K2 Ladder Line Run for Dipole

[pagoglia]

Hi:  I have completed assembly of my K2 TX  serial 7059, an elecraft balun, the K2 SSB adaptor, 100 W adaptor and elecraft KAT 100 antenna tuner.  I also just raised an 80 meter dipole in my yard.  I have several hundred feet of ladder line attached to the dipole.  I ran some of this ladder line toward my house, with its first stop being attached to our shed.  From there it goes underneath a deck that has very little crawl space.  It runs 16 feet from one end of the deck to the other.  On this other end of  the deck, I will need to run it against the house anaother 16 feet, turn a corner and run about 20 feet to a point where it will come into the house.

 I am taking my information on how to make a spark arrestor from the web site  www.athensarc.org/ladder.asp  
 It seems to me the best place to put a ground rod and spark arrestor would be out near the shed, right below the dipole feedpoint.  The reason I am thinking so, is that if lightning does strike, it would enter the ground out there, away from the house.  If I put the spark arrestor and ground rod near the entry point to the house, then lightning would travel under my deck, onto my house siding and then enter the  spark arrestor and ground rod only after running half the perimeter of my house across my nice Canadian cedar siding.

So my question is, where would the best place be for the ground rod and lightning arrestor.  At the entry point to the house, or out beneath the dipole center feedpoint?  

73 de WN2K

Paul Agoglia
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[k6dgw]

On 4/17/2011 10:15 AM, Paul Agoglia wrote:
> It seems to me the best place
> to put a ground rod and spark arrestor would be out near the shed,
> right below the dipole feedpoint.

Paul,

This subject has been beat to death here in recent weeks, and not to
start it up again, but in the interest of safety:  The ground rod, where
ever you put it, must be tied to the ground at your service entrance
with a very low resistance conductor.

The reason is that, in the event of a nearby strike that induces charge
in your antenna system, you want it, your radio chassis, the mains
safety ground, and everything else to be at the same potential.  That
can only happen if the "grounds" for everything are tied back to the
single ground at the service entrance.

It really is a safety issue.  Now, unfortunately, if your antenna takes
a direct strike, you're pretty much hosed.

73,

Fred K6DGW
- Northern California Contest Club
- CU in the 2011 Cal QSO Party 1-2 Oct 2011
- www.cqp.org
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