Where I live in Michigan, the soil is always moist a few feet down. This subject can get pretty involved - Google can be your friend here. If you live in a lightning-prone area, make provision for "QUICKLY" disconnecting your station equipment from the antennas and if you're going to be absent from the station for some time DISCONNECT ! I suggest you contact your county surveyor, he may be able to tell you how deep the water table is in your area or put you in contact with the state or Federal "Hydrologist" who should be able to provide the information (get a rod down into the water table if possible).Īny connections you make should be made with an Anti-oxidant Grease (such as "No-LOX") especially if connecting dissimilar metals and use as large a wire as possible. The NEC and NFPA recommend that ALL "Extra" grounds attach back to the electrical service ground ( I suggest you read up on this).Īrizona presents its own problems to the grounding question. "EARTHING" or Grounding is a hot subject in many areas and there are many theories related to it. The W8JI information is pretty good, there are a few points he doesn't touch on though. What gauge wire should I use and should it be stranded, like the ground straps in a car, or solid or both? The pipe sections are 10' long vice the 8' of the rods. Would it benefit my ground to run a slow drip maybe a gallon a day into the copper pipe so that the dirt at the bottom remains wet? Would I benefit from multiple rods along the side of my house? Would copper pipe work as well, or better than, the steel rod which is copper clad? I am installing an 8 foot ground rod and because of the caliche I'm having to actually drill thru the dirt to put the rod in. I live in the North Western Arizona Desert and the ground is very dry. It will be tied to the window ground feed through and from there to the ground rod. Inside I will have a 3 to 4 foot piece of copper pipe which will be common to all the cases of my system. There is a ground connection on my mounting plate and also on the plate in my window that feeds the transmission lines in and out of the house. The far end will be about 45 feet above ground level. I will have a 20' mast with a long wire antenna running 130+ feet out to the south. I will be including a lightning arrester that will also go the the ground. I am installing a ham radio and want to properly ground it.
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