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I am installing a dipole antenna and and plan to attach the coax feedline coming from the antenna to a polyphase lighting arrestor that is mounted to a bulkhead in a watertight box outside of my shack. The bulkhead is grounded. I will be running the coax from the polyphase arrestor into the shack and attaching it to my antenna tuner. Some hams have told me not to ground the coax sheilded wire. Others have told me it should be grounded. I am a bit confused on this issue. I thought that grounding the feedline coax through a lightning arrestor was the correct way to help protect your equipment from nearby strikes and static electricity. I plan to disconnect the coax when there is a chance of a storm or lightning in the area. Your advice on this issue would be appreciated. Thanks, Nick |
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Nick, this is a great question and one of the most important steps to setting up an Amateur Radio Station which is providing the three important grounds
Optimizing your Amateur Radio Station Antenna System by providing a good lightning protection is very important. Here is a link to a technical note put together by the Polyphaser Corporation discussing Ham Radio Station Protection; http://www.polyphaser.com/technical_notes.htm Since the document is so indepth with the appropriate information about the polyphaser arrestor you are using I will not repeat the information they wrote. I personally have a very similiar setup to what you are doing and I followed the written guidance they have published due to their vast experiences in the arena of lightning protection. My advice is download the document entitled "Ham Radio Station Protection" and read it and follow the guidance and you won't go wrong. Larry |
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Here is a link to some information about lightning protection. There are sections that cover surge protection and grounding. What You Should Know About Lightning Protection I have heard some hams describe antenna switches they use, that will disconnect their antenna connection from the radio and send it to ground, in the event of lightning storms. ---Michael |
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NICK also refer you to INDUSTRIAL COMMUNICATION ENGINEERS,LTD.THESE PEOPLE REALLY KNOW THEIR BUSINESS WHEN IT COMES TO GROUDING SAFETY FOR AMATUER EQIPMENT.I USE THE PRODUCTS AT MY QTH FOR ALL OF MY ANTENNAS.however i highly recommend in manual disconnect if you are away any length of time from home,a few seconds of your time unplugging may save months of downtime for damaged equipment,K4RFE has a good post on this matter in his post. |
