying interference, otherwise it's pointless. Doing that will not give you any type of performance gains whatsoever.
Now, for the antenna ground. The pipes you're talking about that are in the ground are a good idea. Don't rely on that to be your main source of ground though. I would also run some type of ground rod along with those pipes. Let me explain. That network of pipes will provide an EXCELLENT ground plane. In other words, all that pipe will act as a reflector and the wider the surface area of reflection, the better. I'm sure that all that pipe networks throughout the ground around where you live, which in turn will give the antenna a HUGE reflector. GREAT IDEA. Regardless, you should have a "known" good ground from some type of ground rod, whether its hollow conduit, re-bar, or just a solid steel rod. Those things that are sold as actual "ground rods" are very expensive. By the way, I would try to get whatever you use for a rod at least 4 feet in the ground, deeper if possible.
Yes, antenna ground is important but grounding CB equipment externally, not so much.
If you have ANY more Q's do not hesitate to ask.....even if you think they're stupid!
Have a good day and most of all HAVE FUN!

[721HACKSAW]

An 8' 5/8" diameter copper ground rod is about 15 dollars at Lowes or Home Depot. It will never rust, use the proper clamps also, use a water hose the night before and it will drive easily. Copper strap is better than wire.

[NightOwl]

Thanks guys for the help! I appreciate it

I can't go with a chimney mount, because I have no chimney, there are just the vent pipes on my roof, which are not an option, So I've looked into it and thought about it and for my situation, the tripod-roof mount seems like a good option, So Im gonna go with that. Would a regular 3' tripod antenna mount be ok for the IMAX? If not, whats the minimum size mount I could go with that could handle the IMAX?. If wind is a factor, I do not live in a very windy area. I live in Southern California (Orange County) and the most we deal with here is heat and a handful of rainy days in winter. The antenna will be mounted on a 5' antenna mast thats mounted to the tripod mount. And I was wanting to mount the antenna on the northwest corner of the roof, because my bedroom window is only 10 feet below that location AND the antenna would be right next to the side of the building where the patch of dirt is that I plan to drive a ground rod in. Is this ok? Or should the antenna be mounted in the very center part of the roof?

And as for the Antenna grounding, Do I just fasten the ground strap to the antenna mast and ground rod with some clamps? or do I have to do some sort of soldering? Which.. I've never done before, lol

[Trouble]

I was wondering about the tripod also. They are at the Shack for @ $35 and I am wanting to setup a 2000 also. My concern is overloading the tripod or having it waving in the wind like a limp spaghetti noodle! Good question and good responses.
Welcome to the forum.

Trouble is back quiet.

[Lost Sheep]

The tri-pod should be OK, even with that 24 ft long beast of an antenna. If you think it sways too much, then use guy wires from the top of the mast pipe to the roof or whatever you have the tri-pod mounted to. You can pick up small diameter guy wires and porcelain insulators at Lowes or Home Depot for fairly cheap. You CANNOT connect guy wire directly to the mast without insulators because the long wires will become part of the antenna system, in turn throwing off your SWR. BIG NO NO!!

As far as the ground rod, there are special clamps that you can buy that connect the ground wire to the rod. They will be in the same department as the ground rods at Lowes. As far as connecting the wire to the mast, you want to connect it as close to the base of the antenna as possible. I personally crimped and soldered a ring connector to that end of my ground wire and ran a bolt through the mast to connect it. You do not have to do it that way though. There are several ways you can hook the wire to the mast. I'm sure there is a clamp out there for that purpose too.

I think you'll have it whooped in no time flat Night Owl. Good questions by the way. I'm glad there are people out there that like the hobby and take pride in their setup.
Good Luck and Have Fun!!

[fortymobile]

i use Dacron Rope and a tri-pod no need for insulators .... i have a beam on the roof and had 100mph winds 3 times last year and a few 90-80mph winds beam never moved... the pipe on top of the rotor bent