Grounding system

[sealerman]

HI.
I am using several differnat transmitters.. I have a rangemaster trasnmitter at one location that is grounded well and tuned and on a good day I can hear my radio station about 8 miles. Then on the other hand I have another rangemaster in a differant town and I have two 8 foot ground rods and I am barely getting 1/2 mile. Now this is due to the type of ground. It is almost all rock and shale. This is a problem. Is there any other grounding system that I can use. I would hate ot have to move this transmitter as it is in a really high point in the town.

HI.
I am using several differnat transmitters.. I have a rangemaster trasnmitter at one location that is grounded well and tuned and on a good day I can hear my radio station about 8 miles. Then on the other hand I have another rangemaster in a differant town and I have two 8 foot ground rods and I am barely getting 1/2 mile. Now this is due to the type of ground. It is almost all rock and shale. This is a problem. Is there any other grounding system that I can use. I would hate ot have to move this transmitter as it is in a really high point in the town.

I also have a sstran with the base loaded coil running in another town. I put in one ground rod and when I tried to tune it. the manual said goto 13v.. well I can only get 8.5v. and I am only getting out about 1/2 mile.

first is the grounding issue why I am only getting 8.5v. and if so what other grounds are available. I ready about an elevated ground. I have a big roof that I can use.. But I’m not really sure how to do this. Can anyone help or have pictures..

Thanks
Terry

[radio8z]

Hi Terry,

Many posts here and on other boards, and also linked from the SSTRAN website, recommend using wire radials for the transmitter ground system. It seems that ground rods, while good for lightning discharge (not protection) do not in general work well for part15 AM.

Most folks recommend 10 radials 10 feet long buried just beneath the soil.

As far as your 8.5 volt reading is concerned, last fall I built a base loaded antenna similar to Antenna Guy Carl’s design (SSTRAN site) and tested it in my driveway with 10 10 foot radials on the surface of the drive. I achieved a nice resonant peak, but the test point readings were in the 8 volt range. The weather became bad and the project was shelved so I don’t know if a better result would happen if I took more care in installing and tuning this system.

Another thought is check that your SSTRAN is wired for a loaded antenna with ground. Also check that the tuning cap is not at the end of its range. SSTRANs manual describes this. If it is at the end of range, changing C23 may help. When I built mine, I used mini jacks so I can easily change C23 while experimenting. This saves the PC board from damage as I swap parts.

Hope this helps.

Neil

[Author]

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