Ham Radio Ground

[@ClaytonGambrel]

when I did HVAC on outside lines like that in a way. i used rain gutter to dress up all the lines and wires and screwed that into the house and suprising it looks good

[@Commsprepper]

I agree there are many methods but I prefer to keep things inside vice outside.

[@mosherj666]

At that length, the earth wire has to be resonant, how did you overcome that?

[@Qrpblog]

Oh dear, that's totally the wrong way to do grounding. The first purpose of grounding is to keep lightning energy outside your shack. With this setup, a direct strike will travel directly to your radio and desk, then through the floor and the rest of the house (via the mains), melting and burning everything in its path until it exits the house again to be discharged to the ground (at your grounding point and at the utility ground); you literally can't do it worse than this. You need proper grounding (like 6 of those rods) at the base of the antenna, to discharge most of the strike energy; you need another rod where the coax enters the house; you need this entry point bonded to the utility grounding on the outside of the house, with wide thick copper flat strap; you need lightning arrestors at the entry point. All these would gradually discharge the lightning energy as it travels along the coax to your shack, leaving minimal energy to be dealt with by the shack Single Point Ground plate you have installed in the house. Also, do not imagine that that wire would have the capability to handle a direct strike; the copper it's made from will heat up so much and so fast that it will melt and boil (yes, metal can boil too) in the first miliseconds, engulfed by the plasma created by hundreds of thousand of Amperes. That mix of copper vapors and plasma will however establish a low-impedance path that will conduct the whole energy of the strike thorugh your house.

[@Commsprepper]

You are not the first to post a comment on this. However, I followed the guidance in the radio's manual. I'm confidant there are better ways but money and location do play a role. Thank you for the comment and channel support.

[@Qrpblog]

@@Sinthesizerz What the poster wants this to be is less important, me and others here are talking about what it actually does. It is equally worse as a RF ground as well, since the whole wire to the grounding rod is a big antenna that picks up noise and radiates when transmitting. The only thing that is does is it reduces RF in the shack in the sense that it keeps equipment at a similar potential, but other than that it is just a string of bad practices.

[@imark7777777]

FYI if you drill through your garage, they’re supposed to be sealed up to prevent carbon monoxide leaking into your house. And it is code in most states.

[@Commsprepper]

Good tip. Thank you.

[@jimcervantes5659]

If I'm lightning, I really like what you've done.

[@spresc2180]

I must agree with Commspreppers response to me, in that the radios manual is your best friend when it comes to your installation setup. Previous to 1984 I was an apartment dwelling SWLer for 10 yrs previous. Grounding my radios to the apartments electrical ground system generated noise in the receivers. I was better off with no ground. It was the same in 84 with my 1st house. Seperate independant ground rods solved that problem, exactly as the manuals setup dictated, along with the advice to NOT use the households electrical ground system due to noise introduction. At the end of the day, use the radio's manual. It IS your friend.

[@TS950SDX]

As prevoiusly stated individual ground rods are better as you avoid ground loops. If there are two pieces of equipment to be grounded and these are connected via coax and you use each items ground connector to run to the ground bus then you have a ground loop which is less than ideal. So think about getting another ground rod installed and run each ground wire directly to is own grounding point and not into a grounding strip if equipment is inter connected with coax as is the norm for radio equipment.

[@TS950SDX]

James Hunter ie all radio equipment is connecred via coax patches therefor only use the earthing point from one piece of equipment to run down to earthing rod. If items are not connected together consider running seperate individual runs to seperate individual eathing rods spaced a few feet apart.

[@troynichols8026]

Merry Christmas... I am running an Icon AH-4 with a random length of wire in the attic. There is no convenient RF ground, so I have been using a counterpoise in the attic as well. Although I am making DX contacts I have never been happy with the reflected power. My MFJ-849 indicates up to a watt reflected sometimes. I suspect the counterpoise is radiating as well. The antenna is tuning fine from 12-80 meters (SWR

[@jamesphilips4290]

A nice book was published by Motorola called R56 which can be found on the internet explains everything one needs to know about station grounding. Most of us ham radio operators do not even come close to a proper ground setup.

[@Commsprepper]

Yes. I have taken the class and have the book.

[@willhansen6922]

@@Commsprepper then why did you do it this way?

[@wb5zddtony854]

Yep, a ground wire 1/4 wave, or longer, of your operating frequency becomes an antenna. Since it's been 6 years, how did this work out. Did you notice noisy HF bands, how about things turning on or off in your house when you transmitted? Check out the MFJ-931 Artificial Ground.

[@Commsprepper]

Works fine

[@kreskyv]

what kind of wire you using like thickness or name ?

[@markgutierrez9295]

Hi, nice video. I'm about to set this up, and I'm also on the 2nd floor. Did you connect your grounding rod to the main house grounding rod? Aren't they supposed to be bonded together? Thanks! If so, what cable did you use to connect the two grounding rods? Thank you!

[@eugenepohjola258]

Howdy. In regular electrical utilization grounding is used to limit the touch voltage in case an appliance develops an insulation fault. RF ground is another concept completely. What we want is actually a reflective plane. This reflective plane is usually done digging copper radials into the ground. The ground bar or stake more like serves as a convenient way to connect the radials and introduce the plane into the shack. The soil itself is a poor reflector without the radials. Regards.

[@Commsprepper]

yeh.... You are one of 100 folks that have said this is wrong. I followed the radio's manual.

[@eugenepohjola258]

@@Commsprepper Howdy. Haha. OK. Fair enough. Some day I may learn I'm not the only one having an opinion about stuff. Regards.

[@808pathfinder]

i was thinking, if the lightning hit your ground, it wants to go to the rod right .1st it would hit your antenna then want to travel down the ground wire were it goes in the floor then the wall panel n thru the garage wall ,would that catch on fire to?

[@Commsprepper]

Not sure. I could not answer this question. However, the ground also serves to bond the equipment an reduce noise and make your antennas perform better.

[@rfc1180]

If the antenna gets a direct hit, the current will flow down the antenna, through the coax, inside the house hitting the "ground" bar, hitting the radios (Path of least resistance), downstairs through the garage (Possibly causing a fire), out to the ground bar. Bad Idea! All your lightening protection grounds should be outside of the house; right house side the window. Further more, the that ground should be bonded to the electrical ground (BEFORE) the entrance point of the premise.

[@starttofinishpodcasting3721]

I was told that long ground wires are not good because being that long the ground wire act as an antenna. They say the ground wire shouldn't be no more than 6ft.

[@jeffkardosjr.3825]

That's BS.

[@scottversaw3344]

Commsprepper, it’s been 8 years since you posted this video. Grounding is such a contentious issue that “best practices” have changed since then. Ignore the disrepectful haters. Thanks for including a recommendation to get utilities marked.

[@fortyacreprep8783]

Just a point if info, what you have put in is a DC GROUND, which may or may not make your station more susceptable to lightning damage. It is not an RF GROUND because it is approaching or at a fractional wavelength of operating frequencies. An RF GROUND must be installed by using coaxial cable with the ends bypassed center to shield with a .01 or .001 capacitor then the center conductor connected in the same manner as you did the copper. You also would need to remove the copper you put in as the coaxial ground will provide both RF AND DC GROUNDING. The grounding issue dates back a long time and the myths that revolve around it have been busted for many years. Most times, NO GROUND is better than fudged grounds that the snake oil sales people in ham radio gadget sales sell. Unless a grounding system can take a direct lightning hit without damage, it is better NOT TO HAVE A SECONDARY GROUNDING SYSTEM, as it's not by a mile engineered properly.

[@Commsprepper]

It's the best (shortest) run I could come up with and following grounding instructions in the radio's manual. I find that a basic ground dramatically improves station performance, especially when using tuners.

[@fortyacreprep8783]

The tuner should be acting on the antenna resonances. It would be better to add a counter poise to your antenna to balance it rather than using a tuner. A resonant antenna is always better than a non resonant one and a tuner. The ground you set up is a DC ground which is used in the hopes of diverting lightning and static electricity. It can set up ground loops, introduce noise, and degrade the station's performance on certain frequencies. Anytime a conductor approaches 1/8th wavelength of an operating frequency, it automatically becomes a radiator and rises above RF ground potential, but will remain at DC ground potential for lightning protection. In effect, it's just a lightning rod. It's difficult to explain antenna/grounding in such brief texts.

[@Shastasays]

Instead of following the radio manual on grounding, look up other resources on grounding from ARRL and other sources (Dave Casler). Look up what ground loops are and other issues with grounding. Do multiple sources of information to figure out what's best for your ham shack. RF interference issues could stem from ground loops.

[@docholiday1034]

@@Shastasays maybe you could do a video on how to do grounds correctly...Seems every expert installer and inspector has a different view. Its pretty confusing when no 3 experts agree..

[@garretr4488]

don't you want the coper sound wire to be insulated to avoid fire and such?

[@Commsprepper]

No

[@sdold]

It doesn't look like the ground rod is bonded to the service ground, that's pretty important or you can experience a lot of damage if lightning should strike nearby.

[@Commsprepper]

I understand but the radios are not running off of commercial power. They run off of batteries independent from the house electrical system.

[@sdold]

If you have a lightning strike in the area, significant currents flow outward through the soil, which is a resistor, and if you have two ground rods, there can be thousands of volts between them during the strike. This is called a "Step potential". The NEC requires that ground rods be bonded together with #6 copper for that reason. If yours don't have that bond, your radio chassis could be hundreds or thousands of volts above the rest of the house. Please, please bond your ground rods and don't advise anyone else to have separate unbonded grounds.

[@wadepatton2433]

Yes, yes, and yes. This is what all of my research has shown. Hint--start with the Commercial tower and Repeater site operators for best-consistent-professional information. Our Avg. Joe Hams will argue this all day long, but I trust better the Professionals who NEVER unplug their systems and rarely go off the air. I do get that you're not creating a loop with battery power, but that's not the same as step potential.

[@jimcervantes5659]

I hope you have heeded the advice to avoid multiple grounds. A lightning ground strike can easily put your two grounds at vastly different potentials and send a lot of current up through one ground and back down the other. Along the path your grounding systems can also reach dangerous potentials. You could well end up dead, or maybe just burn down your house, or just destroy you entire shack's worth of equipment. You can't always stop lightning from finding its way into your home, but you can and should avoid inviting it in.

[@DEplinker]

You can have multiple grounding rods. In fact, in some cases it would be required; however, they must be bonded.

[@k8byp]

EXACTLY CORRECT. DANGEROUS. national electrical code violation.

[@ericdee6802]

Id safely say this guy has a lightning bolt ⚡ highway from the outside straight to his equipment!⚡⚡⚡🤯🤣💨

[@SyberPrepper]

Our cable guy used a hammer drill with a socket big enough to accept the ground rod. Went right in. In any case, I hope you don't hit a rock as you finish getting it in. :)

[@Commsprepper]

The electrician who upgraded our power panel also used the hammer drill - very cool. However, I did not have my materials on hand that day. Had to do it the old fashion way - beat it in. Once I got the sledge it dropped right down.

[@hamradiocq]

What about using the cold water pipe as a ground?

[@Commsprepper]

They work but be sure it's all metal. My house turns to plastic.

[@RobR386]

That's going to radiate everywhere, you effectively have an ungrounded ground which can lead to RF in the shack

[@Commsprepper]

I have not experienced any problems. The installation matches the radio's manual.

[@washingtonstatepicker3460]

He did the best he could, having a second story station is difficult

[@USNERDOC]

Excellent!

[@OldBadBoy99]

Wise advice about calling the utilities... Love that the Comms Prepper included that important nugget into the video;-)

[@kissingbanditt]

I understand all your antennas, radios will connect to this ground rod. But if it's beside my electrical box outside, can i ground that also to it for extra ground? thanks.

[@Commsprepper]

No. Do not connect to anything outside. Contact a local electrician and they can tell you what your local building codes require to bond the radio ground to the house ground.

[@gabrielM1111]

actually ive read that all ground rods must be bonded to your electric box ground or a water pipe if its the electric box's ground.

[@BEdmonson85]

NOVA Gabriel, I have also read something similar. That any grounds rod must be bonded to your main ground rod for the house. But these codes do vary state to state.

[@BEdmonson85]

NOVA Gabriel, I have also read something similar. That any grounds rod must be bonded to your main ground rod for the house. But these codes do vary state to state. Also the method and materials required vary from state to state as well.

[@jillfocke3200]

No they don't vary state to state the national electrical code is a uniform code that all states must follow

[@BikePractice]

Thanks for the video. It would be interesting to see if all the haters even have a grounding and or bonding system in their shack. Most people only like to complain not do. The most controversial subject in the hobby is grounding so thanks for this upload.

[@Commsprepper]

Most nasty comments come from zero content and zero sub users.

[@michaelt.9372]

@@Commsprepper false equivalence. They’re not KZbinrs nor do they claim to be. They’re right in that you need to have your grounding rods bonded together. This will allow for an equivalence of electrical dispersion should you receive a lightning strike or proximity strike.

[@davidcline4286]

You made an excellent antenna! 🤣

[@Commsprepper]

Thanks! 👍

[@davidcline4286]

@@Commsprepper Being on a second floor is hard to deal with. You made the best of it.

[@phichi01]

Isn't the ground rod, required to be bonded to the electrical panel ground? #6 wire connecting to the electrical ground.

[@Commsprepper]

check your radio's manual.

[@willhansen6922]

@@Commsprepper No, check the National Electrical Code. It is the standard for grounding a radio, (Art 810) not the owner's manual.

[@windspace7582]

@@willhansen6922 Will is correct. The NEC is in place to protect your home from catching on fire. The radio's manual is not.

[@Mike-jy7yp]

As long as your ground wire is after about 8 feet the rest of the wire will radiate a signal so it becomes and Antenna.!!...

[@Commsprepper]

second floor (and above) stations do present grounding challenges for sure.

[@woodchuck8197]

I learned that the hard way.. i now put a ground rod every 8 ft from antenna to shack

[@zanelile761]

Many different ideas and ( experts ), in grounding, bonding, & earthing. I use my 3 wire 110 volt ground, and neutral, for all my equipment. Co-ax coming in, I use a co-ax grounding block outside my shack.I do rig antenna lightning grounding/earthing, system 3 ground rods and #6 bare copper the co-ax ground, hooks to this as well.

[@KX4UL]

I think you made a good attempt to do the right thing. Kudos for pointing out the MUST contact the utility companies first. They would much rather mark the lines than repair them at your expense. I have been a ham off and on for 26 years and the more people that explain their idea of a proper station ground, the more confused I get. I have heard so many conflicting opinions that I don't know which end is up. The ARRL offers a book specifically about proper grounding called "Grounding and Bonding for the Radio Amateur" Item No. 0659. I think it would be well worth the investment for me and anyone else confused about this topic.

[@Commsprepper]

Thanks for the comment.

[@onecatsopinion]

Excellent explanation, thanks.

[@Commsprepper]

You are welcome!

[@uscg906]

LOL

[@k8byp]

What jim said ILLEGAL AND DANGEROUS. Violation of NEC 250.24 a 5

[@Commsprepper]

Better call the cops.

[@usedcars9059]

Oh, its tricky! Grounding rods are such a contentious issue. Nobody seems to agree the proper method. There is lots of folklore. And, to do it properly costs money: grounding rods, clamps, gas discharge thingies, bare copper wire, tax. Myself, I can't decide between one ground rod or two. Its a cost difference between $100 to $150. ..... What really confuses me, is Amazon is selling a grounding kit in 2 ft and 3 ft lengths. What is the point of a 2 or 3 ft ground rod??? ....

[@Commsprepper]

Not sure. I follow the radio manuals.

[@spresc2180]

I am strictly a SWLer. Have been since@1974. If I use the houses grounding system for my radios, I pick up quite a bit of RF interference generated from the neutral and grounding bus bars that are co-joined within the electrical service panel? It was necessary to put in a independent ground rod near the house, as you did, to get away from that noise. I put in another ground rod along side a picnic table in the yard about 100 feet from the house, which gets me further away from the houses spurious signals, and with a 12 volt battery/solar panel arrangement along with a overhead tree to tree long wire antenna I am good to go with my radios in the shady woods. :)

[@Commsprepper]

I have received some criticism for this video and there appears to be varying views and opinions. For me, I have always used an independent ground as implied in the installation instructions of my radios' owner's manuals. Yeasu's manuals provide an example. What I can say is that none of the manuals suggest or instruct owners to connect to the house ground system. (see page 12 at this link: www.yaesu.com/downloadFile.cfm?FileID=3806&FileCatID=158&FileName=FT%2D450%5FOM%5FENG%5FEH024H102.pdf&FileContentType=application%2Fpdf). In the end, I'm please with the improved performance of my station with an independent ground system. It sounds like you are too. Thanks for taking the time to comment.

[@fortyacreprep8783]

Sam, naturally there is going to be an improvement of your reception with a long wire antenna by adding a ground, you are balancing out a completely imbalanced isotopic radiator(your single ended longwire) by changing its impedance. You would get the same or better result by making a balanced, resonant dipole and disconnecting your ground rod.

[@jillfocke3200]

The proper way to do it is to run your grounds to the ground rods at your outside service ground rods. Otherwise you are providing a second way for lighting to come into your house and enter your house grounding system causing a ground loop and guaranteing frying everything in your house that has a ground, per national electric code.

[@PlanktoniusRex]

Very nice ground setup. I have an FT-950 that I run barefoot and previously had it grounded (for 5 years) with stranded 10 ga. It was a simple 8' run from the rig to the ground rod I installed next to the shack. I had a very slight RF issue on certain bands but it wasn't too bad. SWR is always less than 1.5:1. Sometimes we can hear HF harmonics through the house stereo and occasionally on an iPod through headphones. I replaced the ground wire with 1/2" flat braided tinned copper strap and ran it direct from the rig to the dedicated ground rod. Not a lot of improvement, if any, was seen. My next step is to get some ferrite beads and attach to the mic cord, the power supply AC feed and DC feed cords. From there I will just move them around to see if I can get it out of my shack. RFI can be a beast to track down but a good ground system is the first place to put the effort.

[@Commsprepper]

PlanktoniusRex Thank you for commenting. Grounding a station can be a real challenge for sure.

[@runningbear4666]

is this acceptable I thought braided flat cable was the deal??

[@Commsprepper]

+Geronemo Bauer It depends on who you ask. I do use flat braided cable to connect the equipment to the ground bus.

[@clems6989]

Commsprepper round or flat, whats important is surface area.

[@808pathfinder]

heres a trick to fix your tape in the window, 1st take that sticky messy duck tape off ,clean if you have to ,use a pool noodle cut it 2 inch bigger then the hight of your window and cut a slit ,dont pass the half point then install the cut part on the window . you can use a stick to lock your window up n voila! when it hot you can open n close it, your welcome

[@davep6977]

I read all/most the comments and some are true. Braid is better for RF. My only comment is. Go into the acorn from the top. That way the stranded wire doesn't wick water and oxidize quicker. Oh, an acorn is the trade name for the mechanical connector on the ground rod.Make bid "S" so you have a drip loop.

[@TRprepper]

So it's better not to use your existing ground rod that is for your power?

[@Commsprepper]

You do not want to use your power ground rods. I'm not even sure it's permitted. Also, you want to keep the run as short as possible since the ground system becomes part of your antenna system too (especially for HF operations).

[@TRprepper]

I was thinking I had read that but wasn't sure, Thanks!

[@Commsprepper]

***** In a pinch it's better than no ground but for less than $25.00 you drop a nice station ground in and have peace of mind. Even if you are only running VHF/UHF (or CB) you should have a ground for all fixed (base) stations.

[@Commsprepper]

TR - Just a follow up. I see a part two video on this topic. I have received several comments citing National Electric Code standards that a ground rod installed for a radio station must be also/also connected to the house ground. So...... I will have to do some more research and make a part two. The owner's manuals I have research only state that a ground rod should be installed and connected to the radio, they do not reference bonding the radio ground rod to the house ground. However, in the interests of getting it right - I will do some more research. The bonding issue aside - a separate ground rod should installed as close to the station as you can get it. Bonding the two ground is a separate issue.

[@TRprepper]

Thanks for the update, my house grounding rod is right outside my "shack" and was going to use it. But if there is a issue with that I will drive another in the ground.

[@jackkb2txr833]

It is best to make your grounding as close as you can to your station never connect to your home Electrical ground

[@Commsprepper]

It is but one has to work with what they have.

[@willhansen6922]

Absolutely incorrect. That would cause a difference in potential that would at the very least, damage your equipment.

[@Subgunman]

In theory but nature is unpredictable especially lightning. I never run ground lines inside my structures. I try and exit them ASAP to the outside. If you do take a direct hit you will not save one piece of equipment nor the house. Instead you are routing the energy inside your home.

[@acet7]

Why not just go through the upstairs wall and then down the side of the house?

[@Commsprepper]

Primary reason was ascetics, I did not want to look at a lose wire hanging down the side of the house. It's vinyl siding and strapping it down would cause more damage and increase the risk of leaks behind the siding.

[@acet7]

Commsprepper ok that makes sense

[@SilverSpoon_]

@@Commsprepper that's not how you write aesthetics. But now Acet7's comment reminds me it could have been worse. Personally I used a VHF antenna cable to carry a 50ohm cable to the roof antenna. and same for the grounding, going outside. Normally with a meter you can measure that and make a bleed in the wall so it's invisible, and once covered with cement it's safe, no spider/ants or rainwater flowing in your house.

[@noelbulls8628]

You just made another antenna. No so effective Men!

[@Commsprepper]

works fine for me.

[@ericdee6802]

I'll give you an "A" for effort but, your ground rod isn't bonded to your homes service drop, furthermore, electricity takes the least path of resistance, your ground is a gazillion feet long, it should be as short as possible.😏👍

[@modellerdesign]

K8BYP in KZbin on grounding....

[@sadteeto]

can't you just plug it in to your ground on your ac outlet?

[@Commsprepper]

No. That's not what is shown in the manual.

[@woodchuck8197]

Everything should have its own ground i bet if he shared it with the ac unit he would pick up noise..

[@aso6437]

Really a Ham shack on the second floor? I was always told that was a huge NO NO!

[@Commsprepper]

Ground floor is better but when there is no other option - you make it work.

[@OysterPir8]

Why?

[@SCzxjk]

I thought the answer would be obvious to you

[@mworator]

Very good video.

[@Commsprepper]

Thanks.

[@kfgrip]

Nice set up BTW get a sledge.

[@Commsprepper]

I have one but it's at the retreat location. I borrowed one from my neighbor - it's down now.

[@user-cg7uw9uh6n]

Congratulations nice job

[@Commsprepper]

David R Thanks.

[@FatDaddy4Fun]

I dont want any lightning travel through MY house. No Way! Fire anyone?

[@Commsprepper]

Check your equipment manuals. They call for an earth ground.

[@SilverSpoon_]

You have zero knowledge about electricity.

[@Superdan187211]

you can put it in one foot in and 8 foot long small trench.. but I bet you know that. I got that from the radio class I took a wile ago

[@Commsprepper]

You can do that but straight in gives you a better ground if your dirt is dry.

[@PlanktoniusRex]

This is a good comment. I have a situation on remote land I own where I want to put up a small antenna farm for remote (camping, working, planting trees, etc) radio work during downtime. I want a good ground for a semi-permanent setup where all I have to take is my radio and battery and a ground is there for repeated use. The issue is that there is bedrock 18" below the entire 20 acres as far as I have seen. I hammered no less than 30 T-posts and found every single one hits bedrock at 12 - 24" no matter where I am on the land. I plan to bury two 8' ground rods at 18" depth, connect them together to make a single 16' run, and then drop an 18" section to the center point and use that as my ground. I plan to use two of them because, as CP mentions above, it can get dry out there in the summer months and I want a good connection to earth. Some day I will bust through the bedrock with the proper tools but at this point a sledge, pick axe and a spud rod have all failed to even make a dent. The trench is the way I am going to go.

[@SilverSpoon_]

Why don't you use a proper wall socket to pass the ground cable, and pass the antenna cable like, another way than through the window ? Also the way you drilled a ground cable just to get on the garden... kek. could've buried it but you're not really the kind of DIY guy, right?

[@Commsprepper]

I will take some time this weekend and check out how it's done in your videos.

[@rfc1180]

And you wanted to keep the installation clean? Yeah, that was NOT a clean installation. Furthermore, your ground installation is NOT correct. If you get a direct hit and your house burns down, your house will NOT be covered by ANY type of insurance. It has been 3 years by now, so hopefully you have realized this and have corrected it.

[@knifeswitch5973]

DO NOT DO ANY OF THIS. The NEC is your friend. That and get yourself some AARL teachings.

[@Commsprepper]

Or... you can look at the radio manual - where it shows how to ground the unit. I think you meant ARRL vice AARL.

[@knifeswitch5973]

@@Commsprepper indeed I did

[@watchfan6180]

More than 10ft the ground wire is not effective.

[@usedcars9059]

...and that's the first time I've read this. can someone else comment on this?

[@shortwavelistener]

I’m no expert but everything I’ve read says not to have long ground wires since they’ll effectively radiate and generate noise on certain bands. The solutions I’ve seen for high floors is to use multiple 1/4 wave ungrounded counterpoises for each band you use - all connected to a common point as near to the rigs/equipment as possible. Then have each equipment in your shack use high gauge wire to that point.

[@LordAndyvaile]

thats correct if the ground wire is say i/2 wave length of a frequency other than what you are on it will resonate on said frequency and bring them signals into your radio as noise thats why if your radio is not at ground floor you use an artificial earth / ground like a MFJ 931

[@ve3xyd]

This is such a bad grounding protection its not even funny... please for your safety and others DO NOT USE THIS VIDEO AS AN EXAMPLE! You wired the grounding completely wrong. Omg... I have no words...

[@Commsprepper]

blah blah blah. Try looking at the IC-7300 manual page 2-2 for an example or any other radio manual. after that - unsubscribe and piss off.

[@w.e.s.]

Nice way to butcher up a house....

[@Commsprepper]

don't worry about it. It's my house not yours.