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Got teh radio...

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NK7Z

Got teh radio...

Hi All,
The radio arrived, all is working well! The book by KE7X arrived a day
later...

I have the rig on air, and it appears to be working great. Quite a
learning curve... But I am taking it one step at a time, getting each
function working, then rewiring the shack to accommodate.

I decided to redo the entire station as well... Pulled every item off
the desk, and started by replacing all grounds with 1 inch braid. Moved
to AC power, then 12 Volt power, then to signal and control.

Much neater behind the desk now. I mounted all the power outlets,
etc... I'll have photos on the web site soon...

--
Thanks and 73's,
For equipment, and software setups and reviews see:
www.nk7z.net
for MixW support see;
http://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/mixw/info
for Dopplergram information see:
http://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/dopplergram/info
for MM-SSTV see:
http://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/MM-SSTV/info

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Don Wilhelm-4

Re: Got teh radio...

David,

You mentioned AC power - you should power all of your station from the
same AC receptacle (exception is a 230 VAC power for amplifiers). That
assures you that the AC mains ground comes to one point rather than
wandering 'willy-nilly' around the green wire ground connecting the
various AC receptacles in the house.

73,
Don W3FPR

On 4/16/2014 8:16 PM, David Cole wrote:

> Hi All,
> The radio arrived, all is working well! The book by KE7X arrived a day
> later...
>
> I have the rig on air, and it appears to be working great. Quite a
> learning curve... But I am taking it one step at a time, getting each
> function working, then rewiring the shack to accommodate.
>
> I decided to redo the entire station as well... Pulled every item off
> the desk, and started by replacing all grounds with 1 inch braid. Moved
> to AC power, then 12 Volt power, then to signal and control.
>
> Much neater behind the desk now. I mounted all the power outlets,
> etc... I'll have photos on the web site soon...
>
>

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Phil Wheeler-2

Re: Got teh radio...

In reply to this post by NK7Z

Sounds good, David. I've done substantial rework,
too -- but mostly due to the KPA500 (needed RG-213
to replace RG-8X runs in the shack -- and added
switches so I can use 3/4 antennas with K3/500 or
other rigs, like K1, KX1, K2/100 and KX3).

I'm never likely to post pictures of my shack: It
will never be that neat, I fear.

Congrats on your K3! I've had mine a couple of
months or so, and I expect to still be learning a
year from now (e.g., just set it up to do PSK31
with a SignaLink USB today).

73, Phil w7ox

On 4/16/14, 5:16 PM, David Cole wrote:

NK7Z

Re: Got the radio...

In reply to this post by Don Wilhelm-4

Hi Don,

Thank you for that info, I have powered everything, (except for the
amp), off a single largish UPS, that way the grounds are the same, and I
get a few minutes to kill power of the commercial power dies...

I will be adding a new ground rod to the house ground system, and
bonding that to the station ground later this week.

Thanks again for the info on grounds.
--
Thanks and 73's,
For equipment, and software setups and reviews see:
www.nk7z.net
for MixW support see;
http://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/mixw/info
for Dopplergram information see:
http://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/dopplergram/info
for MM-SSTV see:
http://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/MM-SSTV/info

On Wed, 2014-04-16 at 20:24 -0400, Don Wilhelm wrote:

> David,
>
> You mentioned AC power - you should power all of your station from the
> same AC receptacle (exception is a 230 VAC power for amplifiers). That
> assures you that the AC mains ground comes to one point rather than
> wandering 'willy-nilly' around the green wire ground connecting the
> various AC receptacles in the house.
>
> 73,
> Don W3FPR

Don Wilhelm-4

Re: Got the radio...

David,

If you add ground rods, know that all ground rods should be tied back to
the Utility ground rod by a large conductor (#6 wire is the minimum
size). That is not only a requirement of NEC safety rules, but also a
safety consideration for your station. All driven ground rods must be
connected together unless the separation between the ground rods is 100
feet or more.

My own installation has grounds that are as much as 200 feet from the
Utility Ground rod, but there are intermediate grounds that are less
than 100 feet, so *all* are interconnected by large diameter
conductors. This is primarily a consideration for AC fault conditions,
but also part of my plan for lightning protection - perimeter wires
around each building and all grounds interconnected with #6 or greater
wire to give the charge from a lightning surge a large area to dissipate
(hopefully without damage such as punching holes through the house
foundation). All towers and masts are grounded to this system.

Your home safety demands that you tie all grounds together and tie into
the utility ground system.

73,
Don W3FPR

On 4/16/2014 9:13 PM, David Cole wrote:

> Hi Don,
>
> Thank you for that info, I have powered everything, (except for the
> amp), off a single largish UPS, that way the grounds are the same, and I
> get a few minutes to kill power of the commercial power dies...
>
> I will be adding a new ground rod to the house ground system, and
> bonding that to the station ground later this week.
>
> Thanks again for the info on grounds.

NK7Z

Re: Got the radio...

Hi Don,

That is the plan... I just want to add one more, as I have one, the
weather is not bad, I need the exercise, and a bit better ground can't
hurt.

Thanks for the heads up on making sure it is tied to teh house ground.
Our ground is getting close to 20 years old, so I am pretty sure it is
not that good anymore... My intent is to just add on to the existing
electrical system ground, then tie it to my shack ground, which is only
about 10 feet away... I have a pile of #6 wire here, I will be using
for this.

--
Thanks and 73's,
For equipment, and software setups and reviews see:
www.nk7z.net
for MixW support see;
http://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/mixw/info
for Dopplergram information see:
http://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/dopplergram/info
for MM-SSTV see:
http://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/MM-SSTV/info

On Wed, 2014-04-16 at 21:37 -0400, Don Wilhelm wrote:

> David,
>
> If you add ground rods, know that all ground rods should be tied back to
> the Utility ground rod by a large conductor (#6 wire is the minimum
> size). That is not only a requirement of NEC safety rules, but also a
> safety consideration for your station. All driven ground rods must be
> connected together unless the separation between the ground rods is 100
> feet or more.
>
> My own installation has grounds that are as much as 200 feet from the
> Utility Ground rod, but there are intermediate grounds that are less
> than 100 feet, so *all* are interconnected by large diameter
> conductors. This is primarily a consideration for AC fault conditions,
> but also part of my plan for lightning protection - perimeter wires
> around each building and all grounds interconnected with #6 or greater
> wire to give the charge from a lightning surge a large area to dissipate
> (hopefully without damage such as punching holes through the house
> foundation). All towers and masts are grounded to this system.
>
> Your home safety demands that you tie all grounds together and tie into
> the utility ground system.
>
> 73,
> Don W3FPR
>
> On 4/16/2014 9:13 PM, David Cole wrote:
> > Hi Don,
> >
> > Thank you for that info, I have powered everything, (except for the
> > amp), off a single largish UPS, that way the grounds are the same, and I
> > get a few minutes to kill power of the commercial power dies...
> >
> > I will be adding a new ground rod to the house ground system, and
> > bonding that to the station ground later this week.
> >
> > Thanks again for the info on grounds.
>

Jim Brown-10

Re: Got teh radio...

In reply to this post by Don Wilhelm-4

On 4/16/2014 5:24 PM, Don Wilhelm wrote:
> You mentioned AC power - you should power all of your station from the
> same AC receptacle

Yes.

> (exception is a 230 VAC power for amplifiers).

The green wire for the 240V outlet should either be the same wire as for
the 120V outlet, OR the green wires should be bonded together by short
fat copper. Every equipment chassis should be bonded together by short,
fat copper, including computers, and one of those chassis must be bonded
to the entry panel ground.

> That assures you that the AC mains ground comes to one point rather
> than wandering 'willy-nilly' around the green wire ground connecting
> the various AC receptacles in the house.

Yes.

73, Jim K9YC
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AD0ES

Re: Got the radio...

In reply to this post by NK7Z

Hi,

We get hellacious thunderstorms here, I have all antenna cables going to a bulkhead on the exterior
wall, which disconnect at that point. During thunderstorm season the cables are ALWAYS kept disconnected unless
operating. I made pl/bnc connectors with dead shorts that I leave on the bulkhead connectors. All desk equipment is
tied to a common length of 1" copper pipe along back of desk via 1/2" braids. If a bad storm comes thru I unplug the
2 tripplite powerstrips feeding the equipment.

Question: wouldn't it make sense to make the 1" braid from the copper pipe on desk to the outside ground rod also detachable?

I was thinking one of those plug/receptacles used for the arc wires of large welders. It should handle more current than
the braid would tolerate. My thinking is that if "the big one" directly hits the outside antenna it would be a short
trip from the outside ground rod to the inside common ground bar...

Steve AD0ES

On Apr 16, 2014, at 8:59 PM, [hidden email] wrote:

> If you add ground rods, know that all ground rods should be tied back to
> the Utility ground rod by a large conductor (#6 wire is the minimum
> size). That is not only a requirement of NEC safety rules, but also a
> safety consideration for your station.

______________________________________________________________
Elecraft mailing list
Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
Post: mailto:[hidden email]

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