grounding antenna?

[sterigia]

hi all i wanted to know if i have to ground my rb, that is if i have to ground the sheath of the antenna lead of the supplied antenna as i got a shock yesterday when i disconnected the antenna plug. my house has no ground as it is has old electrical wiring and grounding is not compulsory here. i have an external ground that i can connect to if necessary.
i also got a shock from my discone antenna yesterday, maybe i have to ground that too?
suggestions welcome. this message is meant especially for support. who know the specs of the rb
ciao,
frank

[AirNav Support]

You don't need to ground the RadarBox but if you have an external antenna its best looking into ways to limit static being picked up from that. Our FAQ has a thread regarding this.

Hope that helps.

[radarspotter10]

You don't need to ground the RadarBox but if you have an external antenna its best looking into ways to limit static being picked up from that. Our FAQ has a thread regarding this.

Hope that helps.

HI FRANK.
You should ground all aerial , it can reduces background noises and static/interference from household appliances all my hf/vhf/UHF aerial are grounded
always check how your house is earth first.
from pat

[sterigia]

ok i must have caught 220 volts from somewhere and today i have had the electritian ground all poles and all cases and external part of plugs all connected to a separate metal grounding spike driven 2 metres in the ground and zero volts are present. to be more precise i got the shock when i disconnected the antenna from the rb and left my other hand in the plug while disconnecting, the same has happened while opening my pc case. it was certainly not 220 full otherwise i would not be here writing. i have had a direct lightning strike twice in the past 20 years, entered via the telephone cables so this summer had a lightning protector put up in the highest part. i think it will be unlikely i get a third strike but seeing the price of damages i put one up in any case, and my antennae are lower than the rod
thanks to everyone, the faq was illuminating. pity i did not read it before the shock
ciao
frank

[sterigia]

hi can anyone explain the difference between my polar diagrams before and after grounding my antenna pole,
any explanation welcome. message split into two parts because of length
please see attached file
message 1 of two, before grounding
ciao
frank

[sterigia]

message 2 of 2,
after grounding
ciao
frank

[attachment deleted by admin]

[Jeremy]

I can not see much difference. Did you run the polor diagram for the same length of time in each case? Grounding the outer of the coax would reduce noise therefore increase signal to noise ratio.
J.

[Allocator]

Can't see much difference there.

I get a bigger difference with changes in receiving (atmospheric) conditions.

[sterigia]

not much difference but now i cannot see planes landing at catania. i will run the polar for a few days more and post again. the other was running since the release of 3.7. maybe it is autumn weather then? also please confirm that the polar must be visible at all times or does it update even if turned off?am i the only one to notice that the forum is slow in accepting messages or is it generalised, or is it only this thread?
ciao
frank

[Allocator]

Frank,

The Polar Diagram does update even if it is not displayed.

[sterigia]

thank you. i supected that
but i wanted an expert opinion
ciao
post again in a few weeks time
frank

[jannuh]

Frank,

Your in a good part of europe for tropo DX, lots of possibilities overthere!!

Propagation:
http://www.dxinfocentre.com/tropo_eur.html

So when comparing the Polar diagram, keep this in mind!

[sterigia]

ok thanks jannuh,  conditions are marginal now :-( .i have bookmarked it
i have had exceptional receptions on my scanner, years ago when i had more time to listen to it. but that is o.t..
ciao
frank