On May 4, 2:24*pm, RHF wrote:
On May 4, 11:49*am, "Sanjaya" wrote:
- I ran into solid rock trying to drive an 8 foot ground rod.

- Can I change orientation, dig a shallow trench 8 feet long
- and bury the rod horizontally?

- Yes, I know I *can* do it, but how will it affect performance?

Sanjaya,

First simply Move {Re-Locate} the Ground Rod [G1]
'over' 8~12 Inches and Try Again [G2]; and -if- that
does not work -then- Move the Ground Rod 'back'
16~24 Inches and Try Again [G3];
G2 8"~12" G1 8"~12" G3

Second -if- the Ground Rod is about Four Feet (4') in
the Ground : Cut the Rod 'off' and use the remaining
piece of Rod and Drive IT into the Ground about Two
Feet (2') away from the First. *Dig a shallow trench
between the two Rods and make at least Two Wire
Connections between the rods with AWG #4 Copper
Wire or larger/bigger wire.
G1 = #4 AWG Wire = G2

How Far 'down' did you go to hit Solid Rock ?
___ Inches -or- __ Feet

How would you Classify your Soil ?
Type : Dirt -or- Sandy -or- Rocky -or- HardPan
Condition : Dry -or- Moist -or- Wet ?

How much "Space" do you have to Work In to 'place'
your Horizontal Ground Rod in the ground ?
__ Feet Long ? -by- __ Feet Wide ?

iane ~ RHF
*.

Sanjaya,

Horizontal Ground Rod ? - Try Ground Radial Instead

Your 'other' option is a Ground Radial on/under the Ground.

-IF- Possible use more than one Ground Radial all 'connected'
to a Center-Point. Ideally this Center-Point should be 'remote'
{as Far Away from} to the House and Radio Shack.

However -if- You can only have One (1) Ground Radial then IT
is usually best to place it on/under the ground laying directly
under the Wire Antenna Element that it is being used with.

On-the-Ground : Use Yard Staples.

Under-the-Ground : 3"~4" Deep Trench is OK
-with- 6"~9" Deep Trench being Better.

TIP - Fill the bottom 3/8" of the Ground Radial Trench with
the same Kitty Litter and Mineral Salts Mixture used for
Ground Rods.

Ground Radial Wire Size : AWG # 16 is commonly suggested.
http://www.davisrf.com/ham1/grndwire.htm
However, This Wire is more than a Radial it is also your
'alternative' Ground Rod. Normally AWG # 4 is recommended
as the Standard for Ground "Connecting" Wires.
AWG # 10 Bare Copper Wire is a 'nice' Compromise
between the two sizes.

Note - That both the Ground Radial Wire and Ground Wire
should be made of Bare {Un-Insulated} Copper Wire.

About - American Wire Gauge (AWG)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_wire_gauge

Ground Radial Ends : A Short Ground 'Stake" at each end
of the Ground Radial usually helps out. Most important
at the End where you are 'connecting' to your Coax Cable
feed-in-line and the Antenna. This "Stake" should be Copper
and Two to Three Foot Long and driven into the Ground with
only 4"~6" above.

Antenna {Aerial} Wire Size : AWG # 14 is commonly
suggested and it should be Copper or Copper-Clad Steel
http://www.universal-radio.com/catalog/cable/4608.html
http://www.davisrf.com/ham1/flexweve.htm#14wire
http://www.universal-radio.com/catalog/cable/wire.html
http://www.thewireman.com/antennap.html

iane ~ RHF