Two weeks ago I couldn't spell General, now I is one.
Two weeks ago I couldn't spell General, now I is one.
just scored 74% on hamstudy.org
I think I'm going to go to the Howard County hamfest on 5/27 and sit for general exam.
A bigger score: I got the XYL to agree to a new radio and adding an antenna outside.
I'm looking at buying an EFHW from myantennas.com.
The radio is Yaesu FT-450D.
Any suggestions or feedback on either of those?
I have a power supply already, MFJ-4225MV (does up to 25A)
The 450D has a built-in tuner up to 3:1.
Am I missing anything else?
I'm looking at buying an EFHW from myantennas.com.
Am I missing anything else?
What he said. Note: If you have a newer radio with tuner built in, it will tune down anything under 3:1. Also, if you transmit with greater than 2:1, it will throttle back the lower and probably beep at you. You want to do what Traveler said to improve the SWR before relying on tuner. That said, a tuner will be needed to use all of those bands; and, it still may not be good enough for some.Your SWR is too high. Under 2 is a good start.
Just 20 feet is pretty low.
Ladder line needs to be up off the ground, as in not touching it. It should be at least the width of the ladder line away from metallic items like window sills.
My 600 ohm ladder line doublet works a treat around 45 feet.
QRZ.com is a great resource for amateur radio, but you have to have a thick skin. There are a lot of drama queens and curmudgeons on the Zed.
Thanks all, looks like I need to do some "monkey" work in the trees.
K31, what can you tell me about and inverted V? How wide must the legs be separated and what angles, etc.? Would having the ladder line run next to the tree trunk be detrimental?
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You're going to need a ground rod or 2 (if you ground the antenna as they suggest). Some clamps to connect conductors to the radio and ground rod. You'll want a lightning arrestor as well, that will pass the frequencies you want.
The best conductor for hf grounding is flat strap (not braided). Round ground conductor can bring hf rf into the shack.
Also coax connectors and a feed through to get it through the wall.
Is it realistic for me to pound an 8 foot grounding rod in myself?
A few questions:
Is it realistic for me to pound an 8 foot grounding rod in myself? Or do I need to hire someone to install it?
If you have a rotary hammer or hammer drill it makes the work much easier. That is what I used to install 22 ground rods.
Do I attach the house ground (from the electrical box) to this ground rod?
Yes, all grounds must be tied together per NEC code and to equalize any voltage potential.
Can I attach the lightning arrestor to the same ground rod that the other shack equipment is attached to?
Lightning arrestors should be outside the home connected to a ground point.
Does the antenna need it's own grounding rod or can I use the same one that the other shack equipment and lightning arrestor will be using?
Yes but it needs to be connected to all grounds on you property.
My house ground rod is about 10 feet away from where my shack will be. Can I just use that or do I really need a separate rod for the amateur radio stuff?
Add one to the closest point where the coax comes through the wall but connect all of the ground rods together including the safety ground from your circuit breaker panel.
If I purchase a ground bar for inside the shack and attach everything to that (computer, power supply, transciever, etc.) How do I attach that to the ground rod? You mentioned a wide non-braided strap. Do I run that wide strap out through the wall to the grounding rod outside? How do I attach that strap to the grounding rod?
You would run the largest gauge wire that you can install from the ground bus that has all of the equipment grounds connected and then to the outdoor ground rod. Do not use braided strap outdoors; it will suck up water like a sponge and deteriorate over a short time making you ground connection poor to ineffective.
This is what I found on dxengineering:
flexible copper grounding strap: https://www.dxengineering.com/parts/gcl-1210-025
ERICO copper grounding bar:
https://www.dxengineering.com/parts/ero-egba14210jf
You would get a better deal with Georgia Copper;
http://www.gacopper.com/
Thanks in advance.
I would strongly encourage you not to skimp on grounding. Since I had lightning issues in the past and with acquiring a 70 foot tower last year that becomes the tallest object for lightning within a 1/4 mile radius, I needed to have extensive grounding to not only protect my equipment but to also protect the house. you can see from the photos below. Since it is a crank-up tower, there is no guarantee that I have good electrical continuity from the base of the tower to the top of the mast so I have a pair of #2 stranded wire that connects from the base of the tower to the top of the mast where the porcupine looking thing at the top of the mast (lightning eliminator) is located. Except for some trees that border the East side of my property, the rest of my 2.5 acres is in the clear. This was not an inexpensive project but it was worth it for the piece of mind. Bear in mind that this is not your average grounding installation but it gives you an idea on one of the ways to properly ground your station.
I would recommend getting a copy of the ARRL book - Grounding and Bonding for the Radio Amateur, it is what I used as a guideline for my installation.
I would strongly encourage you not to skimp on grounding. Since I had lightning issues in the past and with acquiring a 70 foot tower last year that becomes the tallest object for lightning within a 1/4 mile radius, I needed to have extensive grounding to not only protect my equipment but to also protect the house. you can see from the photos below. Since it is a crank-up tower, there is no guarantee that I have good electrical continuity from the base of the tower to the top of the mast so I have a pair of #2 stranded wire that connects from the base of the tower to the top of the mast where the porcupine looking thing at the top of the mast (lightning eliminator) is located. Except for some trees that border the East side of my property, the rest of my 2.5 acres is in the clear. This was not an inexpensive project but it was worth it for the piece of mind. Bear in mind that this is not your average grounding installation but it gives you an idea on one of the ways to properly ground your station.
I would recommend getting a copy of the ARRL book - Grounding and Bonding for the Radio Amateur, it is what I used as a guideline for my installation.
A few questions:
Is it realistic for me to pound an 8 foot grounding rod in myself? Or do I need to hire someone to install it?
Do I attach the house ground (from the electrical box) to this ground rod?
Can I attach the lightning arrestor to the same ground rod that the other shack equipment is attached to?
Does the antenna need it's own grounding rod or can I use the same one that the other shack equipment and lightning arrestor will be using?
My house ground rod is about 10 feet away from where my shack will be. Can I just use that or do I really need a separate rod for the amateur radio stuff?
If I purchase a ground bar for inside the shack and attach everything to that (computer, power supply, transciever, etc.) How do I attach that to the ground rod? You mentioned a wide non-braided strap. Do I run that wide strap out through the wall to the grounding rod outside? How do I attach that strap to the grounding rod?
This is what I found on dxengineering:
flexible copper grounding strap: https://www.dxengineering.com/parts/gcl-1210-025
ERICO copper grounding bar:
https://www.dxengineering.com/parts/ero-egba14210jf
Thanks in advance.