On Sat, 19 Apr 2008 11:40:49 -0700 (PDT), RHF
wrote:

-IF- You can 'find' the Metal Cold Water Pipe that
is coming into the House : Usually Outside the
Foundation somewhere around the front ot side
of the House.

Hint - There is all ready a Ground Clamp attached there.

IIRC - This Water Service Pipe is usually 1 1/2" in Diameter

-IF- The Pipe is Plastic : It can NOT be used as a Ground.

-IF- The Pipe is Steel/Iron {Test with a Magnet} : It can be
used as a Ground. Clean the Outer Surface of the Pipe
with in a Few Inches of the Ground. Use a Brase Ground
Clamp around the Pipe

-IF- This Pipe is Copper -Caution- Use the Right Clamp.

You forgot one:

-IF- There is a thunderstorm and you have done this, run for the
hills, and pray that lightning doesn't strike a fire hydrant down the
street from you, so that you might actually have a home to return to
after the storm has passed.

Cold water pipes make poor grounds in most cases. Electrical service
joints also make poor grounds, and it's for the same reasons - the
leads are too long and the wire size is too small. That's before you
even begin to consider that the integrity of the ground connection is
often compromised by age, poor initial installation, corrosion,
dissimilar metal conversion, loose screws, etc.

Remember that whatever you use for a ground becomes part of the
antenna structure. Using a cold water pipe for a ground virtually
guarantees that you are going to suck in a ton of ground-level
radiation in the form of RF noise - and should you ever transmit on an
antenna that's grounded to a cold water pipe, you're certain to cause
interference to other services or neighbors.

The Phone Company ground at the network interface) is not a good
choice either. It may not even be attached to anything.

For what it's worth, the National Electrical Code NFPA 70-2002,
Section 250.130(C) does not permit the equipment grounding conductor
of a nongrounding receptacle or branch circuit extension to be
connected to a cold-water pipe, and prohibits using interior metal
water piping more than 5 feet from the point of entrance to a building
as part of the grounding electrode system. The use of water pipes as
an equipment grounding conductor also violates OSHA 1910.303(a), as
they are not listed for this purpose by nationally recognized testing
laboratories such as UL.

Don't screw around with shortcuts. Make the effort to construct a good
RF ground. in the long run, you'll be glad you did.

73 DE KC2HMZ