Not everytime, just occasionally.  Is it harmful?  How can I correct it?

I intend to put a bulkhead connector through an exterior wall to bring my antenna feed line into the house (I don't want to run a line direct to my radio; I want the convenience of being able to swap radios, or antennas, or what have you--on either side).  Actually, it'll probably be two bulkhead connectors for two antennas, but the question I have remains the same.

Ideally I'd have the thing connected to a ground rod; I plan on getting one for this purpose, and doing what I can to tie it into the mains grounding as well.  But what about lightning protection?  I've seen lightning arrestors for sale, but they all have a pair of female connectors--the same as the bulkhead connector.

So the question is, if I go from antenna, to coax, to lightning arrestor, to X, to bulkhead connector--what is the value of X?  In other words, how do I connect the lightning arrestor to the bulkhead connector?  Surely I don't use a short length of coax with a pair of PL-259 connectors; that seems lossy somehow.  But if that's the way to do it, then that's the way to do it...!

What is the current state of the art for waterproofing coax and other connectors used in an outdoor environment?

Last time I had to waterproof connectors, many years ago, I wrapped the connectors tightly with black electrician's tape and then sprayed the tape with an aerosol acrylic spray. Connectors waterproofed this way would last for a a year or two before needing to be redone.

Yet, every so often I hear of a station getting hit by lightning and wiping out the station and the tower is grounded and sometimes they have lightning protection devices installed also. 



The theory presented to me is that grounding the tower makes it a lightning rod.  What do you think?

Read up more on lightining and grounding.

I Is the K3 a good enough rig where I would turn the FT-2000D into my backup rig ?

Another question from a newbie-  Is there a way to look up foreign call signs for addresses and countries without paying big bucks for computer programs or subscriptions??

Bill

Are there usually many stations on 160M from the Caribbean in the Winter?

Has anyone experimented with or have experience with strengthening aluminum tubing with polyurethane foam? I propose that it would make an antenna stronger to use commercial polyurethane foam in a can to fill the hollow aluminum tube and make it more difficult to bend to destruction in wind.

  Should I remove the indoor electrical ground and place it outside, bonding it to a ground rod?

It depends on what the ground is for. For an RF ground (i.e. radials) the copper strap buried just a couple of inches would be best. For lightning protection you need to add the ground rods. Ground rods are required required by the NEC for electrical service grounds except where it is not practical, such as rocky areas.

As others said, ground rods generally provide better contact with moist Earth. They are, however, ineffective as an RF ground when compared to radials.

If you spend too much time worrying about what others think and let that affect your happiness, then you'll never get anywhere with anything. My suggestion is to thicken up, ignore fools with strong opinions, and do what YOU want.

If radio is not for you, it's not, but dont blame someone else's opinion for that.