I have a 33' long sloper end-fed antenna. One end is 25' up in a tree (isolated from the tree limb itself by an egg insulator and 4' of rope, of course) and the other end is atop a 10' pvc mast where it connects to a 9:1 unun transformer (the one sold by EARCHI). This 9:1 unun does NOT have a terminal for a ground; just a bolt and nut to connect a random wire antenna and an SO-239 socket on the side.
The paperwork that comes with this little unit says that it can be used for power levels up to 150W but so far I have only used it pretty much for PSK31 and low power SSB (50W or less).
I am concerned with RF grounding for this antenna. I have an antenna tuner which has a lug on the back marked "Ground". Is this intended as an antenna RF ground, or a simple electrical ground? Not sure which it is... If I connect the coax coming from the end-fed to that antenna tuner, then a 2' coax from the tuner to the transceiver (a Kenwood TS480SAT) then a ground wire from the antenna tuner to an earth ground outside, is that an RF ground for the antenna? Is it unsafe for me to use this antenna for anything other than QRP levels (5W or less)? If I do need a counterpoise / RF ground, how do I do it with this antenna set up?
(For what 's worth, though, it does seemingly work. I've made numerous contacts with S. America on it in the last week on 10m!)
The paperwork that comes with this little unit says that it can be used for power levels up to 150W but so far I have only used it pretty much for PSK31 and low power SSB (50W or less).
I am concerned with RF grounding for this antenna. I have an antenna tuner which has a lug on the back marked "Ground". Is this intended as an antenna RF ground, or a simple electrical ground? Not sure which it is... If I connect the coax coming from the end-fed to that antenna tuner, then a 2' coax from the tuner to the transceiver (a Kenwood TS480SAT) then a ground wire from the antenna tuner to an earth ground outside, is that an RF ground for the antenna? Is it unsafe for me to use this antenna for anything other than QRP levels (5W or less)? If I do need a counterpoise / RF ground, how do I do it with this antenna set up?
(For what 's worth, though, it does seemingly work. I've made numerous contacts with S. America on it in the last week on 10m!)