Mark Sheffield, N0LF wrote:
"When I`m putting in an RF ground for either my station or for an
antenna system, how do I know when I`ve achieved "good enough"?"

Measurement accuracy is sometimes overestimated as Reg Edwards, G4FGQ
has often declared in this group. But, you know your RF ground is good
enough when expanding the system brings very little improvement.

You need no RF ground for a properly balanced antenna system. For an
unbalanced antenna, the ground system is 1/2 of the total antenna
system. This system has a total resistance that is the sum of its
desired radiation resistance and its undesired loss resistance. Nearly
all the undesired loss is in the ground system. So, it`s very important
to minimize ground loss in an unbalanced antenna system.

There are two ways to determine that you`ve rid your unbalanced antenna
system of loss resistance. If the loss resistance is zero, the driving
impedance of the 1/4-wave monopole against ground should measure 36.5
ohms (from 1950 Kraus "Antennas" page 315).

The second way is to measure the field intensity along the earth`s
surface at a distance of one mile from the antenna. With 1 watt into the
antenna, the field intensity at one mile is 6.5 millivolts/meter with a
lossless system (from Kraus as above).

Best regards, Richard Harrison, KB5WZI