Grounding My Ham Radio REVISITED: What I Have Learned Since Then

In today's video we are revisiting my shack grounding. A coupe years ago I showed a video on how I grounded my shack. many, many comments later and some new info I have changed my mind. I am going over this briefly with you and I have a link below to the article that you can read and judge for yourself on your situation nd grounding your ham radio gear.
Link to .PDF File: bit.ly/3COG8J6
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My Current Shack Setup:
ICOM IC-7300
Yaesu FT-2980
DX Commander Classic
Comet GP-9
Diamond GZV4000 Power Supply
LDG AT200 PROII Tuner
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#ki5npl
#hamradiofornontechies

[@radioxdeath]

This video earned my sub. This grounding business is almost as dramatic as a soap opera. Love your approach.

[@HR4NT]

Yeah grounding is the least favorite subject of mine because it is like discussing politics at a family gathering...LOL I think my solution is a great option and it works for me to this day. I really appreciate the sub!!! Thanks for the comment an for watching. 73!!!

[@Ray-ru3pc]

i unplug everything put back inside their original packaging and blindfold my dog whenever there’s a storm coming to be extra safe.

[@HR4NT]

LOL...hey! Whatever works...as long as your gear (and dogs) are protected! Thanks for watching and for the comment. 73!!

[@michaelhaas7641]

Thank You Thank You. New Ham has been agonizing how to ground the shack perfectly. This is the most common talk on this subject I've seen. Just unplug the damn thing!

[@HR4NT]

Seems to work 100% of the time and my gear is NEVER in danger. Thanks for watching and for the comment. 73!!

[@nealbeach4947]

They have a form of OCD.

[@richiec7602]

I am new to ham radio and your videos have helped me a lot. I just watched both of your videos on grounding. I just wanted to tell you something that happened to my sister-in-law some time ago. We live in south Florida. The soil here is mostly a form of sand. Lighting hit a tree outside her house. This caused two tv’s and a couple of other appliances to be damaged due to the lightning surge. It was determined that lightning entered the house through the ground rod. As you said, just disconnect your antenna and power for the best protection.

[@HR4NT]

EXACTLY!!!! No matter how much grounding...if you have a direct strike, nothing is safe. Best of luck on studying and passing your exams and becoming a licensed ham! Let me know if I can help anytime! Thanks for the comment and for watching. 73!

[@Subgunman]

Considering a lightning strike contains millions of volts and amps and has discharged over a distance of several miles, there is nothing that will protect your electronic equipment from that electromagnetic pulse. A fellow KZbinr who produces and markets a well known series of HF wire antennas suffered a direct strike on an antenna in his home. There was not only gear that was still connected that was damaged BUT equipment that was put away in their factory boxes sitting on shelves in his radio room that were also damaged beyond repair from the pulse. Living in Central Ohio in the late 60’s we suffered a strike on a 200 foot tower in our back yard. The weather had cleared and this was a stroke out of the blue. This is quite common and why one should avoid going out into their yards at least for 45 minutes after the storm passes. Damages acquired by the strike are as follows, base station of a vhf business system was destroyed, less than four months old. The well pump ( which was a 200 foot deep well adjacent to where the tower was situated) and it’s controller destroyed ( blew the control box off of the wall). The anti collision lights were literally vaporized leaving only the brass bases in the lamp sockets (joys of living within five miles of an airport). A bunch of light bulbs that were not on burned, a clock radio toasted, and a SWL antenna with band traps was also destroyed, it was strung up between the tower and the gutter on the opposite end of the house, traps housings were blown off of the traps with coils and caps vaporized. The most expensive items to replace were the GE TPL base station which was practically new, and the well pump and controller. The primary item that needed repair were the collision avoidance lights on the tower. Ten dollars in "special tower lamps" and about $250 for the tower work to climb and replace lamps.

[@phoeg]

Lightning struck a tree about 35' from where my 'shack' is. It never hit any power lines, but the pulse (EMP) took out nine electronic devices along the back side of our house: TV, DVD player, HVAC thermostat, two weather radios, CO detector, hot tub control board, digital watch, and a satellite TV component. Yep, lightning will do what it will. I disconnect.

[@alanslade2319]

Sorry but just watched this and wow that's exactly what I've been doing all my life unpluging, unplugging , it will drive you absolutely insane thinking about all the things people say about grounding, like you say and the way I've always looked at it, if lightnings in the air there's so many things it will hit, and if it gets that close then god help us who happens to live there, thanks for the great show and speech because you said exactly what I've been doing . God bless and see you soon Alan from ENGLAND 🇺🇲🇬🇧💯👍

[@HR4NT]

Everyone makes the topic of grounding this huge issue and it doesn't have to be. Keep it simple, use common sense and protect your gear. It's just that simple. Glad you enjoyed the video! Thanks for the comment and for watching. 73!

[@Slade677]

I've been a ham for 45 years now. (Wow, I can't believe I'm that old.) This video is spot on. Unless you live on a mountain with a 1200 ft radio tower in your backyard, this grounding business has gotten out of hand. I mostly gave up on it years ago. I do have a copper rod pounded into the ground with lightning suppressors. That's only because I might forget to unplug my equipment and also maybe it will help if there's a lightning strike in the area. Obviously, if lightning hits your house, all bets are off. Also, I think some people have a problem with RF in their house, so they need some sort of grounding. Personally I've never had that problem. I was also trained by an extra class who had been a ham for 60 years, and he never grounded anything. Also, as the video says, things have changed. In the old days you didn't have grounded outlets and people played around with high voltage equipment, didn't take proper precautions, and I guess fried themselves. My philosophy is do the best you can, get on the air, and have fun. Thanks for a great video.

[@HR4NT]

You nailed it! I agree that the topic gets heated way too often and made complicated where an easy solution is right in front of them. Thanks for the comment and for watching. 73!!!

[@paulKJ5GKK]

Thank you for this video Scott. I'm in your camp. In fact, I'm a new HAM and I'm building out my "shack" to run exclusively on Bioenno batteries and attic antennas. I'm in Louisiana. If I have to unplug every time there's a threat of weather, I may as well take up bowling. Hope to meet you in Huntsville next month. 73

[@HR4NT]

I am glad to hear you found a solution that works for you! Not sure I will make it to Huntsville this year. I have a lot on my plate at the moment, but we will see. Thanks for the comment and for watching. 73!

[@hooterfivesix]

I do the same thing, Scott. Every time I'm done "playing radio", as you call it, I disconnect/unplug EVERYTHING. I'm not made of money and I invested a good chunk of change into this hobby. My memory isn't what it used to be, I'm 67, so I just made it a habit to protect my equipment as best I can. Keep up the good work, and good luck with everything.

[@HR4NT]

Thank you do much! I agree the fear of losing out on the money you invested in radios and accessories is a major factor. Not like the price of radios is coming down any time soon and I don't know about you, but the money tree in my back yard isn't producing much these days...LOL. Thank you for the comment and for watching. 73!

[@randlecarr3257]

AND if I know I’m going to be away from my shack for 3 days or more, all the hardware goes in the Faraday garbage can and Mylar bags.

[@melinda4815]

Thank you for such a great video! I am new to this hobby and still have mountains to learn, so this information is very helpful. If I had to ground to my fuse box ground, then it would have to be like yours, mighrt have been, around, over and through, etc. So I have been reading as much as I can about how to handle this. Your idea is very much in keeping with what I have read. A direct or close strike will fry everything that is plugged in, no matter the ground situation, or so I have read. The articles I have read say as you do... UNPLUG!!!. I used to live in Florida, had a direct lightning strike on an oak tree in the back yard. Bark was stripped off the tree and the neighbor behind me lost everything eclectrical that was plugged in. I was born in Fl, so everything I had was, yep, unplugged. Tks again!!!

[@HR4NT]

The topic of grounding in ham radio is almost as bad as talking politics at a family gathering! I decided to use a little common sense and keep it simple. Unplugging checks EVERY box in safety and protection of my investment. I am glad others are seeing the same thing. Thanks for the comment and for watching. 73!

[@dougearnest7590]

Talk about stress, I was stressing big time trying to figure all this out. The only thing I actually learned from the dozens of KZbin videos I watched was: (a) if I don't do it right, everything will explode and electrocute me and my insurance won't cover the damage, and (b) nobody can agree on how to do it right. I've decided this video (and the pdf to which you linked) is the right way to do it. And even before listening to you, I figured out all by myself that the right thing to do was to unplug and disconnect when not in use - but that was because I assumed I didn't do it right. So good job, and thanks!

[@HR4NT]

I think we sometimes over think these things and that stress is real!!! LOL If you follow this method, I think you will be OK. I sure wouldn't risk my equipment ono something that wasn't iron clad in its methods. I am glad you found a solution that works for you!! Thanks for watching and for the comment. 73!

[@ehayes5217]

LOL 😂 ur so right, great comments! 73😃🇺🇸

[@K4SRF]

I too have a grounding video that I have gotten "grief" from viewers in comments. I may do a follow-up as well. I do have my grounding bonded to my house electrical ground, but like you, it's at the opposite end of the house to where my shack is located. I downloaded the PDF you had and am going to read it. I also have some of the antennas you have such as the GP-9 and DX Commander Classic, and have as one of my HF radios, the 7300. Great stuff. Thanks for your video. '73, Steve (P.S. I too am in the I.T. field as you.) ALSO! I just pulled the article and discovered the author Steve Katz, WB2WIK, lives in the same town as I, Pensacola, Florida. I pulled his QRZ page and though he looks familiar, I don't know him. I'll have to look him up.

[@HR4NT]

Yeah bringing up grounding around hams is like talking politics at a family dinner table...lol I say, use common sense and do what works for you! That's pretty cool that the guy who wrote that article lives nearby!!! Thanks for watching and for the comment. 73!!

[@WH6FQE]

Actually, I found out the hard way that connecting your radio to a ground rod does not protect it from a lightning strike. I had my radio shack grounded and a storm was approaching so I unplugged everything and even turned off the breaker to the radio shack incase I missed unplugging a lamp or something. Lightning struck a tree in my yard and traveled down into the wet ground and up through my ground rod about 20 feet away from the tree and into my radio to blow it out and start a fire. Luckily the fire was able to be brought under control quickly so we did not lose the whole house, but the entire shack burned.

[@HR4NT]

WOW! That sucks! I think the solution I came up with is a solid one and my gear is protected 100% of the time. I hope you were able to recover what you lost! Thanks for watching and for the comment. 73!

[@Ltstevecox108]

I have watched a couple of your videos. Very informative! Thank you for taking the time to put these together! 73’s N4SLC

[@HR4NT]

Glad you like them! I thank you for taking the time to watch them. Thanks for the comment and for watching. 73!

[@ProspectorsGhost]

Thank You very much for such a great video on gounding your rig and shack Scott. I learned a lot. Also thank you for standing up to all those Mister Know-It-All's and putting in your own two cents pertaining to grounding. I agree with you and what you said. Yes, in many ways they are sort of right, and yes they mean well, but as you said, they go way overboard and get too carried away with the grounding process. No amount of grounding and lightning protection is going to protect against and thwart a direct lightning strike. I also remember back when I was a Pershing missile system technician, repairman and missile launch computer operator in the military and we were sent TDY from Ft. Sill, Oklahoma down to Orlando, Florida for six months to help the Martin Maretta Corporation develop and field test the new Pershing II Nuclear missile system. On the first day of training and work we were sitting in the orientation class during the usual afternoon summertime thunderstorm getting ready to go out to the equipment after the downpour of rain let up and the corporate safety director came into the classroom and told us that he was sending us back to the apartment complex as there would be no work for that day as a bolt of lighting had just taken out the brand new forty-four thousand dollar lightning protection system they had just had professionally installed by professionals the week before. It was 4 days before they got it repaired enough for us to go back to work and training.

[@HR4NT]

Thank you so much for sharing that story! That was very interesting. Sometimes you just have to fall back on common sense and take the best course of action that will serve your needs. My solutions in this video has served me very well since I published it. Thanks for watching and for the comment. 73!

[@gpbarth]

When you plug anything into a modern 3-prong outlet, you are using the home ground through your distribution panel. When you then plug your radio into the wall and then ground it out through a strap connected to a separate ground rod, you are using 2 different grounds that can have a serious current differential between them. There is a reason why code wants you to bond the two rods together. And although your two rods seem to be far apart, one #6 copper ground wire run around the corner and attached to your home ground isn't that difficult. You may or may not have a problem, but safety is foremost. And grounding your radios isn't a duplication - RF energy can do strange things and your transciever needs to be well-grounded to prevent noise in the shack.

[@markdavis5486]

Voltage differential seems like the best argument for bonding your grounding rods back to the electrical panel to me. In my case, I have a Starlink dish at one end of a mobile home and the electrical panel at the other end; 80 feet away. However, if I were going to drive a separate grounding rod at the end where the Starlink dish is at, I'd bond it by connecting that grounding rod to the metal undercarriage of the mobile home. I tested continuity and verified the metal undercarriage was connected to the ground of the electrical panel.

[@HR4NT]

Thank you for that info. My technique seems to have been working for some time now. I kept the safety ground, but that is about it aside from the three prong connection. Thank you for the comment and for watching. 73!

[@gpbarth]

@@markdavis5486 That would probably work, as long as you make sure the connections to the m/h frame are bare metal, to make a good electrical connection. You'd just be bonding the ground rods through the frame.

[@markdavis5486]

@@gpbarth yeah I'd drill into it and make sure I got a good contact.

[@marytryon8314]

Thank you , Thank you, Thank you! I followed your instructions from your original grounding video because I was over thinking everything ( I'm a newbie ) and only taking my 7300 outside with my power source and my Buddipole antenna. I always wondered why the big deal with the same stuff inside and working on my patio.... anyway I appreciate your video and the article. Glad you are looking so much better since the accident. 73

[@sincerelyyours7538]

Thanks Scott. After several years of overthinking the problem I have finally installed my ground, and it is a lot like yours. I live in a land (Japan) where the norm is for houses to have 100V 60 Amp service entrances and two-pronged outlets. You can buy three-ponged outlets and electricians will install them but that's considered unusual for houses as grounded outlets are generally only used in commercial buildings here. When I had my house built two years ago I deliberately paid extra to have a few three pronged outlets installed in two rooms, the first floor motorcycle garage (my wood shop) and the 2nd floor bedroom that was to become my shack. The house ground, however, is under the wood shop on the far opposite corner of the house, waaaaay too far away from my shack for me to connect a bonding wire to it. After much hemming and hawing I decided to install a separate ground directly under my 2nd floor shack window. For that I first installed a window pass-through with a copper buss-bar mounted on the inner side of it and from there a 20 ft length of 1 inch copper braid goes out my window in some flexible PVC conduit to the ground below. The conduit is tie-wrapped a few inches away to the PVC down-spout for my 2nd floor rain gutter system. The braid then goes into a small PVC electrical box where I have installed two lightning arrestors. A few inches from the box is my first ground rod, a 5 ft long one (the longest I could find). It attaches to another 4 foot rod about 5 feet away via #6 stranded bare copper wire, and from there it goes to a third 5 foot rod about ten feet from the second rod. At that point I had about a foot of wire left so I terminated it at one of the support bolts for my metal garden shed. At this point I effectively had two grounds, a house ground and an RF ground for my shack. To bond them together I attached a short two foot length of 1/2" copper braid from the copper buss-bar to a three-pronged duplex outlet I installed directly underneath my window pass-through. That outlet has a separate ground lug that's normally tied to a heat-pump air-conditioner or other heavy appliance ground in Japanese houses. In my case it will serve as a tie-point for the bonding wire effectively tying my house and new "RF" grounds together. I should point out that the two grounds are already bonded together through the DC power supply feeding my IC-7300 as it has a three-pronged power cord and its DC ground is tied to its AC ground. However, the copper buss bar provides a nice way to tie all of my gear to a separate star-ground that I wouldn't have if I relied solely on the house ground. Also, this whole exercise was prompted by my very close-by neighbors all having large solar arrays on their roofs. I'm practically swimming in QRM from them and all the LED lighting fixtures in the neighborhood. Two separate grounds bonded together is the best I can do to keep all that QRM at a manageable level. So far it appears to be working, though I have only just installed the system and have not extensively tested it yet.

[@HR4NT]

Thank you so much for sharing your situation! It seems like you found a good and viable solution that works for you. Don't even get me started about solar panels!! I have the same issue with a neighbor 8 houses down and they are emitting a ton of RFI that gives me a 9+ noise floor all day long. About all I can do around here is FT8 and occasionally hear a few strong signals on 20M. If I can get the neighbors to cooperate and resolve their RFI issues, I can then move on to the next source which is most likely going to be bad transformers in the neighborhood. It gets daunting, but if I ever want to enjoy radio without having to drive 35 miles away from civilization, this is my only option. Anyway, glad you have part of your issues resolved. Thanks for watching and for the comment. 73!

[@AlvinMcManus]

@@HR4NT I have solar on my own roof and my panels are quiet compared to atmospheric noise. Apparently the people at Enphase are pretty good at building quiet arrays. I say this because my noise floor on the higher bands is nearly the same at night as during the day. Also I am revisiting my grounding of my rigs to go outside to the ground rod that the antennas are already connected to through a copper plate with bulkhead connectors that lead to the jumpers that go into the shack via 10 foot jumpers. I plan on a copper buss bar then copper braid out side to the ground. I know it isn't NEC standard, but I am in an area were lightening is very infrequent and if TSs threaten then I just unplug the gear. I also have chokes and ferrite beads everywhere on every cord in the immediate area of the rigs. I like my 240-31 toroids!

[@ronwolenski-n8wcr]

There are basically three things you ground for.FIrst, is lightning protection. Like you said, there's not much you can do there. If lightning hits you are SOL. So doon't worry about that, shutting everything down. Then there's safety ground. Safety ground is where you have chassis grounded in case there's a electrical issue and the house electrical hot line shorts to ground. This is there so you don't have 120/220 going through you if it fails. In all modern houses they have the three wire with ground setup. GFCI will help in that. Lastly, this is where everyone argues yet don't get the point, and it's RF grounding. RF grounding is so that if and when you get RF coming back from the antenna, it has a path to ground instead of to you. In the olden days this was apparent when you were transmitting and got too close to the mic you get a little zinger coming back It also plays haywire at times to you transmitting power going or coming back from the antenna when it has a hard time tuning. This is why you run a ground from everything to a single point like you have, the ground pipe. This should then go to an earth ground, wherever and however to get to ground. In your case, that path is through the coax out to your window passthru, then to ground. That's all you really need. In some cases where the RFI inside the shack is uncontrollable, then instead of relying on grounding, you should find out why you are getting RFI in the first place. What you have is more than adequate if you don't have problems with RFI. You aare 100% correct. And like everything in ham radio, there's not a one size fits all, especially when you dealing with RFI.

[@HR4NT]

Thank you very much for that comment. I have kept my safety ground. As for RFI, I have a considerable amount from a neighbor a few houses down that has a solar panel array that was improperly installed. As far as inside my house, I have done a few RFI checks and nothing here causes any, which is a miracle...LOL. However, with that being said, the technique I chose for my situation has been working and most of all, my gear isn't in danger. Thank you for the comment and for watching. 73!

[@BBaldwin]

I think your ground philosophy and method is perfectly acceptable and you’re doing the right thing by unplugging everything when storms are coming. I’m in Florida-in the summer months we often have late afternoon “pop up storms”, so my rig stays unplugged until I use it anyway - during these months. Good to see you up and walking around-hope your recovery is going well-KO4VBL

[@HR4NT]

I appreciate that! I think my method is sound and it seems to be working for quite a while now. Thanks for watching and for the comment. 73!

[@Cbro-621]

Good to see you! Hope you’re feeling better buddy!

[@HR4NT]

So far so good. Each day gets a bit better! Thank you for the comment and for watching. 73!

[@Cbro-621]

@@HR4NT anytime brother

[@ROBIN_SAGE]

I am one of the people who had “paralysis by analysis “ about the grounding situation for the past few years. It has kept me off the air for all that time, and I’m ready to get on after I pass my general next month. It is simply ASTOUNDING, the amount of poor/bad/misinformation on grounding, even from places like the ARRL that should know better. Gotta punch a hole through a concrete wall and put up an end fed half wave that was given to me, and me and (also gifted) 30 year old ICOM 737 are getting on the air! I at least want to try the old girl before springing for the 7300 right away…. I found your channel yesterday and am really enjoying it. Plan to check out your website too. Keep up the good work!

[@HR4NT]

That is fantastic! Glad you are getting back up and running after a while. I agree the topic of grounding you would think would be a simple issue to explain and follow a plan, but it is so dependent upon each individuals situation that it can drive you a bit mad trying to figure it all out. I think the solution I came up with here is simple, it will work for ANYONE and it protects your gear every time. I am glad to have you aboard the channel. I hope you find more videos here that are useful or at least entertaining. Thanks for the comment and for watching. 73!

[@dbrown8785]

The ARRL has no liability to you for misinformation or disinformation or just "advice." They are not a licensed electrician, professional engineer, licensed home improvement contractor, etc.

[@floydteter4323]

Great vid with a great point. I'm with you - I unplug my gear when a storm approaches. And my antennas are in the attic. No station ground needed. Good to see you back in action!

[@HR4NT]

Hey glad you enjoyed the video. It seemed to make the most sense. Thanks for the comment and for watching. 73!

[@americanheretic4315]

Thank you for this video. I saw your first video and asked a question, this answers my question. Even better video and article. Thank you.

[@HR4NT]

Glad it was helpful! Grounding seems to be one of those topics that causes fights and thousands of opinions on the best way to do it. I think this solves that argument for 80% of the operators out there. Thanks for the comment and for watching. 73!

[@shellmaker10]

Like your style. Definitely some food for thought here. I will read the PDF as I am going to be setting up my shack soon and I have some of the same issues regarding the path of the grounding wire to my house ground rod as you have. Thanks.

[@HR4NT]

Hey I hope it helps. You must do your own homework and figure out what will work best for you, but I think this at least give food for thought. I wish you the best of luck and hope that I can help! Thank you for the comment and for watching. 73!

[@KO4TDA]

Great to see you back on KZbin Scott!!! Fantastic Video!!!! I’ve had the same option on grounding & bonding. Lots of hassle for no benefit. We had a ham in our club where he got 2 direct strikes to his home. 1 to his antenna & 1 to main power line. Everything plugged in was fried! He lost around $60,000+ worth of gear. Grounding didn’t save anything! Keep up the great work!!!

[@HR4NT]

Great to be back! I am glad you enjoyed the video. I think my solution makes the most sense as long as I stay on top of unplugging everything as described. That is a real bummer to lose that much gear! WOW! Thanks for watching and for the comment. 73!

[@kyoshivp]

Great to see you back, Scott! Great video as always. I live in third floor condo. After I got my general and bought my 7300, I gave up pretty quickly on grounding because I saw no options on how to do it with my situation. Due to space limitations, I don't really have room for a permanent shack yet. I do mostly POTA, but I'm operating at home, I'll set it up to use it and tear it down when I'm done.

[@HR4NT]

For your situation, you would probably be just fine with a safety ground like the one I showed a picture of towards the end of this video with that copper pipe mounted under my desk. It is more for just a static shock protection, but better than nothing. Unplugging gear during a storm is paramount and will ensure that your gear is always protected 100%. I hope this helps. Thanks for watching and for the comment. 73!

[@calvincollier8]

Great video Scott. I took a grounding and bonding class on the internet. It helped me a lot with how to set up the grounding of my shack.

[@andyfaulkner6653]

Wow, thanks man, I am a brand new ham. Just got my tech this past Saturday. I had all kinds of concerns about grounding before setting up my shack. Between your video and the doc you shared I get it now. Keep up the great work. I am so new I don't know what I don't know.

[@HR4NT]

First CONGRATULATIONS are in order for passing your exam!!! OUTSTANDING!!! As for your current knowledge level, research and ask questions. You are on the right track to becoming a fantastic radio operator! Again, congrats!!!! Thanks for the comment and for watching. 73!

[@joelhuntress6736]

Scott great to see you back making videos!!! My opinion and what I’ve done, I have an RF ground which has lowered my noise floor considerably. I originally ran the ground 35’ to the electrical panel ground rod which made my noise floor so high the radio was un-usable. I drove an isolated ground rod which solved that. My equipment is grounded through the mfg ground through the power cord of my power supply. I too disconnect coax and power when I’m not using the radio during the times of the year the we get lightning in NH. Best of luck with your recovery and don’t worry about what others say about your choices. 73!

[@HR4NT]

Hi Joel! Thank you very much for sharing that info! I really appreciate it. I think that we all need to do what is best for our needs and situation. By using common sense, we can hopefully avoid any major pitfalls and at the same time learn more about our equipment and enjoy ham radio. Disconnecting everything seems to make the most sense. Thank you for the comment and for watching. 73!

[@K5TAI]

Wow! It is so refreshing to watch people on YT who can say what they really think, and not worry about what might be considered the gospel according to whoever. :-) You have saved me $$$. I'm going to download and read the pdf (thank you) and share all this with my son who is also a HAM. Great work! One quick question - would it make sense to plug everything into that surge protector / multiple outlet device so you could just pull one plug?

[@HR4NT]

I am my own person. I am always glad to hear others opinions, but I will always formulate my own and report that on the channel. I am glad you like my style. Grounding being a touchy subject it is easy to get caught up in the minutia of it all, but I think my solution here is valid and sound. Thanks for the comment and for watching. 73!!!!

[@jwssngr]

Scott great video man. I understand what you're saying. Love your passion for ham radio in your videos. I will keep watching

[@HR4NT]

Awesome! Thank you! I try to do my best to bring you great info and accurate info at that. Thanks for watching and for the comment. 73!

[@patrickkelly7258]

You're a life saver!. I'm coming back to scanner-bank monitoring after a 23 year hiatus. Got my analog scanners; got my antennas assembled; got my (your) window pass materials; got antenna masts (wall mount brackets coming); got highest quality low loss coax and connectors at Ham Radio Outlet nearby. I'm external picking up where I left off mounting 2 UHF band antennas (to start) just like 23 years ago, ready for external mounting when EVERYTHING COMES TO A SCREECHING HALT OVER ...grounding. The house is circa 1952; my radio antennas appear to require nothing more than previous split-bolt/grounding clamp connections (telephone, old cable TV, two (2) old satellite dishes) to the electric panel ground wire going to the supply water pipe just like back in the 90's. In the 90's I didn't ground my coax...wasn't recommended by instructions then. Got the AARL book and everyone telling me I gotta do this copper treatise "cause the book says so". IMHO residential ground rod this-n-that came about as new housing migrated from metal supply pipe to plastic/PVC...so a replacement Earth connection was required...the ground rod. Same boat as you...shack coax grounding would require a wire around the house doorways, under sidewalks, (OH NO!!!) can't go through the UN-finished basement despite satellite and everyone else of the utilities doing just the same. You saved me HUGE heartache so I can easily and finally get back to scanner radio in the few years I have left.

[@HR4NT]

Hey I am glad to hear it and glad that I was able to shine a bit of common sense light on a topic that enrages a lot of hams...applying the K.I.S.S. method sometimes is just the best way to operate AND this technique will 100% ensure that your gear is protected at ALL times. I was running myself ragged trying to figure out how to ground and follow the "rules". Turns out that this is a lot simpler and resolves most of my issues. Thanks for watching and for the comment. 73!

[@brianspilsbury8953]

You make some good, common sense points. My station is DC powered from a 400 ah, solar charged battery. The only ground I use is an RF ground at the lightning arrestors on the 4 coax leads coming into the house. In 10 years, I have never had as much as a static shock.

[@HR4NT]

Sounds to me like you nailed it and it is working out perfectly for you! Simple is sometimes the best. Thanks for watching and for the comment. 73!!

[@Brauma54]

My grounding setup: inside the shack, all devices are tied together and run to a common inside-the-house ground (this is mainly for rf noise). Outside is where my setup may differ. I have all my coax feed lines coming from antennas going to two sets of barrel connectors, mounted on two separate panels- hard to explain. One set of barrel connectors connect to my rig inside. The other is tied to a separate ground rod near this panels. When I want to play Ham I go outside and move the antenna feed line from the grounded barrel connector over to the appropriate connector tied to my rig (they’re labeled “wire”, “vertical”, and “2M”). It’s a little bit of a pain but I sleep well at night. If lightning strikes one of my antennas it’s got a path straight to a separate grounding rod -not the one at my panel. If lightning hits your antenna it’s got a path straight to that aluminum panel mounted on your window!

[@HR4NT]

Good point, but I designed this pass through based on designs that are sole commercially. If a really bad storm is coming I unplug and capo everything with no connections to my house. Thanks for watching and for the comment. 73!

[@chrisswanson6135]

I greatly appreciate this discussion because the grounding issue has held up completion of my radio installation, worrying about doing grounding the correct way and so on.

[@HR4NT]

I would again recommend doing what is best for you and your situation, but don't let it drive you nuts. Ham radio is about playing radio not fussing with ground wires and other stuff...LOL Thanks for watching and for the comment. 73!

[@kf7bws]

Sorry it is not only about storms. In my old shack I was getting RF Burns from my equipment By grounding my shack I eliminated the RF burns. When I built my new shack I followed in detail ARRLS Grounding and Bonding book. As a Computer Network Engineer I know that ground looping can cause serious problems. So I also set up insulated and isolated ground in my electrical wiring. I have zero problems with electrical and grounding and RF in the shack. I am not saying anyone must do what I did however its like they say better safe than sorry. Many insurance companies will not pay out for destroyed equipment if the electrical "rules" are not followed. Do what you must to get on the air and have fun, then improve as you go. Don't worry about grounding or anything but have a goal in mind and progress toward it.

[@HR4NT]

Thanks for sharing. Each person must assess the needs based on their situation. RFI burn wasn't an issue for me but storms certainly were. Thanks for the comment and for watching. 73!

[@Littrell1966]

I completely agree! Lots of us have tv's with an external antenna and I don't have any special grounding and somehow it all works just fine. I do my setup just like yours!!

[@HR4NT]

Exactly! I think it is the best bet. Thanks for watching and for the comment. 73!

[@3henry214]

Glad to see you back Scott, you look and sound a lot better from you last video! Great article, thanks for posting the link.

[@HR4NT]

Hey I am glad you enjoyed it. I hope it helps or at least sparks curiosity to look into it a bit. Either way we have to use common sense and make the best decision for our needs. As for me, I am doing better each day and still recovering. Still a long road ahead, but at least I am mobile now rather than being stuck in a recliner all day long. I am way too productive to just sit around and rot...LOL Thank you for the comment and for watching. 73!

[@randalld92]

Thanks for the content Scott, I’m a new subscriber. Definitely appreciate the rant and this video covers a lot of questions I had about grounding. 73 for now

[@HR4NT]

Thanks for the sub! I am glad you found value in the video. Hope you will explore some of my other vids as well. I have a lot of good content here for you! Thanks for watching and for the comment. 73!

[@ehayes5217]

LOL, I've been in the hobby for decades, but guess what, I'm s-t-i-l-l a "non-techie" in many ways (& this subject is one of them)! My shack is on a 2nd floor, somewhat inaccessible for easy grounding, so I've never done anything there; of course, I've grounded the obvious (telescopic masts outside to ground rods, etc), but I'm not losing sleep over any of this for one reason: when storms are approaching, I unplug everything, I mean EVERYTHING, like coax, power cords from wall outlets, etc; otherwise, I have fun & get on the air! Great channel, glad I found it & 73 de WA4ELW in TN 🇺🇸 dit dit 😃

[@HR4NT]

I think that is the best solution to what is made out to be a complicated problem! Thanks for the comment and for watching. 73!

[@Ploggy.]

Great video as always thanks for posting 👍

[@HR4NT]

No problem 👍 Thanks for the comment and for watching. 73!!

[@johnsantiago8220]

I recently acquired my first HF Rig (IC-7300) and have delved deep into this subject. This video has been quite helpful to me. Thank you!

[@HR4NT]

Glad it was helpful! The 7300 is a fantastic radio! Thanks for the comment and for watching. 73!

[@jockmazza]

My ols US navy pal has a 7300 and the online reviews seem great. Would u buy a yaesu?

[@Andy2e0ree]

Looking great brother nice to see you back

[@HR4NT]

Much appreciated. Thank you very much. Glad to be back! Thank you for the comment and for watching. 73!

[@richardwatsonjr.5067]

Great to see you back Scott!! Thank you for sharing the grounding light! BTW, I bought some ABR coax because of you. Great cable and it's lighting proof!😂😂😂

[@HR4NT]

Thank you so much! Glad you liked the video and hope it is helpful. I LOVE that ABR coax. I just spoke with Sherry yesterday to check up on her over there. They really are a good company with great customer service. Thanks for watching and for the comment. 73!

[@daviddelaney363]

This is a great video. Really interesting. I am in process of setting up my first radio and the grounding issue is the number one issue on my mind right now. I want to fully understand the issue before I setup the radio/antenna and such. So it's a show stopper till I understand it. But that's a good thing because I get to learn something new.

[@HR4NT]

Glad it was helpful! We tend to run down rabbit holes and drive ourselves nuts about grounding instead of just having fun with radio which is the idea behind going through all the stuff to get licensed and so on. If you can keep your grounding basic and effective, that's it! I hope you find a solution soon. Thanks for watching and for the comment. 73!

[@brandonlaragirl]

This is absolutely the best video I've ever watched concerning grounds. I do the same exact thing as you if I'm out of town or if it's a bad storm coming I just pull my coax out of the wall where it enters the room. I run off of batteries so I don't have to worry about the radios. You said it best yourself if you get a lightning strike close or direct Hit it's not going to matter anyway. Awesome video brother 73s

[@HR4NT]

Glad you enjoyed it and that it was helpful. I try to be practical in my thinking. Thanks for watching and for the comment. 73!

[@roadrunner156]

Hello, I just discovered your channel and website! This is funny. When I built my small shack I did not really care about grounding. My reasoning was not based on science but just common sense and I thought to be wrong, but you and that article finally convinced me that I don't really need to try putting an 8ft rod into clay soil (in the summer I think it's harder than concrete). I too, disconnect everything in case of a storm and I would do it with grounding or not. Thank you man, you made my day (I just regretted reading tons of articles about grounding a Ham shack).

[@HR4NT]

I am glad to have you on the channel! I am also glad you found the video helpful and validating. I think that we overthink the whole grounding thing. There are situations where that would be important to ground, but if you have a basic ham shack at home and don't mind unplugging to protect your expensive hobby investments, I think it is just fine. Thanks for watching and for the comment. 73!

[@roadrunner156]

@@HR4NT i found your videos very helpful and i thank you for that.

[@robertengel8342]

Glad to have you back!

[@HR4NT]

Glad to be back! Hopefully I can get some good vids up and provide some great information. Thank you for the comment and for watching. 73!

[@RobertMacCready]

Good stuff. I live in Florida, the lightening capital of the US. I unplug everything and then, when I want to use the ham station, I plug it in. But I always leave it unplugged when it's not in use.

[@HR4NT]

THAT is the best policy! I do the same and it works 110% of the time!!! Thanks for watching and for the comment. 73!!

[@GoonyMclinux]

I usually just slap an 8 foot groundrod every 16 feet until I get to the main ground. If I can't do that I just pop one outside the window and hook all my gear to that. Most hams aren't running 1500 watts from a 100 foot tower so things just aren't as critical as a million dollar commercial radio station. I just unhook everything in storms and don't sweat it at all.

[@HR4NT]

That was kinda my thought. This technique has worked very well so far with zero chance of trashing my gear. Thanks for watching and for the comment. 73!

[@GoonyMclinux]

@@HR4NT My main concern is will the circuit breaker trip during a fault so I test it and if it works then we all set. Overcomplicating doesn't mean its right. 👍

[@franciscolopez3229]

Very well said and yes, I too unplug everything. I've also learned that if all your gear is grounded and if lightning strikes near by, that electrical power from that strike may or can just travel in the ground " soil " and to your ground rod of your shack and back in to your equiptment even if all your coax is unplugged. Thank you and all the best sir.

[@HR4NT]

Exactly! Better to be safe than have a massive bill to replace gear! Thanks for the comment and for watching. 73!

[@mattmccavitt7568]

Hey Scott! Great to see you back. Excellent topic because I just happened to buy my first HF rig, a FT 710, and exploring how I'm going to set it up in my basement. I tend to overthink things, too. 73 brother. KD9WRP

[@HR4NT]

I think the K.I.S.S. method applies here. My technique works and as long as you are diligent in remembering to unplug you should have no problems and no stress about grounding. Congrats on the new 710!! Let me know if I can help and be sure to check out my website for a ton of great references. Thanks for watching and for the comment. 73!

[@BryanTorok]

The type of grounding lightning protection we as hams are likely to do may help with a nearby, but not direct, lightning strike. On the other hand, commercial radio stations and tower systems use a level of protection such that they get struck several times per year and it does not blow them off the air. Mostly, we do grounding to protect from RF in the shack and so that our antennas that require it work properly. In that case, we want the wire to the ground to be as short as possible. Then, you could run a wire to connect all of your grounds together.

[@HR4NT]

I get that and I figured that just disconnecting the gear from everything while it is not in use for a period of time seemed to make sense to me for maximum protection. Nothing will save you form a direct lightning strike unless you are completely disconnected from everything. The topic of grounding in the ham community seems to be a hot one and often causes arguments. This solution is simple and works 100% of the time. Thanks for the comment and for watching. 73!

[@BryanTorok]

@@HR4NT I liked your video a lot. You have a very practical and pragmatic approach to grounding. Tim Duffy, K3LR, CEO of DX Engineering, gave a talk to my local ham radio club on the subject of grounding. I was struck by the fact that if I followed all of the recommendations I would spend more money on the grounding than all of the radio equipment and antennas put together. Of course, DX Engineering sells all of that stuff in their prices are not cheap.

[@Subgunman]

I have worked on many radio sites and have seen all of the professional grounding procedures used and still it’s not all foolproof. I moved to the EU about 17 years ago and the area we live in is mainly rock with little soil. The most efficient device is the Static Dissipator otherwise known as Hedgehogs here. A stainless steel ball covered with stainless 0.1” diameter like antenna rods with sharp point ground on the free ends. They are designed to discharge static buildup before a strike can occur. There were also advertised in the Tessco supply catalog for communications equipment. Over here the electric company wants the ground system at the meter. The requirements are three eight foot ground rods spaced 2 meters apart and in a delta configuration. This worked out well for us since two of the rods are located in flower beds that are constantly watered. The phone line was another issue, I was hit with a surge which destroyed some telephone equipment connected to that line. The phone company told me that grounding takes place at the poles outside, NOT! Luckily I had an AT&T short 66 block with built in "heat coils" which were the newer solid state variety instead of the carbon block of old, never had any line issues after that. Got a lot of funny reactions and questions from techs who had to come out for other issues with ADSL and phone issues. As for grounding the hedgehogs I need to install a halo ground around the whole house because of the rocky terrain. Quite expensive but worth it. A word of caution to those who have installed a halo system around their home is to avoid walking anywhere near the halo during a storm. It can energize the ground at high levels if lightning should happen to strike the system.

[@HR4NT]

Thank yo so much for sharing that! I really appreciate it! Thanks for watching and for the comment. 73!

[@LEEBO-56]

thanks for sharing, man. Keep up the great videos, man. Be safe, EVERYONE . ( DESPERADO 56 north of Tampa FL. ) 73's

[@HR4NT]

Glad you enjoyed the video! Thanks for watching and for the comment. 73!

[@mattxoverbey]

I was hoping you were going to do an update on your shack grounding. That’s what my conclusion came down to especially how I utilize my gear. The only radio that stays in my shack is my 2730 and that’s the only thing keeping have since I’m mostly driving. When I’m not home, it gets unplugged. When I’m home I plug it in and talk. Glad to see a new video from you Scott. Continue to get well. 73!

[@HR4NT]

Thank you very much. I had requests over the past year about this topic and I had to find a way to approach it without being redundant. I think this definitely is something to think about. Unplugging your gear is THE best option for reasons I touched on in the video. Thank you for the comment and for watching. 73!

[@nickspreparedness1996]

A friend of mine spoke with the manufacturer of his radios and they also said to disconnect the earth ground during storms since he is almost positive that his shack had lightning damage from the ground connection since his antennas snd power were disconnected. He uses a very strong alligator clip now to bond his grounding bus to the pass through plate ground lug on his window and disconnects it when he leaves the shack along with power and antennas

[@HR4NT]

I think that is a good idea. Better to be safe than standing in line with a credit card to buy your gear all over again!!!! Thanks for the comment and for watching. 73!

[@DavidMitchell79]

Right. A direct lightning strike is "Game over, Dude!" I would worry more about ESD from charges building on my antennas, and maybe "hums" from differences in potential between chassis's of my equipment. Disconnecting for impending thunderstorms is best practice. Spend the money on a high quality surge protector for your station desk to protect against the crap coming in on the utility feeds through tge power supply. Everything these days runs off of 12VDC. Buy a quality power supply with the 12VDC isolated from the chassis ground and the AC transformer. If you're running a tube set "boat anchor" with no chassis ground to the utility and a 200 foot tower in Florida, then by all means, drive 50 ground rods and the cobweb of #6AWG needed for that.😊

[@HR4NT]

I agree with that 100%! I appreciate you sharing that insight! Thanks for watching and for the comment. 73!

[@etherealrose2139]

Grounding, in this case, is more about RF interference. If it's a 3 pronged plug, any internal shorts should go back through the panel as far as personal safety goes. What you should be doing is bonding, which is different. You're making sure the potential is brought to the same level from antenna to equipment and any excess charges can bleed out to earth. It's not for safety and it's certainly not to protect your equipment. Lightning can force electricity through many paths that otherwise don't exist and the safest most sure way... you already practice and figured out is simply to unplug the equipment. Back to the topic of your current ground... you can use a ground bar/distribution block/terminal blocks you get the idea. Much better connections. If you must use that copper pipe... take a hammer to it and hammer the sucker flat. Then drill holes and use proper lugs or nuts/bolts at least. You want clean strong connections and you don't want ground loops. I'd ditch the pipe and get a distribution block personally but up to you. Again, this is all to clean up signal. I wouldn't cut the ground wire going outside, just put a sleeve through your pass through and caulk it. Whatever that screw is will have different electrical properties and cause galvanic corrosion most likely. Cheers.

[@HR4NT]

Thanks for sharing those tips. That is something i plan on doing in the future. For now, this seems to work, but I like your idea a lot. Thanks for watching and for the comment. 73!!

[@Emanemoston]

Thanks for the video.

[@HR4NT]

You are welcome! Thanks for watching and for the comment. 73!

[@Thomas-ZET]

Great video and spot on

[@HR4NT]

I hope it helped! Thanks for the comment and for watching. 73!

[@nickbowes2627]

Hi from the UK, i am into CB and monitor HAM and AT LAST your talking sense, well done.

[@HR4NT]

Glad to hear it! I hope you enjoy my other videos as well! Thanks for the comment and for watching. 73!

[@BigPaws8185]

Great to see you back in front of the camera, Brother!

[@HR4NT]

Hey, thanks! I am trying to get back to normal again...LOL Thanks for watching and for the comment. 73!

[@SmokeSignalsRF]

Excellent video

[@HR4NT]

Thank you very much! I think it makes perfect sense. Thanks for watching and for the comment. 73!

[@nealbeach4947]

Like an old guy once told me. "If you give lightning a perfect path it's going to take it" that's why they stopped putting lightning rods on top of barns. Well grounded it still burned the barn down.

[@HR4NT]

Agreed! Thanks for the comment and for watching. 73!

[@jrasche]

This video couldn’t have landed on my phone any sooner. I have been overthinking for two years. I’ve given up several times. All because of the confusion of the topic and various opinions. Most just threw the ARRL book at me, or the NEC book. I don’t comprehend well, visually works better. I thought the same thing , leave it all unplugged and move on. I already unplug several items in my house due to slight ocd fear of shit burning down. Lol.

[@HR4NT]

I kinda did the same thing for a long time. This seemed to make the most sense without driving myself nuts trying to overthink hoe to ground my station. Glad the video helped you out! Thanks for watching and for the comment. 73!

[@kevinmatthews2620]

good points there Scott , my grounding scenario is as follows :-, when i was digging the hole for my tower ,4x4x4 feet deep i made a rubic cube shape of rebar (186 feet total), this was placed over my tower ground socket that is 4 inch square that was banged into the ground 20 inches, the cage was welded to the ground socket plus a additional 3 rebar rods to the cage then the rods are @ 45 degrees into the side of the hole then filled with concrete,thats the tower grounding sorted, in shack i have the long double female bulkhead so239s fixed to a solid copper bar (8 of) this bar has a thick earth cable from there through my wall onto a 4 foot long earth rod into the ground, as for my radio/rotator and antenna control box they have individual earth wires to a single collection box from there to the aforementioned copper bar, for my pc no extra grounding except keyboard /mouse & my mointors leads have ferrites on them, 50k ft8/ft4 qsos later i have no rf interference or problems with any of my 4 mointors :) :), remember the old adage KISS Keep It Silly Simple :) :)

[@HR4NT]

WOW! That sounds like a much more advanced setup than anything I ever conceived of!! Sounds like you planned it out and did your homework. Thank you very much for sharing that info. I really appreciate it. Thank you for the comment and for watching. 73!

[@21inchwide]

Great video for us HAM noobs Scott! You pretty much confimed what I already knew. I've been a scanner enthusiast for 6 years now (more of a listener than a talker) and your safety ground is pretty much what I have except for the 'common' bar. When I first started, I ran a Olex 4mm Single Core Electrical Earth Cable straight from my IC-R75 out my 1st floor window (no pass through plate) and straight down to a grounding rod about 15 feet below. The thing that was common on everything I read up on, is the safety ground should take the SHORTEST PATH possible, Because electricity takes the PATH OF LEAST RESISTANCE! So that's what i did. Never had a problem! With everything haviing a ground terrminal from the antenna, SWR meter, power supply and the radio itself, I'm of the opinion you don't need to ground everything, just one in the chain. And for me that's typically the most expensive bit of equipment. Like you said, if there's a thunderstorm brewing and you're really worried you might be the victim of a one in a million lightning strike, just unplug the power and antenna of your radio and you're gold! (YMMV, thunderstorms aren't common where I live).

[@HR4NT]

I think you nailed it. We overcomplicate the grounding thing to the point of pulling our hair out sometimes. I think simple is best and although it may be a little inconvenient to disconnect every time there is a storm...its better than a $3000 gear replacement bill! Thanks for watching and for the comment. 73!!

[@jpb5385]

This is helpful. I disconnect everything too.

[@HR4NT]

It seems to make sense and so far it works for me without fail 100% of the time. Thanks for watching and for the comment. 73!

[@brentjohnson6654]

Hey there Scott! I have been consumed with real life lately and was away from youtube. I was wondering about you lately and glad to see you are active. As far as grounding/bonding, I am an Electrical Engineer and I have a good friend who is also an Electrical Engineer and a Ham. We don’t agree on the principles. So it is no wonder that everyone is confused. I do agree with you that in a direct lightning strike, you will loose anything plugged in. I do like grounding for the near or almost hits, but that is just me. I do unplug when I see a storm coming and switch my feed lines to ground. Hey - you brought up some memories of my past with mentioning that grounding strap for your wrist. We did see a reduction in failures of semiconductor parts using this, but it is hard to prove. I am not going to loose friends over that. lol. All the best from north Texas. 73 de KI5HXM

[@HR4NT]

Yeah that seems to be a touchy subject and I think the solution I came up with is a solid solution. My gear never has an issue so I think it is a solution for the time being. Thanks for watching and for the comment. 73!

[@ricks4468]

Great topic! I’m a fairly new ham. No electronic background. The grounding problem has troubled me to the point I just run portable at home. Everything comes down and gets stored away when I’m not on the air. At this point, my best antenna is a discontinued Chameleon quad Hamstick antenna that runs 2 pairs of Hamsticks as 2 dipoles. It is clamped to a Home Depot painter’s pole. Seems to work on 10M, not so much on 75M. It only takes a few minutes to deploy or tear down. Situations are different for everyone. I’m lucky the power lines in my neighborhood are underground. QRM is about S3. Northwest Oregon is cloudy 8 months out of the year so solar panels are not on every rooftop. Cheers, KK7HTK

[@HR4NT]

Sounds like you have a system that works well for you. Congrats on that!!! Make ham radio your own. Learn what you can and always be experimenting. Thanks for watching and for the comment. 73!

[@stevehansen6068]

Very well said

[@HR4NT]

Overthinking the grounding issue was the issue...LOL. Thanks for the comment and for watching. 73!

[@brentN4BDW]

WELCOME BACK BUDDY!!! 🤜🤛

[@HR4NT]

Thank you very much. I really appreciate it. Thank you for the comment and for watching. 73!

[@randlecarr3257]

Not just storm protection though… making every piece of electronic equipment in your shack a common ground reduces RF interference and if one thing happens to puke it won’t ruin anything else.

[@HR4NT]

Good point. Thanks for the comment and for watching. 73!!!

[@ipodbuff]

Hi 👋 the entire point of grounding all your radios is because in case you were not home at the time of a thunderstorm, or lightning strike that you have a better chance of it being protected. Which is why your breaker box is grounded to the house where it is grounded for the entire house in case of the lightning strike. The way you have your grounding situation now I totally agree with and which is why you should keep it like that just in case that same exact reason. ☺️☺️😊👌👌👌👌. Keep up the interesting videos. I also agree with what you were saying about having the ground wire, making all of them turns to wear your breaker boxes is not a good idea.

[@HR4NT]

I get it. I just found that for absolute protection, unplugging guarantees no issues. I don't mind unplugging my gear and if I am away from the house I have it unplugged anyways. Thanks for watching and for the comment. 73!

[@ke8mattj]

So, what I'm getting is that apply the KISS principle. Something most hams seem to not apply. I used what I commented on your 2 year video on it: the difference is I used an old bus bar instead of a copper bar (basically a bus bar in itself) so I can just put one wire out. Works fine. Like you mentioned: people tend to overthink and over-engineer everything.

[@HR4NT]

I agree 100%. The technique I chose for my situation seems to have been working for almost three years and I alleviates the stress. Thank you for the comment and for watching. 73!

[@AlvinMcManus]

My grounding scheme is just to suppress RF as much as possible. Likely I'll still have QRM, but I will say I did my best and the chips are falling where they may. Lightening is not a concern where I live and like you I will just unplug the gear if the threat is real. I will read the article. Thanks you and I am not STRESSING!😵‍💫

[@HR4NT]

Awesome! It really is a well-written article and I think it makes sense overall. Thanks for watching and for the comment. 73!

[@AlvinMcManus]

Thanks!

[@HR4NT]

Wow! Thank you so much! I really appreciate that. Glad you liked the video. Thanks for watching and for the comment. 73!

[@ElPasoTubeAmps]

I commented with my experience and opinion on another of your videos but I will add something here you mentioned in this video. I build a lot of homebrew equipment and run 5KV on vacuum tube amplifiers and I absolutely ground all my equipment and cabinets to each other and to electrical ground return for the additional, and very important reason that I do not want a HV short to a chassis or rack, etc. to find a path thru me to where ever it wants to go. I know the current is not looking to personally kill me but, you can never be absolutely sure that some portion of it, in the case of a HV short to the outer metal of equipment, might just find that little random path thru you to, as I said, where ever it wants to go. I do my best to give it some easy place to go rather than thru me... I don't stress about it and am not confused - I take care of it. Physical safety is very much an important part of why I use grounds. Always have, always will. Stay safe and thanks for your videos.

[@HR4NT]

I think your setup for your situation is absolutely the smart thing to do! Keep it simple , but effective and you should never have an issue. Thanks for watching and for the comment. 73!!

[@hkmp5s]

Thank you for this video. Just confirmation I ain't crazy.

[@HR4NT]

You're welcome! I think this technique makes the most sense and maximizes the chances of protecting your gear. Thank you for the comment and for watching. 73!

[@johnbauman4005]

Hi Scott! Great to see you online again. Hope you're feeling much better. Thank you for the link to the PDF, just downloaded it and read it. It seems grounding is like religion with atheists, agnostics and believers adhering to multiple sects including some false prophets. In fact one of the folks in your chat referred to Ward Silver's book as the bible on the topic. I have that and read it more than once. For me it is more confusing than helpful. Various luminaries such as Josh Nass, Dave Casler, Ward Silver, Jim W6LG and others have posted many videos on the topic. Most of these (and the PDF author) cite their years of experience as a ham operator as some kind of argument why what works for them is the way to go, with brief, if any nods to the National Electrical Code. I have a copy of that as well, and it is pretty much impenetrable without prior training and a "concordance" by an expert. One such expert who provides a video concordance to the NEC, imho is K8BYP _ He has numerous older videos about why separately grounding your ham equipment violates the NEC and may in fact put your equipment and shack at increased risk. He cites chapter and verse of the NEC in his older videos and has a more recent video from about a month ago on the same topic. The older videos are very dry, but convincing and support your approach in a logical way without resorting to the "appeal to authority" fallacy of, "My way is correct because I've been a ham for 100 years and done it this way and never had a problem." With all due respect to my elders in ham radio, I'd rather base my grounding, bonding and other possibly critical decisions on the actual science. That being said, where do you disconnect your rig when you expect a storm? At the rig? At the inside side of the passthrough? At the outside side of the passthrough? At the junction of the feedline with the antenna? Everyone agrees a direct antenna/tower strike is not survivable, but what is best protection from induced current by a nearby strike? Thanks, Scott! Preach, Brother! John

[@HR4NT]

Thank you very much John! When I disconnect my gear, I unplug the coax from inside on my passthrough. I then unplug the surge protector that all my gear is plugged into so it is a one plug disconnect. So far this has worked just fine for almost three years now AND we get a lot of lightning storms here. The other night we had a storm here and in the area there were over 600 strikes recorded...yet my gear survived...LOL I made sure to drive the point home that each person, using common sense, need to decide what is best for them. It is definitely not a one-size-fits-all scenario. Thank you for the comment and for watching. 73!

[@theroguetomato5362]

I do the same thing. I unplug when storms are coming. Based on my research, the electrical ground at the outlet is all you need. I have a ground rod and window pass-through anyway, but I don't worry, since I unplug.

[@HR4NT]

I think that is a good policy to adhere to. It has worked for me for over 2 years now and my gear is protected. Thank you for the comment and for watching. 73!

[@Wayne-hv4vj]

fully agree with you

[@HR4NT]

Thanks for the comment and for watching. 73!

[@J0HN3]

Agree that for lighting protection nothing works better than unplugging. I’ve always worried about lightning hitting antenna and coming in through coax. So I unplug it all.

[@HR4NT]

The proof is in the results right? Thanks for watching and for the comment. 73!

[@MrTommy001]

I watched this video after watching your earlier video on grounding. Since I'm not grounded now, I don't think I'm going to run out and get a "grounding rod" to try to correct my bad audio reports. I think maybe some more "RTFM'ing" might be more productive. But as I said in my comment on your other video, I just want to turn on my radio - and talk to the world. But these bad audio reports are bugging me. I've been all over the web looking for suggestions.

[@HR4NT]

My suggestion is to check your house and see if there are immediate issues you can resolve there. Sweep around for noise and RFI. AFTER that, then start scanning around your neighborhood. See if neighbors houses are emitting RFI. In my situation, I have a neighbor with a solar farm on his roof that trashes my ability to use any of my radios at home. I have to go 30 miles to a POTA park to operate. He has not fixed it to this day a year or so later and I have already addressed the issue with him. Palomar Engineering has RFI kits for ham radios that are suppose to be effective and help. Thanks for watching and for the comment. 73!

[@dandypoint]

Good video. I do not use a separate ground rod for my station. Like you I always disconnect coax cables when not operating. I also unplug from the wall. No need for an RF ground. This way the chassis of any equipment is connected to the power system ground through that third grounding wire. If your antenna was an end fed wire where half the antenna was the ground, such as a quarter wave vertical or inverted L or EFHF then there might be a ground connection at the base of the antenna. This could be a problem if not done right. The ground could be elevated radials or buried radials. With buried radials, disconnecting the coax would again solve the two ground rod problem. I am glad to see your good advice. By the way I am an Electrical Engineer for many many years and think I understand this stuff rather well.

[@HR4NT]

Hey there! That is fantastic to hear this coming from an EE!!!! I got so frustrated because I feared that my equipment would not function or get damaged if I DIDN'T ground it to the point of night sweats...LOL I am not an expert on anything electrical, but I think the techniques I have employed are effective enough for my needs. I think everyone needs to make a decision based on their situation. Thank you for the comment and for watching. 73!

[@doc145]

Scott Glad you liked the article. As I mentioned I ground my antennas to prevent static build up. I unplug all my equipment when needed. I don’t have noise floor issues or RF in the shack so I don’t bother grounding my rig. Also my shack is on the 2nd floor of my house so a ground wire has the potential to radiate RF. The ARRL handbook even states that if your ground wire from your rig to the ground rod is too long then you should not ground. 73 Phil

[@markdavis5486]

Where is that stated in the ARRL handbook?

[@HR4NT]

@doc145 The article was very informative! I have heard similar that if a ground wire is too long it could affect performance. I think I should crack open my ARRL handbook and see if I can find more info on that. Thank you for the comment and for watching. 73!

[@HR4NT]

@markdavis5486 I will see if I can find that section where it talks about that. Thank you for the comment and for watching. 73!

[@HisWayHomestead]

I had a close lightning strike that had a static charge come thru a buried Ethernet cable that connected my shack to the house. It fried my WiFi router, fried a monitor port in my docking station, fried a monitor and fried my FT-450D. It won’t power up. Antenna was not connected to the radio. There was no surge that came thru the power. Inline fuses were intact. I think some kind of protection for the static charge would be good, because it jumped from the docking station to my radio. Good info and a lot to think about.

[@HR4NT]

Glad it was helpful. Sorry you had those issues. Thanks for the comment and for watching. 73!

[@CyberCowboy7777]

I ground my antennas with arrestors and masts and tower as well. Because I specifically run my gear during storms for ARES weather nets and the national weather service uses my echolink node for communication to the local repeater. But that's me and my situation. I also accept that in a direct strike that effort is not saving antennas and may not save my radios.

[@HR4NT]

See, I get that. If you are using your radios for a situation like you describe, you take whatever precautions you can, but you know that there could be an incident in which case it could go South. Thank you for sharing. Thank you for the comment and for watching. 73!

[@christopherwynkoop9059]

THANK YOU!!!!!

[@HR4NT]

You are most welcome!!! Thanks for the comment an for watching. 73!!!

[@tikibill1495]

AA4BD, Bill, I came to the very same conclusion as you have, years ago. Good common sense video.

[@HR4NT]

I figure this is the easiest way to solve the issue hands down. Common sense for the win! Thanks for watching and for the comment. 73!

[@markdavis5486]

I have sympathy towards this idea because I've often found myself paralyzed with the idea of putting up an antenna because of all the grounding considerations. And the risks could be large: I've been told that an improperly ground antenna can be a reason for home owner's insurance to reject your claim in the event of a fire. This culminated with my putting up a Starlink dish that I did not ground; a year goes by without issue. (I didn't install a ground btw because Starlink doesn't actually provide a very convenient way to interject a ground connection.) In the end, I've decided to build my own shed where my radio shack will reside, eliminating my concerns about home owner's insurance. That being said, I was surprised to learn that SWL meters were not in common use before the 60s and 50s. So I asked ChatGPT4 about that and this was the response: Before dedicated Standing Wave Ratio (SWR) meters became commercially available, amateurs and radio operators used a variety of methods to ensure optimal transmission and reception. Here are some methods: Trial and Error: One simple and crude method was to adjust the antenna length or positioning and then listen for changes in signal quality. This method, however, lacks precision and repeatability. Field Strength Meters: Field strength meters measure the intensity of the radio waves produced by the antenna. By adjusting the antenna or transmission line characteristics for maximum field strength, radio operators could often achieve good impedance matching, even though this method does not directly measure the SWR. Reflectometers: Before SWR meters, some people might have used devices called reflectometers to measure the reflected power, which can give an indication of impedance mismatch. Directional Wattmeters: A more precise method involves using a directional wattmeter, which measures power going in both directions along a transmission line. With the forward (sent to the antenna) and reflected (coming back from the antenna due to mismatch) powers known, the SWR can be calculated. Use of Oscilloscope: Experienced operators could also use an oscilloscope with a suitable probe to observe the waveform of the current and voltage along the transmission line, though this required a fair amount of knowledge and skill. All these methods require a good understanding of radio theory and often a good deal of patience, as they can be time-consuming and finicky. As a result, the introduction of dedicated SWR meters was a significant step forward in making amateur radio more accessible and easy to use.

[@HR4NT]

Wow that is great info. Thank you. I like your idea about setting up a separate radio shack. Unfortunately that is not an option here at this time unless I can have a good AC unit to keep the temp under 100!! LOL Hoe you enjoyed the video. Thank you for the comment and for watching. 73!

[@GoonyMclinux]

I have had antennas up for decades and never had an issue, a simple throw switch to ground everything and unhook the coax when its nasty out is sufficient.

[@n0vty873]

I tend to agree, I have been hit by lightning on both of my antenna towers within micro seconds of each other. Beyond code Grounding. It came in in the house through the ground! It came in through plastic water lines. It wiped out radios that were disconnected. Coax was disconnected outside. I was so well grounded the lightning over loaded the ground and saturated everything. So much for up to "code" grounding.

[@HR4NT]

WOW! Sorry to hear that. But you have just confirmed that my idea is sound. It's a bit inconvenient, but all we can do is our best to protect our equipment. That only needs to happen once to teach the lesson. Thank you for the comment and for watching. 73!

[@DonzLockz]

If you get a direct hit, you are still screwed as the emf is massive and everything in the vicinity is charged and fried. I downloaded the document but I can't read it as there are no pictures or diagrams. Lol I can wire a house to electrical code but I think there are too many opinions on 'correct' RF code. I think you just do what you find that works for you with your gear, location and environment. So far I don't ground anything as I only have HT's.😂👍

[@WR3ND]

As a techie, this show baffles me. 😏 No worries, just having some fun. Grounding is beneficial in other was though like helping to mitigate interference and unwanted charge buildup and differentials and even beneficial for radio wave propagation. It's not just about being scared of lightning and power surges. And yeah, your grounding bar is likely sufficient for that. 73

[@HR4NT]

Glad you enjoyed the video! Hope you found value in it. Thanks for the comment and for watching. 73!

[@garychanco9263]

I live in the Tampa bay area which has more lightning strikes per square kilometer than anywhere else in the US. I have a dipole on the roof of my assisted living facility. I plan to install a gas discharge tube lightning arrestor and ground rod on my coax before the summer thunderstorm season occurs. And yes, I do disconnect my Icom 7300 from its antenna anytime I am not using it in the summertime. I do have the ARRL insurance for my transceiver which does cover lightning damage. I figure I will be taking enough precautions to not have to worry about future lightning strikes.

[@HR4NT]

All you can do is the best you can with what you have. As long as you are using common sense and have a plan, which it seems you do, then you should be OK. Thanks for watching and for the comment. 73!

[@user-zk2yd6xm8s]

Where I believe many are lost when one starts to use categories for their ground. Yes there are good house electrical ("safety") grounds, good lighting ground and good RF ground but (now listen) there is only one ground. What If one tries to maintain two separate grounds? It's not like you can your not going to dig a trench and pour molten glass to isolate your 2 ground system. If you do then you will end up with some unknown stray resistance and path between the two. This path will likely have a high impedance or a strange path through through

[@HR4NT]

That sounds right. I think my solution is a good one. Thanks for watching and for the comment! 73!!

[@jeepdog]

Most lightning damage comes in threw the ground

[@HR4NT]

Agreed. Radios are too expensive to take chances! Thank you for the comment and for watching. 73!

[@kc5vgw]

It come thru an improper grounding system

[@LtMuraida]

I’m going to ground mainly for RF noise considerations. I run off of battery, but grounds are important for noise

[@HR4NT]

They can be. I would test your noise levels with and without and see if it is actually making a difference. Thanks for the comment and for watching. 73!

[@lomgshorts3]

The shortest path from your operating desk to a ground rod is the best. I would suggest using #10 AWG at a minimum, if not 1" tinned braid ground strapping. I also recommend a tapped buss bar at the desk so you can use screws to ground equipment with coax braid. A 4' long ground rod is the smallest I would use, 8' preferred. I understand you may not have the $ to spend on grounds at first, but over the years you can add to your ground system at a small cost. A good ground can only add to your Ham pleasure by eliminating static and RF interference.

[@HR4NT]

If you saw my first grounding video, I did almost exactly that This was an update to that video because I got frustrated with the entire grounding of my shack. I appreciate the info though! Thanks for watching and for the comment. 73

[@chadlpnemt]

My ground set up is quite similar to yours. The only reason I ground is because when I use digital modes on HF, when the radio transmits it freezes the program I'm using to transmit and the computer screen gets lines across it. Grounding fixed that problem. I also didn't have my TS 2000 grounded and I transmitted with the stock mic with the metal mic clip on it and it burned me slightly...The ground fixed that. I don't ground for lightning protection, I agree with you there. But I have seen the need for at least a basic station grounding because it has prevented me from using a computer with it. If there's a different fix for that I'm all ears!

[@HR4NT]

I agree and think that is sufficient. We have to use common sense. We can protect out gear from a lot of stuff, but a direct strike is gamer over. Thanks for the comment and for watching. 73!

[@SocialistDistancing]

I had a lightning strike take out two antennas, radio, and other components. It also took out other equipment, including the phone line that traveled 6 blocks away. It also melted solder in the plumbing and had some flooding. The house ground line is directly connected to the plumbing. It doesn't go back to pole. No ground goes back to the power source. Electrical codes very from state to state, province to province, country to country. Some will tell you that a grounding rod needs to be 8 feet long and an X amount of distance away. Another says it's a 4ft long rod. Any amount of grounding you do is better than nothing. What you have done is a lot more than some. I had a 50' tower with 20' of antennas above that. I had it grounded to a 4' rod. In 20 years, with some of the most intense electrical storms, it was struck a total of zero times. So seriously, don't overthink it. The radio chasis should be grounded through the electrical plug, but check that to make sure, especially in older houses. Anything you add after that ( static/lightning arrester, copper grounding plates, 4ft grounding rods) are all a bonus, but not necessary. Good video.

[@HR4NT]

Thank you so much for sharing that info. That explained quite a bit and confirms that my method was sound, not perfect, but sound...LOL Thanks for the comment and for watching. 73!