You’ll recall that a couple of months ago I’d updated the coaxial feedline to my HF2V. In that process I’d removed the simple lightning arrestor from the base of the antenna, resolving to add a surge arrestor at a later date. Well today was the day.
I purchased two Array Solutions AS-303U surge arrestors along with the bracket that can hold up to four. I also purchased an eight-foot, 5/8 inch, ground rod. The surprise of the installation was how easy it was to get the ground rod into the clay soil. When I last installed a ground rod, at the base of the HF2V, I dug a huge hole. It was roughly 4 feet deep to also hold the concrete for the base of the antenna. I then proceeded to pound the ground rod in the next four feet. What a difficult effort accompanied by a fair amount of swearing. This time I found an online recommendation to dig a small hole, fill it with water, and press the ground rod in about an inch, followed by pulling it out, and pressing it in again about an inch. I’ll be darned if I didnt’ get the ground rod in all the way with no problems. I did clamp on vise-grips toward the end of the effort to give me a better handle on the rod. Piece of cake! I will not shy away from this effort in the future.
I’ve taken a few photos of the installation. I also took advantage of the installation to use Scotch 130C rubber splicing tape covered by Scotch 33+ electrical tape. I did this on both my surge arrestor and on the isolation baluns. The installation looks good. I hope I never have to report how it held up to lightning!
