Antenna Help Please?
Tim ODonnell
a reasonable price. I own 2 portables a Sony 2010 and a RS dx 398. I
have been using a Sony AN-LP1 for the sony and I drop a wire out the
window for the 398, but I think that I need to do a bit more with the R8
in the area of the antenna. I am not a big DX'er and listen mainly to
the major players and a few pirates here and there.
I am open for suggestions and would like to run some of my ideas by the
group. I don't have much money and towers and huge long wires are out of
the question. Here is what I was thinking.
1, Manufacturing a Broomstick type antenna to fit the window?
2, Buying a Radio Shack $10.00 long wire and running it along the fence?
3, Buying the Radiomaster p-30 from Universal or the likes $40.00
4, Hanging the wire out the window.
I am sure that to some of you this may seem a joke, but it isn't. I am
just looking to place an antenna that willl work for me.
Thanks
Tim
--
Tim ODonnell
tim.od...@verizon.net
Uncle Charlie
group love to impress you with big words but the easiest thing to do would be
to run a piece of wire out of your window and string it up as high and as clear
from objects as you can and attach it to your radio. for recieving purposes the
antenna isnt as nearly critical as it would be for transmitting. if you can
afford the money and have some space alpha delta makes some nice sloper
antennas that work well, only have to be raised at one end, and give you big
performance for under 100 bucks(last time i hecked)
Diverd4777
In article <3DBD0F91...@verizon.net>, Tim ODonnell
<tim.od...@verizon.net> writes:
>
>My Brother-in-law recently bought a Drake R8b, and I purchased his R8 at
>a reasonable price. I own 2 portables a Sony 2010 and a RS dx 398. I
>have been using a Sony AN-LP1 for the sony and I drop a wire out the
>window for the 398, but I think that I need to do a bit more with the R8
>in the area of the antenna. I am not a big DX'er and listen mainly to
>the major players and a few pirates here and there.
>
>I am open for suggestions and would like to run some of my ideas by the
>group. I don't have much money and towers and huge long wires are out of
>the question. Here is what I was thinking.
>
>1, Manufacturing a Broomstick type antenna to fit the window?
- Possible
>
>2, Buying a Radio Shack $10.00 long wire and running it along the fence?
The fence part is most likely to get you more signal;
( where is the fence in relation to the window you drop wire out of ??)
Stringing ~30 - 60 feet of insulated, stranded copper wire along the fence,
then
" Feeding" the signal Back to your set Via Coaxial cable will get you the
cleanest, strongest signal
>
>Thanks
>
>Tim
Welcome..
Dan
Diverd4777
this is a very good antenna reference / info site
http://www.hard-core-dx.com/nordicdx/antenna/wire/
Dan
RadioGuy
Tim ODonnell <tim.od...@verizon.net> wrote in message
news:3DBD0F91...@verizon.net...
I'm doing some antenna work here---what I'm using in the meantime is a 50'
length of wire running under the eves and feeding the 500 ohm termination on
my R8B. Believe me! That 50' piece of wire works plenty well for me.
When I connect the antenna I get atmospheric noise so I reckon my reception
is limited by noise and the antenna is more than sufficient for my purposes.
I'm still thinking whether I want to put up a directional array for a
couple of bands though---but I'm in no hurry to do it.
In my opinion, put up a wire 50' or so wire, connect it to the 500 ohm
termination---the red compression terminal ANT 2 on the back of the radio
(see pages 4 & 5 in the manual) and be sure to select the ANT 2 on the front
panel or else you won't hear anything. Running a wire into the shack might
allow pickup of computer noise so you'll have to check that out. That ought
to get you off to a good start.
Best wishes,
R.
-----
The Axelrods
Antennas can be a touchey subject. Differenmt antennas work in different
situations. The AMANDX site below has some varied ideas that may suit your
needs. Go to the main page and scroll down the antenna section. See what you
think of the ideas put forward there. I use a long wire with my R8 and it
works well
Have fun experimenting is half the hobby
--
73 and Best of DX
Shawn Axelrod
Visit the AMANDX DX info site with info for the new or experienced listener:
http://www.angelfire.com/mb/amandx/index.html
REMEMBER ON A CLEAR DAY YOU CAN HEAR FOREVER
Ross Archer
Uhm, be really careful concluding the noise
you're hearing in necessarily
atmospheric. If you live in an
electrically noisy environment, you might
be picking up all sorts of local electrical
crud and counting it as atmospheric noise.
I have two main antennas up at the moment.
One is a fair length of wire to a 9:1 balun,
and the other is a Wellbrook loop in the garden.
In a fair number of cases, I can switch between
them and hear a decidedly noisier signal off the
balun + wire combination. So it can't be atmospheric
noise, at least in my case, that's the difference.
Also, resonance boosts signal without appreciably
boosting noise, so there's another way to pick up
extra signal.
Ross Archer
>
> My Brother-in-law recently bought a Drake R8b, and I purchased his R8 at
> a reasonable price. I own 2 portables a Sony 2010 and a RS dx 398. I
> have been using a Sony AN-LP1 for the sony and I drop a wire out the
> window for the 398, but I think that I need to do a bit more with the R8
> in the area of the antenna. I am not a big DX'er and listen mainly to
> the major players and a few pirates here and there.
Great radio you have there. :-)
I always recommend starting with just wire. Connect a
length of
wire from outdoors into the ANT2 500 ohm input, and see how
you
like it. Unless you go with an active antenna, you'll end
up
using the wire no matter what sort of antenna you buy, so
this
is a cheap way to get started, and there's not a lot of
effort
to stringing a wire around the yard in most cases.
There are many improvements you can make, like coax-feed and
moving the impedance transformation at the point where the
coax meets the antenna, grounding, etc.
If you're lucky, the first setup will meet your needs.
If not, there are plenty of folks here to help you plan your
next step. :)
-- Ross
Harry C.
I use an Alpha Delta Sloper with my R8B. It covers all the frequencies
pretty well and I don't need any baluns. I'm going to use 2 AD slopers and
a quantum phaser and play some. Theres a 1 watt (yes I said 1 watt)
night-time station about 20 miles from me and if I can just get this spanish
stationed nulled out...time will tell. But anyway a sloper works fine with
the R8B.
Harry, W5HC
"Tim ODonnell" <tim.od...@verizon.net> wrote in message
news:3DBD0F91...@verizon.net...
Diverd4777
- Forget the Balun,
- Forget the Countepoise
- Forget the un-un
- Forget the TFTD
- Forget the Elephant cage
Just Wire.
String some wire around your yard or whatever,
hook it up to your radio & tune around.
you hear something faint,
try more wire & see if it's louder.
Radio Shack sells it in rolls, buy what appeals to you.
Wire. Lotsa Wire.
Man can't have too much wire in his back yard;;
:)
Dan
In article <3DBDFD08...@topnow.com>, Ross Archer <arc...@topnow.com>
writes:
Michael
an e-bay auction for 20 bucks. It's a good all around antenna for
receiving. I use one with my R-75 and it works wonderfully. An
inexpensive antenna preselector would also be good to have if you live in an
area that has a lot of strong AM transmitters. If that's too elaborate for
your needs, just get 200 ft of ordinary 20 to 25 gauge insulated and
stranded hook-up wire and use that. If you decide to go that route, it
would be good if you could buy a matching transformer like an ICE-180 and
connect it between your long receiving wire and a length of coax that you
use to feed the radio. That will also work wonderfully and it's quite
inexpensive to do. The entire antenna would cost you no more then 40 bucks.
Either way, if you do use an outdoor antenna, be sure to ground your radio
just to be on the safe side.
Respectfully,
Michael
"Tim ODonnell" <tim.od...@verizon.net> wrote in message
news:3DBD0F91...@verizon.net...
Mister T
everything thats out there floating around in rf land including the noise
Mister T
Michael
"Mister T" <tim...@aol.com10-4> wrote in message
news:20021029120341...@mb-dd.aol.com...
> why dont you put that g5rv in the air and get it off your roof?
My guess is that having it elevated another few feet probably won't make
enough of a difference to warrant setting up a mast. Even more importantly,
I use the G5RV as part of a two antenna set up that I have. My second
antenna is a 400ft random wire with coax feed and ICE-180 between the
receiving wire and feed. This antenna is arranged in an "x" pattern with
the center of the "x" being the high apex at the center of a chimney that
rises about 3ft from the roof. The arms of the "x" descend to each of the
roof's corners and are secured in place by nylon ties attached to the storm
drain, hence, keeping the distance of the wire a good foot away from any
metal items. So... The G5RV is used on strong signals and during the day
when my 400ft wire will overload the radio when local AM stations go on full
power. The 400ft wire works better for DX'ing and weak signals. Though,
before I got the advice to add the matching transformer to the random wire,
it had problems with noise. I was almost ready to scrap it. Since the
addition of the ICE-180, it's become far more useful.
Respectfully,
Michael
RHF
Horizontal "Around the Yard Fence" Configuration using Insulated
Stranded Wire, a Matching Transformer; and 6-9" TV Stand-Offs. Use
Coax Cable as a FeedLine with PO-259 Connectors on each end. Connect
to the receiver's 50 Ohm SO-239 Connector. This can be a Random
(Long) Wire or a Loop design antenna. (50'~200') Below is a
description of the same antenna using TV Twin Lead (The Black High
Quality Foam Insulated kind.)
Consider the Following:
* * * The 'Low Noise' SWL Antenna * * *
From the Association of North American Radio Clubs (ANARC) website
and the Rec.Radio.ShortWave (NG) Web Page Text Written by John Doty
* http://www.anarc.org/naswa/badx/antennas/low-noise_antenna.html
=Quote= It doesn't take very much wire to pick up an adequate signal
for anything but the crudest shortwave receiver. The Difference
between a mediocre antenna system and a great antenna system isn't the
antenna itself: it's the way you feed signals from the antenna to the
receiver. The Real Trick with a shortwave receiving antenna system
is to keep your receiver from picking up noise from all the electrical
and electronic gadgets you and your neighbors have. =Un-Quote=
Diagrams of Random Wire Antenna using a Balun and Coax FeedLine
* http://www.geocities.com/n2uhc/wire.html
* http://www.kc7nod.20m.com/improved_rw.htm
RHF = Here is my Double Nickel (Ten Cents Worth) on this
Very Simple and Basic Low Noise SWL Antenna:
1. 50-200 Feet of 14-16 AWG Insulated 19 Strand Copper Wire
2. Height of Support Points 15-30 Feet.
3. Bottom Feed Point for both Ground and Coax.
4. Matching Transformer (UnUn)
5. Bury the Coax if possible.
6. Four Antenna 'Forms' to Consider are:
** Inverted "L" Configuration requiring two support points. (50')
** "Sloper" Configuration requires one support point. (70')
** "Open Triangle" Configuration requires one support point. (100')
NOTE: The Open Triangle is just a Sloper with a Bottom Return Leg and
a Gap of One Foot between the Antenna End and the Bottom Feed Point.
** Horizontal "Around the Yard Fence" Configuration using TV Twin
Lead, a TV Matching Transformer; and 6-9" TV Stand-Offs. Use "TV" 75
Ohm Coax as a FeedLine with "F" Connectors on each end. Use a "F"
Connector to PO-259 Plug Adapter to connect to the receiver's 50 Ohm
SO-239 Connector. This can be a Random (Long) Wire or a Loop design
antenna. (50'~200')
A Great "Balun" (Really a "Un Un" Matching Transformer) for this and
many other antennas. Is the ICE 180 that is not only a Matching
Transformer but a Lightening Surpressor
http://www.hard-core-dx.com/nordicdx/antenna/feed/ice180.html
This Hard-Core-Dx.Com Web Page Text Written by John Doty
=Quote= A Matching Transformer at the Base of the Antenna can smooth
out the fluctuations in antenna system efficiency with frequency,
yielding an Antenna System that Works well enough for good reception
from LongWave to the top of the ShortWave Range. =Un-Quote=
Here is a Do-It-Yourself Matching Transformer
* http://www.kc7nod.20m.com/new_page_1.htm
FWIW: "THE $4 SPECIAL"
WebPage written by: Joe Tyburczy
http://www.qsl.net/wb1gfh/antenna.html
~ RHF
= = = Tim ODonnell <tim.od...@verizon.net> wrote in message news:<3DBD0F91...@verizon.net>...
Tim ODonnell
truly a multitude of experience here. I am going to go and buy hundred
feet of so of wire and start there. I will add stuff as it warrants..
Thanks all for your help.
Tim
--
Tim ODonnell
tim.od...@verizon.net
GO BEARCATS
>everything thats out there floating around in rf land including the noise
>
Hey Tim, what kind of radio and antennae do you use for shortwave? I know you
do the 'cb' thing.......then I saw you starting to frequent this group more.
:-) Just curious.
WA8007SWL
HQ140X/ HQ129X/ JRC NRD-515 / DX398 / Ross Model 2311/ RCA Victor Strato-World/
DX-399/ DX394/ DX402/ DX100/ Kloss Model One/ Rhapsody Multi-Band
Mark Keith
> Either way, if you do use an outdoor antenna, be sure to ground your radio
> just to be on the safe side.
Safe side of what? :/ If you mean for lightning protection, grounding
your radio won't do anything for you. You would want to use a gas tube
suppressor, or other type of device. You would then ground the device
at it's entrance to the shack. Even that is not a surefire way to
protect a receiver because most protectors will still pass enough
energy to fry the front end of a radio. Should keep from burning the
house down though. The best route that is "nearly" foolproof is to
unhook the antennas, and ground them out outside. I use that method
myself, as I'm too cheap to buy a bunch of suppressors, and I'd still
unhook anyway, as I'm paranoid. I've taken direct strikes to my mast
with no problems at all. My mast is what is well grounded. And that
ground is the only one that really counts as far as directing the
strike to ground. I have a bulkhead ground at the entrance to the
shack that I ground out my coaxes. That ground is mainly a "cleanup
ground" to direct any stray energy on my coax shields to ground. The
grounded mast does 95% of the dirty work of directing the strike to
ground. Many SWL type antennas are a disaster waiting to happen as far
as lightning due to the common types of installations. IE: a single
random wire running straight to a radio. Why such a problem? The wire
is suspended in the air all the way to the shack, and usually no metal
mast or tower is used to direct the strike to ground. VERY HIGH
potentials can occur with a setup like that. Will ruin your day in a
heartbeat.
Running a coax feed to a random wire that runs down to the ground, and
having the shield grounded is much safer. IE: Inverted L type setup..
If it takes a strike, it will be directed to ground, instead of
straight to the shack. You would still fry the radio if no protection
was used, but at least the energy is much reduced, being most of it is
directed to ground under the antenna. An elevated wire or even coax
hanging in the air to the shack is asking for big trouble.If you use
coax, it should always be brought down to ground level from the
antenna feed, and run along the ground to the shack. Just grounding a
radio will not protect you at all. You are inviting the lightning in
the shack with you, grounded or not, if no suppressors are used, or
you don't unhook and ground out outside. You have no control over the
strike path to ground. With a proper setup, you will be in control of
it's path, which should always be kept outside.
If you give it an easy , low resistance path to ground outside, it
will take it. In my case, my well grounded metal mast is the
"controlled path" to ground. It acts as a lightning rod. Mr.
Lightning is a nasty dude with bad manners, and should never be
invited into a home.
MK
Tim ODonnell
Michael
"Mark Keith" <nm...@wt.net> wrote in message
news:25eb70d7.02103...@posting.google.com...
> "Michael" wrote
> > Either way, if you do use an outdoor antenna, be sure to ground your
radio
> > just to be on the safe side.
>
> Safe side of what? :/ If you mean for lightning protection, grounding
YES... EXACTLY... Obviously, I'm not an electronic engineer or a
meteorologist, but, having your radio grounded will decrease (I cant give
you a percentage, perhaps you can) the chance of lightning dancing around
the room ("Zzzzzzt") that your radio is in, should your antenna be the
unlikely target of lightning. If you give the lightning a path of "least
resistance", it's probably going to take it. Meaning, if the antenna gets
hit and the lightning decides to follows it's way to the radio via the
antenna circuit, it's probably going to decide to follow it's way to a
basic ground rather then something outside of the radio in the shack like
say... you or some kind of ignition source. You don't need a Ph.D. to
understand that either. It won't save your radio from getting fried, but it
will help prevent a light show :-).
I have my R-75 grounded with 10 gauge wire that runs to a four foot copper
grounding bar in the earth. Would you say that lessens the chance of
lightning poking around in the shack ???
> your radio won't do anything for you. You would want to use a gas tube
> suppressor, or other type of device. You would then ground the device
> at it's entrance to the shack. Even that is not a surefire way to
> protect a receiver because most protectors will still pass enough
> energy to fry the front end of a radio. Should keep from burning the
> house down though. The best route that is "nearly" foolproof is to
> unhook the antennas, and ground them out outside.
Couldn't agree more. When I'm not home or if we have a storm, I disconnect
both my antennas at the A/B switch near the radio and, I disconnect the 10
gauge ground wire from the back of the R-75. As both of my antennas and the
ground cable come into the shack via a notch I cut in the window, I just
clamp all three of them together at their radio conductor points with an old
tool die I have and leave them outside the window in a plastic hook I have
set up. Well... Sometimes I do it :-) I gahter that most people would
realize it's a good idea to disconnect an antenna in a storm, but I'm glad
you pointed that out. You never know, right ??? "Zzzzzzzzzzt"
> myself, as I'm too cheap to buy a bunch of suppressors, and I'd still
> unhook anyway, as I'm paranoid. I've taken direct strikes to my mast
> with no problems at all. My mast is what is well grounded. And that
> ground is the only one that really counts as far as directing the
> strike to ground. I have a bulkhead ground at the entrance to the
> shack that I ground out my coaxes. That ground is mainly a "cleanup
> ground" to direct any stray energy on my coax shields to ground. The
> grounded mast does 95% of the dirty work of directing the strike to
> ground. Many SWL type antennas are a disaster waiting to happen as far
> as lightning due to the common types of installations. IE: a single
> random wire running straight to a radio. Why such a problem? The wire
> is suspended in the air all the way to the shack, and usually no metal
> mast or tower is used to direct the strike to ground. VERY HIGH
> potentials can occur with a setup like that. Will ruin your day in a
> heartbeat.
A friend I knew from work that is an old DX'er from the tube only days told
me about an antenna set up he used to use once in a while backin in the
70's. At the time, he lived in MI, USA. He purchaced an inflatable weather
baloon from an army/navy store. At the time, he could also get helium. He
had a spool of thin gauge wire that he would pay out as the inflated
balloon, described to be about ten feet tall when up. He's boasted that the
balloon would get in the area of 500 to 700 ft high.
Would you see that as a set up that could cause "VERY HIGH potentials" ???
:-)
Respectfully,
Michael
Mark Keith
> "Mark Keith" <nm...@wt.net> wrote in message
> news:25eb70d7.02103...@posting.google.com...
> > "Michael" wrote
> > > Either way, if you do use an outdoor antenna, be sure to ground your
> radio
> > > just to be on the safe side.
> >
> > Safe side of what? :/ If you mean for lightning protection, grounding
>
> YES... EXACTLY... Obviously, I'm not an electronic engineer or a
> meteorologist, but, having your radio grounded will decrease (I cant give
> you a percentage, perhaps you can) the chance of lightning dancing around
> the room ("Zzzzzzt") that your radio is in, should your antenna be the
> unlikely target of lightning. If you give the lightning a path of "least
> resistance", it's probably going to take it. Meaning, if the antenna gets
> hit and the lightning decides to follows it's way to the radio via the
> antenna circuit, it's probably going to decide to follow it's way to a
> basic ground rather then something outside of the radio in the shack like
> say... you or some kind of ignition source. You don't need a Ph.D. to
> understand that either. It won't save your radio from getting fried, but it
> will help prevent a light show :-).
It might help a bit, but it would still be scary if it happened. For
one thing, lightning can't make turns well, so depending on how you
route the ground wire, it might take that path, but it might not. But
even if it did take that path, expect large damage to the radio. If
the radio is plugged in, you could also give a path to your AC lines,
and cause damage to other things in the house. Usually, when lightning
makes it into a house, or shack, it blows dime sized holes in anything
in it's path. You will still have a light show even if it took the
ground wire to ground. Would be VERY dangerous if you are near the
radio.
>
> I have my R-75 grounded with 10 gauge wire that runs to a four foot copper
> grounding bar in the earth. Would you say that lessens the chance of
> lightning poking around in the shack ???
No. It might give it a little better path to ground than nothing at
all, but it's not going to reduce the chances of being hit. I would
never want lightning in the shack. Period. It's just too dangerous.
Also the ground you have is barely marginal as far as lightning is
concerned. Depends how well the rod is actually bonded to earth.A 10
gauge wire can take a strike with no damage IF the connection to earth
is good enough, but it won't, if it's not. With a single 4 ft rod, I'd
have to bet my money on the "not". Any turns in the wire on it's way
to the rod? If so, that would make things worse.
>
>
The best route that is "nearly" foolproof is to
> > unhook the antennas, and ground them out outside.
>
> Couldn't agree more. When I'm not home or if we have a storm, I disconnect
> both my antennas at the A/B switch near the radio and, I disconnect the 10
> gauge ground wire from the back of the R-75. As both of my antennas and the
> ground cable come into the shack via a notch I cut in the window, I just
> clamp all three of them together at their radio conductor points with an old
> tool die I have and leave them outside the window in a plastic hook I have
> set up. Well... Sometimes I do it :-) I gahter that most people would
> realize it's a good idea to disconnect an antenna in a storm, but I'm glad
> you pointed that out. You never know, right ??? "Zzzzzzzzzzt"
Doing all that could well save the day if you are hit. I do much the
same, except I do ground the coaxes to the ground, at ground level.
That would be a bit better than having them tied together, and hanging
on the house elevated a bit. But what you are doing should keep you
fairly safe. At least, it's not going to come in the house with you.
>
>
> > Many SWL type antennas are a disaster waiting to happen as far
> > as lightning due to the common types of installations. IE: a single
> > random wire running straight to a radio. Why such a problem? The wire
> > is suspended in the air all the way to the shack, and usually no metal
> > mast or tower is used to direct the strike to ground. VERY HIGH
> > potentials can occur with a setup like that. Will ruin your day in a
> > heartbeat.
>
> A friend I knew from work that is an old DX'er from the tube only days told
> me about an antenna set up he used to use once in a while backin in the
> 70's. At the time, he lived in MI, USA. He purchaced an inflatable weather
> baloon from an army/navy store. At the time, he could also get helium. He
> had a spool of thin gauge wire that he would pay out as the inflated
> balloon, described to be about ten feet tall when up. He's boasted that the
> balloon would get in the area of 500 to 700 ft high.
>
> Would you see that as a set up that could cause "VERY HIGH potentials" ???
> :-)
Could be HUGE potentials. Would be very common to draw long arcs to a
ground with an antenna like that when charged clouds pass over. No
lightning needed. Heck, I had a simple 5/8 ground plane for 10m, that
would arc just with clouds passing over. It would arc from the center
pin, to the shield. One day I kept hearing a "tic,tic,tic" on my desk.
I finally noticed it was the coax connector leading to the ground
plane. It was laying on the table not connected to the radio. It was
really weird. That 21 ft antenna would do that easily. But later , I
installed a taller 32 ft 5/8 ground plane for 17m use, and it was
taller, but did not ever arc at all. I never could find out why it
didn't do it, but the shorter 10m version did easily. It's very common
to see hams that run coaxes down from masts, and towers and let the
coax hang in the air, or lay on a roof to the shack. Sometimes, due to
a lack of enough coax, or sometimes just because it reaches, and they
don't think about the lightning aspect. But doing that really
increases the potential at the shack if you take a strike compared to
having the coax laying on the ground from the mast to the shack. There
are people that know quite a bit more about this than I do. For one,
try a google search on lightning and Gary Coffman.
http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&safe=off&q=lightning+gary+coffman&btnG=Google+Search&meta=
He is in the lightning protection biz as a consultant I think, and
also works at a TV station. Lots of good info if you read through a
bunch of his posts. He knows a lot more about this stuff than I do.
Also, check out the info and faq's at the polyphasor web site.
MK
Michael
Yes... several... It goes from the radio, to the window (bend number one
and two), then from the window up to the roof (bend number three) , then it
turns onto the roof (bend number four), then back down to earth (bend number
five).
Still... Great for noise reduction and "better then nothing" for lightning
protection if I'm too lazy to disconnect and ground the antennas when I
leave the house. I only do that in storms.
Also... Quick question .... Is it possible for a radio like an R8, R75,
535 to get lightning damage in a storm even if lightning dosent hit the
antenna ??? A toasted radio from a near miss would be a real bummer !!!!!
Respectfully,
Michael
Mark Keith
> 535 to get lightning damage in a storm even if lightning dosent hit the
> antenna ??? A toasted radio from a near miss would be a real bummer !!!!!
Yes, it can happen if you have a near strike or also EMP. But I've
never had one toasted from that yet myself. You are probably as likely
to get damage from a a power line surge from the near strike, as from
the antenna to the front end itself. But on the other hand, I'm
usually unhooked by the time it gets that close. So that might skew
why I haven't had one damaged yet. I have had a strike hit a
streetlight across the street one time. I had a power surge and it
blew the fuse in my drake r4. But I replaced the fuse, and all was ok.
I don't think I had the antenna connected at that time. I was asleep
when it hit, but the strike instantly woke me up, and I got up and
checked the radio with no lights burning anymore. When I have bad wx,
I unhook everthing from the outside. Antenna coaxes go out the window,
and ground out to so-239's I have at a common ground point for those.
I have no ground hookup from the outside to the shack. Well, actually
I have one, but I don't use it normally. I keep it for test
purposes..It's just a piece of braid that hangs off the bulkhead. It
stays outside unless I need it for something. When bad, I unplug all
the rigs that run off wall sockets, and unhook the phone line from the
computer. I'm then totally isolated from the outside as far as the
radios. I still have a coax going to the tv for cable, but I've had
direct strikes to my mast, and so far no problems with the cable. That
system just seems to rise and fall in potential with the whole overall
house. Keeping things at the same potential is critical. If at the
same potential, no current can flow, and no damage. Thats why all
grounds must be tied together at a common point. If you ground radios,
always use individual wires from each one to the common ground. You
don't want to use a bus. The common grounding also applies to home
grounding. IE: power box, telephone, etc...They should all be tied
together at a common point. Thats usually near the breaker box if the
box has a ground rod below it. Also, I usually form a choke with most
coaxes that enter the shack. You see this with cable tv installs.
"small loop at various places outside the house". With my radio
coaxes, many times I just form a loop somewhere in the coaxes as they
lay on the ground running to the shack. A gas tube would suppress most
of a near strike or EMP. But you want one that clamps at the lowest
voltage you can find. Those type are usually rated for receiving or
low power use. You don't want to get a big "legal limit" suppressor to
protect a receiver. MK