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Old April 20th 08, 08:28 AM posted to rec.radio.shortwave
Drakefan Drakefan is offline
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First recorded activity by RadioBanter: Feb 2008
Posts: 16
Default SWL -Newbies- The Ground Rod is First and Formost for ElectricalSafety and it can also Help to Improve your Radio Reception.

Sanjaya wrote:
"RHF" wrote
snip

Installing Ground Rods the Easy Way
http://www.cosjwt.com/index.php?a=16

The link above contains this quote:
"At RF frequencies it is almost pointless to expect a ground rod like this
to do much good; Only a system of radial wires will help (This will be
proven in a later article on this site). For the sake of argument, however,
let's assume the ground rod will help. Unlike lightning which can and will
arc between two conductors, we need a low ohmic connection for RF antenna
currents. Thus only a wire soldered or brazed to the ground rod makes
sense."

Is he saying a ground rod won't improver reception?


Ideally you want the most conductive surface area you can get in the
ground. That's why more ground rods are better than one, particularly
for transmitting purposes. But one rod is usually enough for receiving
if the ground has average conductivity. In a dry area like the desert,
it may well require many horizontal radial rods or even copper sheet
metal buried in the ground to get a decent RF ground.