CTU Presents Grounding & Bonding for the Little Pistol & Medium Gun Ward Silver, NØAX Overview What IS “ground” anyway?  What IS “bonding” anyway?  AC Safety  Lightning Protection  RF Management  Ground System  Resources  Dayton 2017 Goals of the Session Understand “ground” and “bond”  Appreciate the different requirements for ac  safety, lightning protection, RF and audio Illustrate some techniques  Show how a system approach works  Point you at more comprehensive resources  Dayton 2017 Who Is This Talk For? Station builders…  Just starting out  Putting up a first tower  Expanding a station  In lightning country  Trying for better performance  But not really for…  K3LR, W3LPL, KC1XX, NR5M, etc  Dayton 2017 Background References ARRL Handbook, ARRL Antenna Book  New – Grounding and Bonding for the Radio Amateur  NEC Handbook – at your library  Standards and Guidelines for Communication Sites  (Motorola R56) – available online Lightning Protection for the Amateur Station (Ron Block,  NR2B – Jun/Jul/Aug 2002 QST) – ARRL website Power, Grounding, Bonding, and Audio for Amateur  Radio and RFI, Ferrites, and Common Mode Chokes For Hams – available at k9yc.com/publish.htm Dayton 2017 Background References Dayton 2017 What IS “Ground” Anyway The right answer depends on what you are  trying to do What you are trying to do depends on  frequency, wavelength, voltage, current Your safety depends on the right answer  Your equipment depends on the right  answer Dayton 2017 What IS “Ground” Anyway The right answer depends on what you are  trying to do What you are trying to do depends on  frequency, wavelength, voltage, current Your safety depends on the right answer  Your equipment depends on the right  answer Your sanity depends on the right answer  Dayton 2017 What IS “Ground” Anyway It can be a noun, verb, and adjective – all at the  same time Noun - an “earth connection” (ac, lightning) or a  local reference potential (circuits, RF) Verb - an action “to connect to the reference  potential” Adjective - a type of connection, such as a  “ground conductor” or “ground system” Dayton 2017 What IS “Ground” Anyway Fuzzy definitions:  “RF ground” – ain’t no such thing  “Ground loops” – not the problem you think it is  “Single-point ground” – it depends…  The Earth is NOT – a magic sink into which  we can pour RF or lightning and expect it to magically and safely disappear Dayton 2017