Antenna Grounding

[Flatshovel]

Hi all,
I have a fold over pole that I am getting ready to erect. I have a question, what is the best way to ground the antennas that will be on my pole? The base of the pole itself will be buried up to 4ft into the ground. Can I just run a ground wire off the ground side of all my antennas to the base of pole? I have thought about mounting a plate on down at the bottom of the base that has bulkhead connectors attached to it. This way in the event of a thunderstorm I can disconnect the coax cable that leads into the house right there at the pole, and hopefully prevent a strike coming down into the coax in the house. Is this a good Idea? If I am at home when a storm is coming I can lower the pole, but I would like to be able to disconnect the coax and not have to worry about it coming into the house.

What do you guys think?

Thanks,
Joey

 

[whls3]

My thought is that 4 feet is a bit shy of what I'd do. I'd pound 10 or 12 feet of ground rod real close to the base of the tower. I'd run a lead to the plumbing for extra ground.

Some people do call me "Overkill".

 

[trooperdude]

FAQ

http://www.hard-core-dx.com/nordicdx/antenna/ground/ground3.html

 

[key2_altfire]

There is some good reading on PolyPhaser's web site about antenna system grounding:

http://www.polyphaser.com/technical_notes.aspx

It's a lot of info, and I found it confusing the first time I read it, so I went back to re-read it and took notes. Notes were helpful.

Some basic info I took away was:

1. Get as much electrical connectivity to ground as you can; use several ground rods, make 'em deep, and increase the soil's conductivity as much as possible. (One method is to til the soil with epsom salts.)

2. Make the ground cable as straight and short as possible.

3. Use flat copper strap as the ground cable instead of wire, since lighting travels on the surface of the conductor, and strap has more surface area than wire.

3. Bond your antenna ground as close to the house's electrical service ground as possible, and by close, they mean like within 3-6 feet.