[Antennas] Grounding needs

Mon Apr 21 10:28:34 EDT 2008

Howard,
Is the antenna served by the coupler also indoors? If the antenna is
indoors then you have more options as to how the coupler is grounded.
Certainly 1/4 copper tuning provides vastly greater surface area than #12
wire and would probably act as a better counterpoise/ground for the coupler.
However if the antenna is external to the home then NEC and NFPA regulations
and standards can require insulated grounding or bonding jumpers for
interior routing, and the proximity of such RF cabling to existing AC and
any interior wiring is regulated. Interior separation requirements could be
as much as 30" or 36", I can't recall. This could be researched in either
NEC art.250 and/or 800 series, and NFPA 780. A licensed electrician should
be consulted for compliance with the NEC.
73,
jack
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Howard W3CQH
>> I live in a 1 story home with a accessible attic.
>> I have an Icom AH-4 tuner mounted in the attic, and need to run a real
> ground to the 8' ground rod we just pounded in.
>> My question is - should the ground wire coming from the AH-4 be of a wire
> gauge of #12, or should I consider running 1/4" copper tubing? The total
> length of the run is approximately 30'
>> 73's