DC Grounded vs Open Antennas

When discussing antennas, we often focus on feedpoint impedance, gain, or SWR. But one aspect that many radio amateurs overlook is whether an antenna is DC grounded or DC open — and why that matters more than you might think.

What Does DC Grounded Mean?

A DC grounded antenna is one where, if you measure across the feedpoint with a multimeter, you see a direct current path to ground (0 Ω or a few ohms). This doesn’t mean the antenna doesn’t radiate; at RF frequencies, the behavior is very different due to reactive elements. But from a DC perspective, it looks like a short to ground.

Examples of DC grounded antennas:

  • End-fed antennas using an autotransformer such as a 4:1, 9:1, or 49:1 UNUN
  • Coaxial-fed antennas with a center-tap or DC path through the matching network

DC Open Antennas

In contrast, DC open antennas have no path to ground at DC. Measure them with a multimeter and you get infinite resistance.

Examples:

  • Classical center-fed dipoles using a 1:1 current balun or with no DC bleed path
  • Classical quarter-wave verticals (e.g., a ¼λ whip over a radial field)
  • Any antenna lacking a direct or intentional DC path to ground

Why It Matters: Atmospheric Discharge and Safety

Antennas are giant electrostatic collectors. Even when the weather seems clear, your antenna can accumulate charge due to atmospheric potential differences. DC open antennas offer no route for that charge to dissipate — until it suddenly arcs to your feedline, tuner, or radio.

This isn’t just theory. In practice:

  • Sudden pops in the receiver
  • Damaged front-end components
  • False keying of relays or tuners
  • Lightning damage — even without a direct hit

A simple solution? A DC bleed resistor or inductor to ground.

Many hams forget to include this in dipole systems. It doesn’t affect RF performance but gives a safe path for charge to leak away slowly.

DC Grounded = Quieter Reception

DC grounded antennas help drain low-frequency noise picked up from the environment. This can:

  • Lower the static noise floor
  • Help your receiver AGC work less
  • Prevent annoying clicks and thumps during storms

Especially on low bands (160m, 80m), a DC path to ground improves receive performance. Your receiver doesn’t have to fight the ever-shifting DC bias caused by environmental charge buildup.

How to Add a Bleeder

For dipoles and other floating antennas:

  • Use a 10kΩ to 1MΩ resistor from feedpoint to ground
  • Or use an RF inductor with enough inductive reactance at your operating frequency to avoid RF shunting, while still allowing DC drain
  • Always ensure the path is safe, weatherproofed, and rated for outdoor use

Note: Common-mode chokes like ferrite bead baluns or coiled coax do not provide a DC path to ground.

Where to Place the Bleeder

If your antenna is coax-fed, the bleeder is best placed at the top of the mast near the feedpoint. This allows electrostatic charge to be safely drained at the point of collection. Placing the bleeder at the bottom of the coax or even worse near the shack, does not create a significant safety risk — but it introduces a more subtle problem: it creates a DC and RF imbalance. Because the coax has resistance and acts as a transmission line, draining charge through the shield at ground level creates an offset in potential that can cause unwanted common-mode currents and unbalance in a dipole. This can degrade performance, disturb the current distribution on the antenna, and increase RF on the coax shield.

If your mast is conductive (metal), the bleeder can be tied directly to the mast. If it's non-conductive (e.g., fiberglass), run a dedicated grounding wire from the bleeder directly to ground.

For open-wire fed antennas (450–600 Ω ladder line), it's often better to install the bleeder at ground level, where the line enters a tuner or balun. Open wire lines are balanced and have better common-mode rejection, so charge can be more easily and symmetrically dissipated. Since both conductors carry equal and opposite voltages, bleeding DC at the bottom doesn’t disturb system balance, making this approach both effective and electrically clean.

Conclusion

It’s easy to forget DC behavior in an RF world. But paying attention to whether your antenna is grounded or not has real-world consequences: for safety, for receiver performance, and for longevity of your gear. Adding a bleeder resistor or grounding your antenna base can make the difference between a quiet, safe station and one that's vulnerable to the whims of the sky.

 

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Written by Joeri Van Dooren, ON6URE – RF, electronics and software engineer, complex platform and antenna designer. Founder of RF.Guru. An expert in active and passive antennas, high-power RF transformers, and custom RF solutions, he has also engineered telecom and broadcast hardware, including set-top boxes, transcoders, and E1/T1 switchboards. His expertise spans high-power RF, embedded systems, digital signal processing, and complex software platforms, driving innovation in both amateur and professional communications industries.