Help, especially from H37c owners with SSBs. I'm getting ready to installed my new-to-me SSB and am looking for where to put the ground counter-poise. Looks to me like the best place is glassing cooper screen to the hull under the stern lockers and the starboard cockpit locker. Anyplace else looks pretty inaccessible. Any suggestions from veterans who've done this? Thanks, John Reid Cheese 'n Crackers john.patti.reid@juno.com
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Ed Schenck
SSB Ground plane.
Hi John, Got yourself a new(used) SSB? I am still looking. Gene Greunder will hopefully see this post. You can see a picture of his ground on his web-site(Rainbow Chaser). It's in the boat project pictures of his cockpit scupper modification. His is right where you suggest. I assume you have seen Sue & Larry's article on Sailnet. In case you have not here is the address: (http://www.sailnet.com/collections/articles/index.cfm?articleid=suelar0175). Excellent discussion there on ground planes. Maybe some pictures and comments when you finish?
Hi John, Got yourself a new(used) SSB? I am still looking. Gene Greunder will hopefully see this post. You can see a picture of his ground on his web-site(Rainbow Chaser). It's in the boat project pictures of his cockpit scupper modification. His is right where you suggest. I assume you have seen Sue & Larry's article on Sailnet. In case you have not here is the address: (http://www.sailnet.com/collections/articles/index.cfm?articleid=suelar0175). Excellent discussion there on ground planes. Maybe some pictures and comments when you finish?
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Ron
Alternative
There are several antennas on the market which do not require the standard ground plane. I am in the process of installing an Icom 707 Ham radio in my H37C and will be using two 20 meter hamsticks in a dipole configuration which of course has no ground plane. Pick up a copy of QST magazine or e-mail me and I'll get you in touch with the local Amateur Radio store. He has 24 foot SSB vertical antennas which do not require any ground plane. And, P.S. Get your Ham ticket. It's sooooo much better. Ron KA5HZV@yahoo.com
There are several antennas on the market which do not require the standard ground plane. I am in the process of installing an Icom 707 Ham radio in my H37C and will be using two 20 meter hamsticks in a dipole configuration which of course has no ground plane. Pick up a copy of QST magazine or e-mail me and I'll get you in touch with the local Amateur Radio store. He has 24 foot SSB vertical antennas which do not require any ground plane. And, P.S. Get your Ham ticket. It's sooooo much better. Ron KA5HZV@yahoo.com
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Gene Gruender
How I did mine
Here's what it did. I got about 100 sq. ft of bronze screen. I got some 2" copper foil. I glassed the screen wire on the underside of the cockpit and the ledge around the top of the rudderpost. Before glassing, I soldered the ends of the foil to the bronze screen. To attach the screen I screwed a few blocks of wood through the screen into the underside of the cockpit floor, holding the screen in place. I then mixed up some thickened resin and smeared it into the screen with a squeegee. The key here is you don't have to do it all at once. Just get a part as close to the hull as you can, then smear the resin over it. When hard, move your blocks, or whatever you need to do to get another area ready, then smear some more thickened resin in. Repeat until it's all covered. One mistake I made was not to be prepared when I did the shelf. I couldn't get the screen to lay flat, so it's a bit of a rough mess. If I was doing it again, I would cut a piece (or pieces) of plywood or chip board to fit the area I was going to glass the screen into. I'd cover the wood with wax paper (the real stuff) so it would seperate, put the screen in, smear on the thickened resin, then clamp down the wax paper-covered wood. Once it hardened, I'd remove the wood and have a smooth shelf with the screen embedded in the resin. I also ran a strip of copper to each toerail. I removed a bolt at the rear end of each, cleaned the anodizing off where the bolt hit so that it would connect electrically, put a star washer under the bolt head to really make sure it would make contact, then put the copper foil over the bolt on the underside and tightened the nut with a flat washer onto the foil. This brings the toerail, stancions and lifelines into the groundplane. We were often anchored next to other boats and we were trying both trying to talk to another boat thousands of miles away. In every case the distant boat could hear me much better than the other boat anchored near me. In several cases they'd spent a lot of money having their ground plane put in by "professionals", so I believe my method worked quite well. 2 other things I've heard should help, and have done, is to run a copper foil between the automatic tuner ground and the radio ground, and run the tuning wires through a copper foil. I rolled the 2" foil around the wires to do this. I could see no difference from these last two things, though.
Here's what it did. I got about 100 sq. ft of bronze screen. I got some 2" copper foil. I glassed the screen wire on the underside of the cockpit and the ledge around the top of the rudderpost. Before glassing, I soldered the ends of the foil to the bronze screen. To attach the screen I screwed a few blocks of wood through the screen into the underside of the cockpit floor, holding the screen in place. I then mixed up some thickened resin and smeared it into the screen with a squeegee. The key here is you don't have to do it all at once. Just get a part as close to the hull as you can, then smear the resin over it. When hard, move your blocks, or whatever you need to do to get another area ready, then smear some more thickened resin in. Repeat until it's all covered. One mistake I made was not to be prepared when I did the shelf. I couldn't get the screen to lay flat, so it's a bit of a rough mess. If I was doing it again, I would cut a piece (or pieces) of plywood or chip board to fit the area I was going to glass the screen into. I'd cover the wood with wax paper (the real stuff) so it would seperate, put the screen in, smear on the thickened resin, then clamp down the wax paper-covered wood. Once it hardened, I'd remove the wood and have a smooth shelf with the screen embedded in the resin. I also ran a strip of copper to each toerail. I removed a bolt at the rear end of each, cleaned the anodizing off where the bolt hit so that it would connect electrically, put a star washer under the bolt head to really make sure it would make contact, then put the copper foil over the bolt on the underside and tightened the nut with a flat washer onto the foil. This brings the toerail, stancions and lifelines into the groundplane. We were often anchored next to other boats and we were trying both trying to talk to another boat thousands of miles away. In every case the distant boat could hear me much better than the other boat anchored near me. In several cases they'd spent a lot of money having their ground plane put in by "professionals", so I believe my method worked quite well. 2 other things I've heard should help, and have done, is to run a copper foil between the automatic tuner ground and the radio ground, and run the tuning wires through a copper foil. I rolled the 2" foil around the wires to do this. I could see no difference from these last two things, though.
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Dave Simpson
Poor-Man's Solution
Being on a tight budget after all the other expenses (radio/tuner/tnc/antenna), I opted to follow the advice of Gordon West. Simply connect 3" copper foil from the tuner ground to a nearby bronze thru-hull. The sea then becomes the ground plane. Seems to work fine.
Being on a tight budget after all the other expenses (radio/tuner/tnc/antenna), I opted to follow the advice of Gordon West. Simply connect 3" copper foil from the tuner ground to a nearby bronze thru-hull. The sea then becomes the ground plane. Seems to work fine.
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Gene Gruender
First transmission
I explained how I did my ground plane, but it's also interesting what happened the first time I tried to transmit. Once I got it all together I was a bit bashful about trying it out. I didn't want to make a fool of myself, so I listened for several days. One day I heard two guys talking. One was in Clear Lake (near Houston, Tx.) and the other was off somewhere. I waited until they were done, then called for the guy who wasn't at Clear Lake. He answered and I explained that I'd just installed my new radio and was trying to find out if I was getting out anywhere. He asked where I was. "Lake Travis", I told him. "Where's that", he asked? "Central Texas", I told him. He said I was getting out pretty good, since he was sitting in the harbor at Cartagena, Colombia. Not bad for a first transmission. I figured my installation was complete.
I explained how I did my ground plane, but it's also interesting what happened the first time I tried to transmit. Once I got it all together I was a bit bashful about trying it out. I didn't want to make a fool of myself, so I listened for several days. One day I heard two guys talking. One was in Clear Lake (near Houston, Tx.) and the other was off somewhere. I waited until they were done, then called for the guy who wasn't at Clear Lake. He answered and I explained that I'd just installed my new radio and was trying to find out if I was getting out anywhere. He asked where I was. "Lake Travis", I told him. "Where's that", he asked? "Central Texas", I told him. He said I was getting out pretty good, since he was sitting in the harbor at Cartagena, Colombia. Not bad for a first transmission. I figured my installation was complete.
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