Ham Station Sheet Metal Ground Plane

Antennas requiring ground planes are called ground plane dependent and having an appropriate ground plane can greatly affect performance.

Ham station sheet metal ground plane.

4 equipment has a design defect. A ground plane is a reflective metal surface that the signal from an antenna bounces off of to better meet the antenna s design goals. The ground stake near the house provides a place for the common mode noise current to go far from the antenna where it cannot couple significantly. A dependent antenna can become effectively useless without one.

Each time a ground loop is created a small inductive coil is formed the ground wire completes the loop. It is possible to simulate this function by replacing the real earth. That s only 05 wavelengths at 30 mhz which is a tiny ground plane. 5 we have poorly installed connectors or defective cables.

Used under and in back of equipment this 1 16 inch thick pre drilled copper sheet creates an rf reference plane that is typically connected to the existing grounding bus. 3 the problem is not rf at all but is a dc power supply ground loop back into the audio system. What are the ground counterpoise alternatives to driving an 8 foot metal pole into the ground. Sometimes we set ourselves up for problems without knowing it.

As the name indicates the antenna ground plane acts as a simulated ground. Connection to other conductors just under the surface like a metal water pipe is next. Both of these should result in some level of electrical isolation between the antenna feed shield and the sheet metal. Why or when is a ham station ground necessary.

Dx engineering radio rf ground plane kits provide an effective method of reducing stray rf pickup by equipment and interconnecting cables. These are for the rf ground described above. Consider also that most cars have a coat of paint between the mag mount and the sheet metal. Shallow buried radial wires are the best.

A very large pizza sheet might be around a meter in diameter or iow 50cm in radius. I live in an apartment and i highly doubt i can do this. I guess what i m simply not clear on is how a mag mount antenna s ground plane is connected electrically. It is found that for a monopole antenna like a quarter wavelength vertical the ground acts as a plane to reflect the radio waves so that an image of the top half of the antenna is seen in the earth.