Hello all,

Wondering if one of the techxperts folk on the group could please give
me an explanation (in layman's terms) of what grounding actually IS
and what is its importance to ensuring good reception for a Hamster
such as myself. There are numerous resources on the net that do go
some way TO providing an explanation, but I must admit most of it goes
straight over my head as I don't HAVE that much experience in the
subject. Over the past couple of weeks my radio has gradually been
getting poorer reception and I am wondering if it is becuase of a
problem with the unit itself, or because of some external factor.
There has recently been some new building developments going up in my
residential area so am wondering if this has HAD any influence?

If it is due to 'grounding', what the heck can I do to resolve the
issue?

If it's of any help/consequence, my particular unit is the Buzz Aldrin
G6 aviator radio (special limited edition).

Thanks kindly in advance for any advice/resolutions.

Kind Regards,
Brian Anasta

On 6/8/2011 7:28 PM, Brian Anasta wrote:
Hello all,

Wondering if one of the techxperts folk on the group could please give
me an explanation (in layman's terms) of what grounding actually IS
and what is its importance to ensuring good reception for a Hamster
such as myself....

Kind Regards,
Brian Anasta

As far as antennas go, you want a good earth ground.

Nothing beats an 8 ft. copper rod driven into good conducting ground.

--

Regards,
JS
“The Constitution is not an instrument for the government to restrain
the people, it’s an instrument for the people to restrain the
government.” -- Patrick Henry

On Jun 9, 2:54*pm, Bob Dobbs wrote:

Think of having a battery partially inserted in a device
such that one end isn't touching anything,
not going to work very well, so now you understand the concept
of there being two components of conduction.
Radio is similar, a propagation path (usually the air)
and a counterpoise or ground.
When you have a good ground the radio will work better.
There are much more complex aspects that you can explore
when you feel the urge, just google about.
--

Hello John & Bob,

Thanks so much for the prompt replies. I've had a read through your
comments as well as undertaken a bit more reading on the various ham
websites, but there are a couple of things I can't get my head around.
Firstly, John what do you mean by 'good conducting ground'? Does this
refer to the geological aspects of the grounds, e.g. clay soil etc? My
particular lot of land is heavy clay based and I'm wondering if this
is having an effect.What do you recommend to be the ground which
offers the best quality and can I improvise somehow to improve the
ground where I live which as I mentioned is very heavy clay based.

Secondly, Bob, when you talk about the 'counterpoise', is this the
same as John refers to, i.e. the actual ground itself? Someone has
recommended I should consider having someone put in a 220 line for an
amplifier as he said that would make a perfect ham radio station. The
person I spoke with, who in all honesty I don't think is an expert,
also spoke about quarter wave verticals and RF energy. Now I think
these concepts are above and beyond my skill-set but I am assuming RF
refers to radio frequency?

Thanks very much again guys for the help and explanations to an
annoying newbie heh.

Kind Regards,
Brian Anasta

On Jun 8, 7:28*pm, Brian Anasta wrote:
Hello all,

Wondering if one of the techxperts folk on the group could please give
me an explanation (in layman's terms) of what grounding actually IS
and what is its importance to ensuring good reception for a Hamster
such as myself. There are numerous resources on the net that do go
some way TO providing an explanation, but I must admit most of it goes
straight over my head as I don't HAVE that much experience in the
subject. Over the past couple of weeks my radio has gradually been
getting poorer reception and I am wondering if it is becuase of a
problem with the unit itself, or because of some external factor.
There has recently been some new building developments going up in my
residential area so am wondering if this has HAD any influence?

If it is due to 'grounding', what the heck can I do to resolve the
issue?

If it's of any help/consequence, my particular unit is the Buzz Aldrin
G6 aviator radio (special limited edition).

Thanks kindly in advance for any advice/resolutions.

Kind Regards,
Brian Anasta

*Grounding* *Grounding* *Grounding* *Grounding*

On Jun 9, 5:24*pm, RHF wrote:

*Grounding* *Grounding* *Grounding* *Grounding*
*.
Shortwave Radio Listeners (SWL) : Are Your
Antenna and Ground Really Working Together ?http://groups.google.com/group/rec.r...1247fe0f23145b
*.
Ground Wires : Think Free and Effective !http://groups.google.com/group/rec.r...5690ebd538e2f3
*.
SWL -Newbies- The Ground Rod is First and
Foremost for Electrical Safety and it can
also Help to Improve your Radio Receptionhttp://groups.google.com/group/rec.radio.shortwave/msg/3fc23d487859bed8
*.
SWL -Newbies- Doing-the-Doable :
The Wire Antenna + Ground Rod + Matching
Transfromer + Coax Cable feed-in-line
{Counterpoise} -versus- Many Ground Radialshttp://groups.google.com/group/rec.radio.shortwave/msg/d9b7432d486275cd
*.
SWL -Newbies- Going On-the-Horizontal
With Your Grounding Pointhttp://groups.google.com/group/rec.radio.shortwave/msg/0162ed9c5caea4e7
*.
WHY - Bury Your Shortwave Radio Listening
(SWL) Antenna's Coax Cable Feed-in-Line ?http://groups.google.com/group/rec.r...77a53ba35eaccb
*.
Part # 2 - Bury Your Shortwave Radio Listening
(SWL) Antenna's Coax Cable Feed-in-Line ?http://groups.google.com/group/rec.r...a0d093cc146921
*.
SWL -Newbies- What About Grounding
Your Radio Shack and Antennas ?http://groups.google.com/group/rec.r...fb7d2e738e7d2d
*.
SWL Longwire + Low Noise Antenna Connection
+ Grounding Is Key To Good Reception
-by- John Dotyhttp://groups.google.com/group/rec.radio.shortwave/msg/1abc6a2bf8acc12d
*.
*.
remember... stay well grounded ~ RHF
*.
*.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Thanks very much RHF for those links! I have put a pot of coffee on
and am planning to spend the next couple of hours trying to educate
myself on this topic. Again, thanks very much to Bob and John for
their offers of assistance also. This group is a really neat little
resource for enthusiasts like me to turn to for that bit of extra help
and guidance.

Have a great day all and thanks again, much appreciated.

Kind Regards,
Brian Anasta

On 6/8/2011 11:35 PM, Brian Anasta wrote:
On Jun 9, 2:54 pm, Bob wrote:

Think of having a battery partially inserted in a device
such that one end isn't touching anything,
not going to work very well, so now you understand the concept
of there being two components of conduction.
Radio is similar, a propagation path (usually the air)
and a counterpoise or ground.
When you have a good ground the radio will work better.
There are much more complex aspects that you can explore
when you feel the urge, just google about.
--

Hello John& Bob,

Thanks so much for the prompt replies. I've had a read through your
comments as well as undertaken a bit more reading on the various ham
websites, but there are a couple of things I can't get my head around.
Firstly, John what do you mean by 'good conducting ground'? Does this
refer to the geological aspects of the grounds, e.g. clay soil etc? My
particular lot of land is heavy clay based and I'm wondering if this
is having an effect.What do you recommend to be the ground which
offers the best quality and can I improvise somehow to improve the
ground where I live which as I mentioned is very heavy clay based.

Secondly, Bob, when you talk about the 'counterpoise', is this the
same as John refers to, i.e. the actual ground itself? Someone has
recommended I should consider having someone put in a 220 line for an
amplifier as he said that would make a perfect ham radio station. The
person I spoke with, who in all honesty I don't think is an expert,
also spoke about quarter wave verticals and RF energy. Now I think
these concepts are above and beyond my skill-set but I am assuming RF
refers to radio frequency?

Thanks very much again guys for the help and explanations to an
annoying newbie heh.

Kind Regards,
Brian Anasta


Moist/wet earth is generally a better conductor of RF/electricity.

Commercial broadcasters can spend much money on a "ground system" than
the antenna, proper, and can actually end up being a sufficient
counterpoise for the antenna, actually buried in the ground!

In our world, it helps to have your ground stake(s) in a moist area of
soil where the soil has good conductivity. Salts in the soil help with
the soils conductivity. Since my ground state is at the corner of a
well fertilized lawn this is achieved.

With grounds, the bigger, more conductive, etc. is better.

In the real world, we just settle for sufficient ...

Here is some material for thought:

http://www.hard-core-dx.com/nordicdx...d/ground1.html

--

Regards,
JS
“The Constitution is not an instrument for the government to restrain
the people, it’s an instrument for the people to restrain the
government.” -- Patrick Henry

On Jun 8, 7:28*pm, Brian Anasta wrote:
Hello all,

Wondering if one of the techxperts folk on the group could please give
me an explanation (in layman's terms) of what grounding actually IS
and what is its importance to ensuring good reception for a Hamster
such as myself. There are numerous resources on the net that do go
some way TO providing an explanation, but I must admit most of it goes
straight over my head as I don't HAVE that much experience in the
subject. Over the past couple of weeks my radio has gradually been
getting poorer reception and I am wondering if it is becuase of a
problem with the unit itself, or because of some external factor.
There has recently been some new building developments going up in my
residential area so am wondering if this has HAD any influence?

If it is due to 'grounding', what the heck can I do to resolve the
issue?

If it's of any help/consequence, my particular unit is the Buzz Aldrin
G6 aviator radio (special limited edition).

Thanks kindly in advance for any advice/resolutions.

Kind Regards,
Brian Anasta

Hi, Brian - I won't add to the good advice here on grounding, but
reception / propagation has actually been worsening recently, owing to
greater atmospheric noise and geomagnetic storms...plus the usual
summertime blues. Don't worry, it'll pick up again.

Bruce Jensen

On 06/09/2011 09:50 PM, Brian Anasta wrote:
On Jun 10, 1:10 am, John wrote:
With grounds, the bigger, more conductive, etc. is better.

In the real world, we just settle for sufficient ...

Here is some material for thought:

http://www.hard-core-dx.com/nordicdx...d/ground1.html

--

John, thanks for that link, it made for good reading. Just in regard
to antennas though, I am becoming more aware of the importance of them
to getting good reception. In regard to my little Grundig, would my
antenna be of the SWL antenna variety? And what the heck sort of
antennas are 'dipoles' and 'Yagi beams'?! I've never heard of those
types before and wonder are these only found on the large-scale ham
radio stations? Gotta love the names of them that's for sure hehe.

Thanks so much for your help in advance.

Kind Regards,
Brian Anasta