On Apr 18, 10:49*am, msg wrote:
wrote:
A bunch of years ago, I bought eight copper plated, whatever plated they
are? eight foot long ground steel rods at the Goodwill store, dirt
cheep.Last year, I gave one of my auld buddies five of them, for
free.((Ronnie, you never know when you might need to hacksaw off a piece
of rod for something)) He told me,,, you dont need to use a big
hammer,,, just hold it between your fingers and bump it up and down in
the dirt.
-
- You might have soft soils,
- but in my area the clay is thick,
- deep and often hard as rock.
-
- Michael
-
Michael & MSG,
The Ground Rod is First and Formost for Electrical Safety
and it can also Help to Improve your Radio Reception.
NEC Compliant Ground Electrode Systems
http://www.transorbelectrical.com/pq...ntGndRodR8.pdf
You say that you have a Six Foot (6') Brass Ground Rod.
Most people buy and use the more common Eight Foot (8')
Copper-Clad Steel Ground Rods that are sold in just about
every Hardware Store because they meet NEC Requirements.
http://www.acehardware.com/product/i...ductId=1402217
Installing Ground Rods the Easy Way
http://www.cosjwt.com/index.php?a=16
Grounding Electrodes
http://www.galvanelectrical.com/electrodes.asp
Why Copper Ground Rods?
http://www.smeter.net/daily-facts/1/fact18.php
Ground Rod Electrodes - What You Need to Know
http://www.iaei.org/subscriber/magazine/06_b/lund.html
13 Common Misconceptions of Good Grounding Practices
http://www.galvanelectrical.com/commandments.asp
Secondarily understand Grounding in RF Environments
-by- William D. Chesney [N8SA]
http://www.hamuniverse.com/grounding.html
Antenna Ground Rod - Does it Help ?
http://www.cosjwt.com/index.php?a=21
GROUND RODS - THE HARD SOIL FACTS :
OK so you have Hard Clay Soil - Then you have more
Hard Work ahead for you to do over a several Days.
Usually you can start by taking a Post Hole Digger
and going down Two Feet or more on Day # 1
Day # 2 go down another Foot to 3 Feet.
Day # 3 go down another Foot to 4 Feet.
Day # 4 go down another Foot to 5 Feet.
Day # 5 go down another Foot to 6 Feet.
Note - Each Day : Check for Water Seepage
and Water Build-up in the Hole
* Dry - No Water - Bad
* Several Inches of Water - Good
FWIW - Most Post Hole Diggers will make a 6"~9" Hole.
Next - Buy some Yard Soil 2 Large Bags
Plus 2 Bags of Cat/Kitty Litter {Bentonite}
Two 4 Lb. Packages of Epson Salt [Magnesium Sulfate}
One Pound Package of Copper Sulfate {Copper Sulfate}
One Pound Baking Soda {Sodium Bicarbonate}
One Pound Salt {Sodium Chloride}
Take Half the Volumes of the above items and Mix
them all 'together' and Fill the Hole. Scoop the Mix
into the Hole add some Water to Soak wait and Hour
and then Tamp the Top of the Mix with a 2"x4"x8'.
-IF- The Hole is not filled then take the some or all
of the remaining Volmes of the above Items and Mix
them all 'together' and Fill the Hole some more up
to about 6 Inches from the ground's Surface. Add
some Water to Soak wait and Hour and then Tamp
the Top of the Mix with a 2"x4"x8'.
POUND - Your Ground Rod into the Center
of the Filled Ground Rod Hole.
Note - Save the remaining Mixture in a Plastic Bag
or Bucket for future use and Topping-Off of the Hole
as needed.
? WHY ? - Make Your Own 'Special' Ground Rod Soil Mixture
http://groups.google.com/group/rec.r...b69b219da2de33
http://groups.google.com/group/rec.r...549154294a4d9b
Ground Radials and Counterpoises ?
http://www.sgcworld.com/radialstechnote.html
http://www.antennex.com/shack/Dec06/cps.html
-IF- Possible a Single Ground Radial connected
to the Ground Rod and acting as a Counterpoise :
That is placed directly under a Horizontal-Wire or
Inverted "L" Antenna can help greatly in improving
the RF Performance of the Antenna System.
http://www.bencher.com/pdfs/00803ZZV.pdf
http://www.cebik.com/gp/cp-th.html
hope this helps iane ~ RHF {pomkia}