One thing that hams specialize in is taking something good and improving upon it, or taking something great and making it even better as input is received and new avenues for exploration emerge. The latter is best represented in the newly released second edition of Grounding and Bonding for the Radio Amateur by Ward Silver, N0AX, available at DX Engineering. Already a dog-eared, spine-cracked, and coffee-ring-decorated fixture in thousands of shacks around the world, the popular first edition has been infused with a lightning-jolt of new content, improved drawings, and expanded coverage of important topics that made it such an essential reference the first time around.
Ward, N0AX, a longtime electrical engineer, multiple winner of the Bill Orr Technical Writing Award, OnAllBands blogger, and member of the CQ Contesting Hall of Fame, listened to feedback from other experts in the field and sorted through voluminous queries from readers before incorporating additional information and clarifications that make the second edition a must buy, whether you own the initial book or not.
Look inside this ARRL reference guide and you’ll find new details on grounding and bonding for portable, mobile, and upper-floor stations; routing of the ground system; routing of feedlines; and use of ferrite chokes to reduce common mode RFI and station noise. Plus, there are expanded explanations covering lightning protection, station antenna systems, single-point ground panels, and much more.
Watch Tim Duffy, K3LR, DX Engineering CEO, interview N0AX about the latest edition and other topics, including recent solar activity and the theory behind the DX Engineering RF Ground, or “Reference,” Plane Kits and why you should consider them for your shack: