This video is a gas & your collection of videos is wicked pissah! This has me flashing back to putting a half-wave up in a pine tree. Way up. 1978 was not quite ready for how well I did with a "2-watt" Radio Shack walkie & some RG8 But on-topic, my dad reminded me about the need for a ground. That led to mom saying: "use two". So one fine day I got a pair of 30" inch post holes dug, then pounded two old tractor steering rods down deep (from the scrap heap) until they were just accessible. One went under my window & to the ground plate we put offset to the brickwork, for TV, FM, and now my CB antenna projects. The other went right at the base of the tree. Getting back into it! Your vids are excellent for home brew motivation
Good advice and a job well done. Everything I run is grounded either by an antenna pole to the ground or a good size wire and 8ft rods about 30 ft apart. Also during dry summers etc. I will dump a bucket of water on the grounds. Same deal as my electric fence for the horses etc. tries to keep the ground located under the eves of the house or barns as to use the rainwater etc. Great job John. Thanks for sharing. NY202 Drew
I pour salt water around mine, works great. I learned this from my Grandpa, would send me to do it in summer. They had an old Zenith Transocean receiver. 😊
Definitely a good practice to ground your station. I've used several of those ground rods from Lowes and had good results. I have 3 outside bonded together with grounding strap going back inside to a buss bar as my main station ground.
Did you also tie it together to your main house ground rod? They say that is the way you are supposed to do it but my antenna ground rod is probably 25 feet or more from the house ground.
@@timtaylor8557 who is they and why on earth would you want to lighting protection for antenna and toss that lighting up into the house’s service panel???
@@oldrango883 Local electrical code, bonding to house ground prevents differences with ground rod and service lines potential saving your equipment. This may also prevent the AC in your home acting as an antenna given your station and power supply probably not being grounded either. The mast needs to be grounded to prevent static build up outside of lightning arresters that is also grounding the copper feed line. You don't want your antenna to be more attractive to a direct hit. The main reason for the rod is to discharge static or EMP's from nearby by strikes...not a direct hit.
I used 4 sections of 36 ft sections of galvanized electric fence wire in a fan shape off the bottom of the mast. Used a lawn edger to make a 1 inch trench in the sod...40 min install and listened to the fellow local operaters say" why can he hear you and not me?"...doesn't do anything for local but dx was great.
@Jeremy Nottingham you are just as likely to get struck via the ground as you are from the sky...before installing the ground radials I had a near strike that took the jacket off a number of wires attached to earth ground. An electric fencer on the property 300ft away was burnt to a crisp. None of the items got a direct hit...all charge came thru ground rods. As for the radials, they worked for me because my buddies said my rig had crazy "ears".
@Jeremy Nottingham sounds like we're all doing about the same. One thing I have to remind myself is that I talked from Canada to Australia with 12 watts...to a mobile van running 12 watts...when conditions are good, we all look genius...cheers.
I have an all-steel wedge/splitting maul, with a "Hollow 3 ft handle", What a dream! Slide the handle over the rod. Just like churning butter. 😁 No misses, no glancing blows, straight down, no muss no fuss. Once the handle becomes a burden subsurface, I remove it and finish with the maul surface.
Hey John. I heard you on 385 lsb about a hour and a half ago . ! But couldn't get back to you unfortunately as conditions just were not right I guess. But it's a good sign of things to come. 👍😉. Take care and keep safe. 73s. Wr456 UK. With all the excitement of hearing you again I forgot to say great video by the way ! 👍🤣. It was working over here anyway .
Thanks, it was tough today. so many people on the radio, it was hard to make contact with anyone. But I did make a couple of contacts on Your side of the pond. Take care Wr456, I hope to hear you soon. 73's from 151 SC.
Those ground rods are a bit of a pain but my 8ft rod went in fairly easy due to a tip from another youtuber. You pour water into the hole and move the rod up and down by hand while adding water now and then. I was able to get over half the rod into the ground this way before I had to hit with a 5 lb hammer the last bit.
The idea is for the ground rod to have a "solid" contact with the dirt. By using the "hose" trick you are creating a space by washing the dirt out from around the ground rod to make it easier to go in, therefore, minimizing the effect of your ground rod unless you go out there and water it on a regular basis.
Great video. What you're adding is a safety ground;, so that static or lighting strikes have a planned path to ground The ground for rf is your radials. It is a good idea to check your local electrical code for antenna grounding requirements. 73
Besides grounding your station be sure your home electrical system is well grounded at the meter! Had alot of noise on HF and discovered mine was NEVER grounded! Previous owner had simply run copper wire into meter box and left it!
I am about to put up a new base antenna. I am putting it on 25 feet of of fence top rail as a mast mounted to the side of my building. Do I need to run ground wire from the base of the antenna run down to the ground rod or can I run ground wire from the base of the mast pole, which will be sitting on the ground, over to my ground rod?
I used a cars heater core drove the rod through it into ground dug hole first around 4 ft stuck heater core in hole drove rod through the core so the core would hold moisture when it rained you talking about heck of a ground
I have 25 feet of 1" black iron pipe holding my Super Magnum up. The two chimney straps don't hold the weight of the pipe and antenna, they allow it to move and the pipe is in direct contact with the ground.
@@MowerJunkie , every time it rains, the pipe sinks into the ground a little. It's about four inches now. When the earth is dry a Fluke 289 connected between my electrical service ground and my coax reads around 90 ohms, insignificant to lightning. But if you can drive a ground rod, by all means, do so. Hams who use vertical antennas spend lots of time and money on grounding because it's half of the antenna.
Im mounted to a 12 foot long fence pole about 1 foot deep in the earth on the side of my deck. After watching this i might add some wire to it but why when im in the ground 🤔 already? Do i need more?
I saw a video quite a while ago , this guy was saying to bury copper wires at a length i dont remember in a circle evenly spaced in a 360° directly under his 5/8 wave antenna . He told all the grounds under the antenna really improved the performance . What are your thoughts on it ? It kinda made sence ...
What I read is that six foot is more than sufficient ground for radio transmission, eight foot is just code for grounding for a whole house. My self when lightning is in the forecast I disconnect my coax and place it in a heavy glass container as an insulator.
it was part of a procom ground plane kit. I did have to drill the center hole bigger, in order for it to fit on My Tram antenna. Thanks for watching, 73's from 151 SC.
MJ, So where do you actually bring the coax in through the wall and into your radio shack? Is it there at or near the ground? Hard to tell where your wall pass-through is located. do you use the eave vent to pass the coax through the wall? And are you using an arrestor like a PolyPhaser, ICE, or Morgan Systems? Thanks! BTW, 390 Wagonmaster sent me! - Brad...UDX-59Z (a.k.a., SSB-59Z, CRC408, and AE1793)
Should the antenna be grounded separately from the mast pole? Two different grounds? I’m new to radios and need to build something similar. Thanks for the video
Just ground the mast to your ground rod...should help lower static noise on radio and in case of lighting strike would assist the path of least resistance to your ground rod improving safety
Hey brother MJ!! Greetings from Montreal, Canada!! I was curious as to which antenna that is because I would love to see a video on it, ie: the building of it, the testing, etc. I can't tell you how much I enjoy watching your videos and learning from them. You are EXTREMELY appreciated, my brother!! Thanks in advance for your response, if you would so honor me with one!! Also: please extend greetings, respect & salutations to Mrs Mower Junkie!! Take care, be well, healthy & happy!! Your Canadian CB Bro, Norman in Montreal, Canada!! 🇨🇦!!
Good morning Norman, The antenna is a Tram 1498, with a homemade ground plane. I've made a few videos of it, it's a great performer, at a good price. Thanks for watching, 73's from 151 SC.
@@MowerJunkie : Thank you for answering my question!! Yes, I have seen the video(s), I just wasn't sure as to which antenna was in this video. As soon as all the snow melts I would like to try my hand at making a dipole. Lucky for me that you leave an absolute wealth of knowledge for all of us to learn from. THANK YOU!! I can't wait for your next video!! One day we WILL dx and I'll be using a Mower Junkie inspired home built antenna!!!! I can't wait, brother!! Take care my friend and thanks again. Of course, greetings go to your partner in crime: Mrs Mower Junkie!! Until next time, be well & happy!! Your Canadian cb bro, Norman in Montreal.
Mower junkie got a question . I'm getting ready to install my starduster antenna and using a free floating mass PVC. You have any suggestions on where I can attach a ground wire to the antenna so I can ground it ....open for suggestions...
If My memory is correct, I think the starduster fits over the mast and is secured with a set screw. I would attach a ground wire to that set screw, and run it down to a ground rod.
I've heard that you can use two 4ft ground rods coupled together instead of one 8ft rod. Would that work? I live in an area with A LOT of rocks. I might be able to drive two 4 footers but, seriously doubt an entire 8ft rod would make it. My power pole has two rods, not sure if they are both 8ft. I didn't see them install them.
Speaking of being grounded...... I got a new mic yesterday. The Astatic 636L chrome (with the metal cable) and when I keyed up, the cable was touching my palm and shocked me. I also detected a faint electrical burn smell. It's a 4 pin so I was using the little 4 pin to 6 pin adapter cable to use on the McKinley. I also had the amp on. Do you think it was too much power from the amp that caused the shock? Or maybe a combination of the amp and the extension pin adapter?
It's not just a CB thing...Kenwood MC-60 did the same thing. Especially when guys used 500w and above...lots of info on forums on how to get it under control...barefoot = no issues
@@tf7274 I have a 300 watt RM Italy KL-503. It must be the amp because there was no shock when the amp was off. (I know, I should have tested that before posting about it). Another weird thing though. I have a scanner on the other side of the room so I scanned CB band to check the audio with the 636 and every few seconds the audio cut out. Then I used the stock President mic on the McKinley and it did the same thing. I set up another radio (a 1981? McKinley I got off eBay for $82) that came with an old Realistic power mic and it worked fine. So I'm wondering if my newer McKinley is having issues.
@@JoeR203 if your scanner is on discovery mode it will cut out like that. Your radio and power supply voltage should fluctuate if there is actual output drops. I ran a TS 500V with no issues on a hand mic. Once a got a desk mic I experienced a rf shock. Double check your swr, all your coax and if need be, drop your output on everything to 50%.
I'm new to all this and I got the Tram 1411 antenna. I put it up using a top post for chain link. It fit just right as someone said in a video. Anyway I thought I need to ground this and did so. I have a listen radio and a SDR for my PC. When I put the ground wire on the mask for ground and came back in and plugged in the SDR I could feel a little shock. I just don't know what it is. I tried a water pipe and the same thing. All this is temp for now but does anyone have an idea why it would shock me when I have my hands in the SDR and the ground hooked up?? I take it off and it doesn't shock me.
I have an all-steel wedge/splitting maul, with a "Hollow 3 ft handle", What a dream! Slide the handle over the rod. Just like churning butter. 😁 No misses, no glancing blows, straight down, no muss no fuss. Once the handle becomes a burden subsurface, I remove it and finish with the maul surface. MJ, I think I missed this one or forgot to like, rectified. 73/88 DX21
Good job, does grounding your antenna have any thing to do with getting your antenna to match up. I'm having trouble getting my ground plane to match up. Any thoughts?
@@bobudovich5613 1/4 wave ground planes (9 feet long) have no matching network (except the one from RS that had a hairpin). 5/8 antennas (19' 10" tall with three radials and a plastic base insulator) have a printed circuit matching network inside the black plastic base that can be bad. Take an ohmmeter and measure the resistance between the center of the antenna coax connector and the antenna radiator. It should be very close to zero.
Yup, I did both of my ground rods this way, and now I have a hammer drill, and a 10 pound hammer.......I should have waited a few more months to tackle this project.
When installing that rod use some water, it helps huge, you won’t have to hammer so much. Start the install dump water in hole and just using your hands force the rod in.
It all depends upon what kind of earth you have. A lot of the South is either sand or clay. Midwest is loamy. Pennsylvania and West Virginia is mostly mine tailings from 200 years ago. Tough to drive a ground rod through rocks.
i heard you on Sunday in Alberta briefly i finally got a station up and running but its so busy on the channels. you ever try the zeros or upper channels? there's actually some breathing room there haha
Great video! I have watched so many fail videos lately that when you were hammering the grounding rod in I kept expecting you to hit a gas main and blow the place up, lol. 😂😂 Thank you for sharing
I made My own wall brackets, they are bolted through the wall and and attached to more steel brackets inside the house. Thanks for watching, 73's from 151 SC.
I was lucky when I put my 10ft copper ground rod in my electrician buddy came over with his electric powered ground rod driver. 73's 519 Ontario Canada
@@jimmabry885 I'm in the Camden area. I appreciate the offer, But I already hammered in the other ground rod, the same way I did this one. Thanks for watching, Take care.
Easy way to drive a ground rod! Get yourself a gallon of water and install your ground rod clamp to the rod to use as a handle. Push the rod into the ground as far as you can by hand and remove. Add water to the hole and replace the rod moving it up and down. Keep adding water until yo no longer can push it down. Finish it off with sledgehammer. 1414 Chicago 73's
To put a 8' ground rod in the ground here you need to get out a real hammer. Some people use a fence post driver to make it easier however I'm not sure that would work well here. I have like 5 ground rods for my tower and coax and to be honest I don't believe you can install too many. PS all of my ground wire is solid copper just like you'd use on your electrical ground. Actually the ground rod should be 8' deep the power company will normally allow like 4" sticking out of the ground unless they want to give you a hard time LOL
I have an all-steel wedge/splitting maul, with a "Hollow 3 ft handle", What a dream! Slide the handle over the rod. Just like churning butter. 😁 No misses, no glancing blows, straight down, no muss no fuss. Once the handle becomes a burden subsurface, I remove it and finish with the maul surface.
I had a contact on channel 38, from Aruba to Ohio with 1/2 a watt of power, going into a little wire dipole, suspended from some trees, about 14’ off the ground. So….. i doubt that your firestick grnd plane antennas, plus your grnd rod made your European contacts possible. I’d be more impressed if you made a local contact 30 miles away with 100watts.
Hi Mr 163. This is 653 Hamilton Ontario Canada. I also added a 6 gauge bear copper wire from the ground Spike to the power box inside the house to tie them all together. Thank you for sharing this video 73
@@spaceflight1019 I definitely agree with that!!! This grounding is for lighting arrestor and it’s not a good idea to toss that lighting up into the house’s service panel.
I'm no expert that's for sure. But after I did that SWR is flat. No RF in the house. Ie. Noise on the speakers, washing machine shutting off all the time. Touch lamps don't turn on automatically anymore. Appreciate your advice and have been looking really much deeper into it. 73
Great vid. Thanks. I don't get it. I have pretty much the same setup. You get across the pond and I can't get across the state. Must be holding my mouth wrong or sumthin'.
In a situation like Yours, You can dig multiple trenches running away from the base, and run bare copper wire in those trenches, and then cover them over with the dirt.
Hey mower junkie I like all your effort what you're doing but during a lightning storm that grounding system is not going to do any good. If lightning hits your antenna is going to come down there and all those wires running to your equipment it's going to take out your equipment it'll act like a fuse. During a lightning storm unhook all that stuff from your equipment.
My parents had lightning strike their house in the late 80s when I was a little child. My dad had a Zachary T base and amp with an outside antenna tower. I don’t think it bothered it all at, but it did take out their microwave and left a small crack in the concrete footer near the patio.
@@MowerJunkie oh yes, there is that I suppose the lack of owning said such item. LOL. Anyway they work great for future reference. And don’t forget, braided wire, straps, are the best for roofing. As the current flows on the outside of the wire strands, so it actually relies on the total surface area all those of the wires, and not the diameter of the copper.. The diameter is only important as to increase the surface area of the wire strand.
Must be your southern soil is softer than this glacier made, rock strewn, obstacle coarse of maddening, misplaced, missile redirecting malicious muck I had to deal with putting an 8' copper rod into the ground...pound, after pound, after pound.........😠 like the content. 73
the radio has been crazy busy today. I tried for a little while, But there were so many people talking. I'll be listening for you 385, 73's from 151 SC.
This video is a gas & your collection of videos is wicked pissah!
This has me flashing back to putting a half-wave up in a pine tree. Way up. 1978 was not quite ready for how well I did with a "2-watt" Radio Shack walkie & some RG8
But on-topic, my dad reminded me about the need for a ground. That led to mom saying: "use two". So one fine day I got a pair of 30" inch post holes dug, then pounded two old tractor steering rods down deep (from the scrap heap) until they were just accessible.
One went under my window & to the ground plate we put offset to the brickwork, for TV, FM, and now my CB antenna projects. The other went right at the base of the tree.
Getting back into it! Your vids are excellent for home brew motivation
Good advice and a job well done. Everything I run is grounded either by an antenna pole to the ground or a good size wire and 8ft rods about 30 ft apart. Also during dry summers etc. I will dump a bucket of water on the grounds. Same deal as my electric fence for the horses etc. tries to keep the ground located under the eves of the house or barns as to use the rainwater etc. Great job John. Thanks for sharing. NY202 Drew
Thanks 202. We have a very high water table here, so my grounds are always in moist soil.
Take care Drew, 73's from 151 SC.
I pour salt water around mine, works great. I learned this from my Grandpa, would send me to do it in summer. They had an old Zenith Transocean receiver. 😊
When making connections between copper and aluminum always use no-ox to prevent corrosion... Love your videos! 73 W4PBS
dude, you are the king of antennas! really though i wanted to thank you for all your useful tips.
Thank You so much. Take care, 73's from 151 SC.
Great job nicely done, John . . .👌🙋♂
Thanks 👍 73's from 151 SC.
Definitely a good practice to ground your station. I've used several of those ground rods from Lowes and had good results. I have 3 outside bonded together with grounding strap going back inside to a buss bar as my main station ground.
Nice! sounds like your station is well protected.
Did you also tie it together to your main house ground rod? They say that is the way you are supposed to do it but my antenna ground rod is probably 25 feet or more from the house ground.
@@timtaylor8557 who is they and why on earth would you want to lighting protection for antenna and toss that lighting up into the house’s service panel???
Mine is setup the exact same way. 👍
@@oldrango883 Local electrical code, bonding to house ground prevents differences with ground rod and service lines potential saving your equipment. This may also prevent the AC in your home acting as an antenna given your station and power supply probably not being grounded either. The mast needs to be grounded to prevent static build up outside of lightning arresters that is also grounding the copper feed line. You don't want your antenna to be more attractive to a direct hit. The main reason for the rod is to discharge static or EMP's from nearby by strikes...not a direct hit.
That thing is a beast
LOL I do the same thing, over think the grounding , look at those gravity waves in the clouds. Great video as always.
I used 4 sections of 36 ft sections of galvanized electric fence wire in a fan shape off the bottom of the mast. Used a lawn edger to make a 1 inch trench in the sod...40 min install and listened to the fellow local operaters say" why can he hear you and not me?"...doesn't do anything for local but dx was great.
@Jeremy Nottingham you are just as likely to get struck via the ground as you are from the sky...before installing the ground radials I had a near strike that took the jacket off a number of wires attached to earth ground. An electric fencer on the property 300ft away was burnt to a crisp. None of the items got a direct hit...all charge came thru ground rods. As for the radials, they worked for me because my buddies said my rig had crazy "ears".
@Jeremy Nottingham sounds like we're all doing about the same. One thing I have to remind myself is that I talked from Canada to Australia with 12 watts...to a mobile van running 12 watts...when conditions are good, we all look genius...cheers.
I used a T-Post driver !! I cheated lol
Great to see you on the air today my friend .
Good video
I thought about building a slide hammer, But I got lazy and used the sledge hammer. Take care Dallas, 73's
I have an all-steel wedge/splitting maul, with a "Hollow 3 ft handle", What a dream! Slide the handle over the rod. Just like churning butter. 😁
No misses, no glancing blows, straight down, no muss no fuss. Once the handle becomes a burden subsurface, I remove it and finish with the maul surface.
Great video. Thanks for sharing. I wish I could see the other ends how you attached then to the antenna / mast itself.
Looks like it will ground good.
Wow I relly like this stuff!!!!
Hey John. I heard you on 385 lsb about a hour and a half ago . ! But couldn't get back to you unfortunately as conditions just were not right I guess. But it's a good sign of things to come. 👍😉. Take care and keep safe. 73s. Wr456 UK. With all the excitement of hearing you again I forgot to say great video by the way ! 👍🤣. It was working over here anyway .
Thanks, it was tough today. so many people on the radio, it was hard to make contact with anyone. But I did make a couple of contacts on Your side of the pond. Take care Wr456, I hope to hear you soon. 73's from 151 SC.
Those ground rods are a bit of a pain but my 8ft rod went in fairly easy due to a tip from another youtuber. You pour water into the hole and move the rod up and down by hand while adding water now and then. I was able to get over half the rod into the ground this way before I had to hit with a 5 lb hammer the last bit.
Hmmm, that's weird. The "Tool Man" suggesting LESS power. lol
The idea is for the ground rod to have a "solid" contact with the dirt. By using the "hose" trick you are creating a space by washing the dirt out from around the ground rod to make it easier to go in, therefore, minimizing the effect of your ground rod unless you go out there and water it on a regular basis.
@@jimmabry885 I’m sure the soil fills back in after the next rain or two.
Good info, thanx!🇺🇸
Great video. What you're adding is a safety ground;, so that static or lighting strikes have a planned path to ground The ground for rf is your radials.
It is a good idea to check your local electrical code for antenna grounding requirements.
73
Man love your videos. Good information. Wish you lived near me bud.....I'd bug you too much! LOL!
Oh, I made it early ! Beautiful day out there 😀
Nice! I like early arrivals. Thanks for watching, 73's from 151 SC.
Those cracks just add character....
Nice. England and Germany!!
Nice ground, I am lucky, my 1/2 wave end fed with radials is on a 9m pole bolted directly to a sandstone slab outside my shack
Besides grounding your station be sure your home electrical system is well grounded at the meter! Had alot of noise on HF and discovered mine was NEVER grounded! Previous owner had simply run copper wire into meter box and left it!
I am about to put up a new base antenna. I am putting it on 25 feet of of fence top rail as a mast mounted to the side of my building. Do I need to run ground wire from the base of the antenna run down to the ground rod or can I run ground wire from the base of the mast pole, which will be sitting on the ground, over to my ground rod?
I used a cars heater core drove the rod through it into ground dug hole first around 4 ft stuck heater core in hole drove rod through the core so the core would hold moisture when it rained you talking about heck of a ground
I have 25 feet of 1" black iron pipe holding my Super Magnum up. The two chimney straps don't hold the weight of the pipe and antenna, they allow it to move and the pipe is in direct contact with the ground.
Nice, if you add a ground rod, you can clamp it to the pipe. Thanks for watching, 73's from 151 SC.
@@MowerJunkie , every time it rains, the pipe sinks into the ground a little. It's about four inches now. When the earth is dry a Fluke 289 connected between my electrical service ground and my coax reads around 90 ohms, insignificant to lightning. But if you can drive a ground rod, by all means, do so. Hams who use vertical antennas spend lots of time and money on grounding because it's half of the antenna.
Im mounted to a 12 foot long fence pole about 1 foot deep in the earth on the side of my deck. After watching this i might add some wire to it but why when im in the ground 🤔 already?
Do i need more?
I saw a video quite a while ago , this guy was saying to bury copper wires at a length i dont remember in a circle evenly spaced in a 360° directly under his 5/8 wave antenna . He told all the grounds under the antenna really improved the performance .
What are your thoughts on it ?
It kinda made sence ...
What I read is that six foot is more than sufficient ground for radio transmission, eight foot is just code for grounding for a whole house. My self when lightning is in the forecast I disconnect my coax and place it in a heavy glass container as an insulator.
Could you tell more about the antenna cool set up aswell🙆♂️🙋♂️
Just use water and work it up and down. Way easier than pounding. We used to install them for electric fencers all the time.
M.J. Where did you get the ring that the four fire sticks are threaded into? I want one ASAP!
it was part of a procom ground plane kit. I did have to drill the center hole bigger, in order for it to fit on My Tram antenna. Thanks for watching, 73's from 151 SC.
MJ,
So where do you actually bring the coax in through the wall and into your radio shack? Is it there at or near the ground? Hard to tell where your wall pass-through is located. do you use the eave vent to pass the coax through the wall? And are you using an arrestor like a PolyPhaser, ICE, or Morgan Systems? Thanks!
BTW, 390 Wagonmaster sent me! - Brad...UDX-59Z (a.k.a., SSB-59Z, CRC408, and AE1793)
Hello UDX-59Z, I ran the coax through the Gable vent, then down to My radio. Take care Brad, 73's from UDX-151 SC.
Great video. Whole lot of hammering went into the making of this video...
lol, Thanks for watching, 73's
Should the antenna be grounded separately from the mast pole? Two different grounds? I’m new to radios and need to build something similar. Thanks for the video
Just ground the mast to your ground rod...should help lower static noise on radio and in case of lighting strike would assist the path of least resistance to your ground rod improving safety
Hey brother MJ!! Greetings from Montreal, Canada!! I was curious as to which antenna that is because I would love to see a video on it, ie: the building of it, the testing, etc. I can't tell you how much I enjoy watching your videos and learning from them. You are EXTREMELY appreciated, my brother!! Thanks in advance for your response, if you would so honor me with one!! Also: please extend greetings, respect & salutations to Mrs Mower Junkie!! Take care, be well, healthy & happy!!
Your Canadian CB Bro,
Norman in Montreal, Canada!! 🇨🇦!!
Good morning Norman, The antenna is a Tram 1498, with a homemade ground plane. I've made a few videos of it, it's a great performer, at a good price. Thanks for watching, 73's from 151 SC.
@@MowerJunkie : Thank you for answering my question!! Yes, I have seen the video(s), I just wasn't sure as to which antenna was in this video. As soon as all the snow melts I would like to try my hand at making a dipole. Lucky for me that you leave an absolute wealth of knowledge for all of us to learn from. THANK YOU!! I can't wait for your next video!! One day we WILL dx and I'll be using a Mower Junkie inspired home built antenna!!!! I can't wait, brother!! Take care my friend and thanks again. Of course, greetings go to your partner in crime: Mrs Mower Junkie!! Until next time, be well & happy!!
Your Canadian cb bro,
Norman in Montreal.
@@norman2999 That's great, I can't wait to hear You on the air.
Take care Norman, I'll be listening for You.
What antenna is that? Did you run a ground into your Shack?
Mower junkie got a question . I'm getting ready to install my starduster antenna and using a free floating mass PVC. You have any suggestions on where I can attach a ground wire to the antenna so I can ground it ....open for suggestions...
If My memory is correct, I think the starduster fits over the mast and is secured with a set screw. I would attach a ground wire to that set screw, and run it down to a ground rod.
you looking like old john henry
I've heard that you can use two 4ft ground rods coupled together instead of one 8ft rod. Would that work? I live in an area with A LOT of rocks. I might be able to drive two 4 footers but, seriously doubt an entire 8ft rod would make it. My power pole has two rods, not sure if they are both 8ft. I didn't see them install them.
Yes you can do that just bond the ground rods together with some ground braid
all you need is a four-foot ground rod, that way you can cut off the long rod and use the excess somewhere else
Speaking of being grounded...... I got a new mic yesterday. The Astatic 636L chrome (with the metal cable) and when I keyed up, the cable was touching my palm and shocked me. I also detected a faint electrical burn smell. It's a 4 pin so I was using the little 4 pin to 6 pin adapter cable to use on the McKinley. I also had the amp on. Do you think it was too much power from the amp that caused the shock? Or maybe a combination of the amp and the extension pin adapter?
I'm not sure, But I wouldn't use that mic anymore. Take care Joe, 73's from 151 SC.
It's not just a CB thing...Kenwood MC-60 did the same thing. Especially when guys used 500w and above...lots of info on forums on how to get it under control...barefoot = no issues
@@MowerJunkie it high swr
N rf will bite ON am
@@tf7274 I have a 300 watt RM Italy KL-503. It must be the amp because there was no shock when the amp was off. (I know, I should have tested that before posting about it). Another weird thing though. I have a scanner on the other side of the room so I scanned CB band to check the audio with the 636 and every few seconds the audio cut out. Then I used the stock President mic on the McKinley and it did the same thing. I set up another radio (a 1981? McKinley I got off eBay for $82) that came with an old Realistic power mic and it worked fine. So I'm wondering if my newer McKinley is having issues.
@@JoeR203 if your scanner is on discovery mode it will cut out like that. Your radio and power supply voltage should fluctuate if there is actual output drops. I ran a TS 500V with no issues on a hand mic. Once a got a desk mic I experienced a rf shock. Double check your swr, all your coax and if need be, drop your output on everything to 50%.
I'm new to all this and I got the Tram 1411 antenna. I put it up using a top post for chain link. It fit just right as someone said in a video. Anyway I thought I need to ground this and did so. I have a listen radio and a SDR for my PC. When I put the ground wire on the mask for ground and came back in and plugged in the SDR I could feel a little shock. I just don't know what it is. I tried a water pipe and the same thing. All this is temp for now but does anyone have an idea why it would shock me when I have my hands in the SDR and the ground hooked up?? I take it off and it doesn't shock me.
Looks about as much fun as lifting weights gets
I have an all-steel wedge/splitting maul, with a "Hollow 3 ft handle", What a dream! Slide the handle over the rod. Just like churning butter. 😁
No misses, no glancing blows, straight down, no muss no fuss. Once the handle becomes a burden subsurface, I remove it and finish with the maul surface.
MJ, I think I missed this one or forgot to like, rectified. 73/88 DX21
That's awesome! I'll bet that wedge makes it a lot easier. Thanks for watching, 73's
Good job, does grounding your antenna have any thing to do with getting your antenna to match up. I'm having trouble getting my ground plane to match up. Any thoughts?
I don't think it has anything to do with the tune. I did it for lightning protection. What kind of antenna are you working on?
@@MowerJunkie i got it out of a garage we tore down , I think it an old radio shack ground plane.
@@bobudovich5613 1/4 wave ground planes (9 feet long) have no matching network (except the one from RS that had a hairpin). 5/8 antennas (19' 10" tall with three radials and a plastic base insulator) have a printed circuit matching network inside the black plastic base that can be bad.
Take an ohmmeter and measure the resistance between the center of the antenna coax connector and the antenna radiator. It should be very close to zero.
@@spaceflight1019 ok thanks, I'll try that.
John. You don't need a ratchet you need a drill driver..modern technology!
Yup, I did both of my ground rods this way, and now I have a hammer drill, and a 10 pound hammer.......I should have waited a few more months to tackle this project.
When installing that rod use some water, it helps huge, you won’t have to hammer so much. Start the install dump water in hole and just using your hands force the rod in.
It all depends upon what kind of earth you have. A lot of the South is either sand or clay. Midwest is loamy. Pennsylvania and West Virginia is mostly mine tailings from 200 years ago. Tough to drive a ground rod through rocks.
@@spaceflight1019 I judged the ground content by his application.
Driving in that ground rod...well, that is enough for "arm day" workout.
Did I hear you right that you used four Firestick antennas as ground radials? Thats a quarter wave each correct?
Yes I used four 4' quarter wave Firesticks.
i heard you on Sunday in Alberta briefly i finally got a station up and running but its so busy on the channels. you ever try the zeros or upper channels? there's actually some breathing room there haha
I have used the upper, and split channels....But I prefer the normal 1-40. thanks for watching, I hope to hear You in the mix. 73's from 151 SC.
What would happen if you didn't have any grounding? Would the SWR be high?
the ground rod is used for lightning protection. Thanks for watching, Take care.
So does grounding help lighting..reception..interfere..swr...all the above lol.
I did it for the lightning protection, but it also helps with static discharge. Thanks for watching, Take care.
How many times do you think you missed hit and how many hits on your siding.
lol, I kept track of it. I missed 3 times, and never hit the house. Thanks for watching, 73's from 151 SC.
Great video!
I have watched so many fail videos lately that when you were hammering the grounding rod in I kept expecting you to hit a gas main and blow the place up, lol.
😂😂
Thank you for sharing
What did you use to mount the antenna mast to the house?
I made My own wall brackets, they are bolted through the wall and and attached to more steel brackets inside the house. Thanks for watching, 73's from 151 SC.
@@MowerJunkie thank you for the reply
I was lucky when I put my 10ft copper ground rod in my electrician buddy came over with his electric powered ground rod driver. 73's 519 Ontario Canada
Nice! I need one of those, I still have one more ground rod to put in. Take care 519, 73's from 151 SC.
@@MowerJunkie where you at in SC. I'm up here in Kings Mtn. N.C. and have access to one.
@@jimmabry885 I'm in the Camden area. I appreciate the offer, But I already hammered in the other ground rod, the same way I did this one. Thanks for watching, Take care.
Heard you today calling out on the 385 🙂 hopefully heard you again on the band soon buddy .
Grant 26GC227
I'll be listing for you, Grant 26GC227. Take care, 73's from 151 SC.
Use the water bottle technique for ground rods.
Easy way to drive a ground rod! Get yourself a gallon of water and install your ground rod clamp to the rod to use as a handle. Push the rod into the ground as far as you can by hand and remove. Add water to the hole and replace the rod moving it up and down. Keep adding water until yo no longer can push it down. Finish it off with sledgehammer. 1414 Chicago 73's
I think I'm going to use water when I install the new ground rod for My garage. Take care 1414, 73's from 151 SC.
To put a 8' ground rod in the ground here you need to get out a real hammer. Some people use a fence post driver to make it easier however I'm not sure that would work well here. I have like 5 ground rods for my tower and coax and to be honest I don't believe you can install too many. PS all of my ground wire is solid copper just like you'd use on your electrical ground. Actually the ground rod should be 8' deep the power company will normally allow like 4" sticking out of the ground unless they want to give you a hard time LOL
I have an all-steel wedge/splitting maul, with a "Hollow 3 ft handle", What a dream! Slide the handle over the rod. Just like churning butter. 😁
No misses, no glancing blows, straight down, no muss no fuss. Once the handle becomes a burden subsurface, I remove it and finish with the maul surface.
Put 7 strands of the 12 ga. It should get clost to 6 ga with 7 of them the more the better cause they can't hurt can they.
You hammered that in fast I could use you to help me. I put LMR 400 Coax on my Tram 1411 today. I made a video you should check it out.
copy That, I'll check out Your video. Thanks for watching, Take care.
I had a contact on channel 38, from Aruba to Ohio with 1/2 a watt of power, going into a little wire dipole, suspended from some trees, about 14’ off the ground. So….. i doubt that your firestick grnd plane antennas, plus your grnd rod made your European contacts possible. I’d be more impressed if you made a local contact 30 miles away with 100watts.
with this antenna I can talk to people 40+ miles away with only 100 watts
Hi Mr 163. This is 653 Hamilton Ontario Canada. I also added a 6 gauge bear copper wire from the ground Spike to the power box inside the house to tie them all together. Thank you for sharing this video 73
Very cool! Thanks for watching, 73's from 151 SC.
As a former power station electrician I highly recommend keeping the antenna ground separate from the house electrical service ground.
@@spaceflight1019 I definitely agree with that!!! This grounding is for lighting arrestor and it’s not a good idea to toss that lighting up into the house’s service panel.
I'm no expert that's for sure. But after I did that SWR is flat. No RF in the house. Ie. Noise on the speakers, washing machine shutting off all the time. Touch lamps don't turn on automatically anymore. Appreciate your advice and have been looking really much deeper into it. 73
Great vid. Thanks.
I don't get it. I have pretty much the same setup. You get across the pond and I can't get across the state. Must be holding my mouth wrong or sumthin'.
Keep trying, sometimes persistence pay off. Take care, 73's from 151 SC.
👍
How would you ground an antenna 19 stories up?
Ground the coax cable as it enters the house.
Wow! I think you're going to need a lot of wire. Thanks for watching, Take care.
Any suggestions how to earth if only a foot till hit rock. What can be done to earth.
In a situation like Yours, You can dig multiple trenches running away from the base, and run bare copper wire in those trenches, and then cover them over with the dirt.
Cheers mower junky 🖒
Just spoke to you 😂😂😂 608 southwest Scotland 🖒🖒
@@MowerJunkie 608 southwest Scotland 🖒
is that a Antron 99 ?
It's a Tram 1498 antenna.
Chemtrailed sky
😆 🤣 😂, I think you pound it past the other side of the earth 🌎! I kinda heard an F-18 fly by..?! Good job.
Wait, why so many wires?
Just because I could. Thanks for watching, Take care.
i have a new house i have so much rock cant get a ground rod anywhere
i noticed that you ''did not'' mention the price of that groung rod'''''''''''''expensive ''huh'''
No, I don't think it was that bad. I think it was about $21 at Lowes.
Hey mower junkie I like all your effort what you're doing but during a lightning storm that grounding system is not going to do any good. If lightning hits your antenna is going to come down there and all those wires running to your equipment it's going to take out your equipment it'll act like a fuse. During a lightning storm unhook all that stuff from your equipment.
My parents had lightning strike their house in the late 80s when I was a little child. My dad had a Zachary T base and amp with an outside antenna tower. I don’t think it bothered it all at, but it did take out their microwave and left a small crack in the concrete footer near the patio.
Easy if you use a hammer drill
If only I had a hammer drill. Thanks for watching, Take care.
@@MowerJunkie oh yes, there is that I suppose the lack of owning said such item. LOL. Anyway they work great for future reference. And don’t forget, braided wire, straps, are the best for roofing. As the current flows on the outside of the wire strands, so it actually relies on the total surface area all those of the wires, and not the diameter of the copper.. The diameter is only important as to increase the surface area of the wire strand.
@@MowerJunkie greetings from Australia by the way.
Must be your southern soil is softer
than this glacier made, rock strewn,
obstacle coarse of maddening, misplaced, missile redirecting malicious muck I had to deal with
putting an 8' copper rod into the ground...pound, after pound, after pound.........😠 like the content. 73
Just a lot of hard clay here, No rocks! When I lived in Massachusetts I hated doing this job.
Thanks for watching, 73's from 151 SC.
12 ga is too thin for ground wire. Should be 4 ga or at least 6 ga.
I upgraded it to 2 ga. wire about 6 months ago. Thanks for watching, 73's
@@MowerJunkie 10-4 there good buddy!
Too close to the foundation you're going to hit the footing
RAFIQUE MASTOI DG Khan Pakistan 🏝🇵🇰🇵🇰🇵🇰🇵🇰🇵🇰
heard you calling today but lost you in the mix on 385 be keeping an ear out for you 26tm733
the radio has been crazy busy today. I tried for a little while, But there were so many people talking.
I'll be listening for you 385, 73's from 151 SC.
I, for one, really like tgis video because I am on a grounding kick myself but do not know all about it. 😀😀😀😀👍👍👍👍🕳