Dave Platt wrote:

Most of the ground rods I've seen are steel, with a thin copper
plating. If your rod has corroded enough that you've lost continuity
with the ground wire, I'd guess that your rod's copper plating is
probably gone or is badly degraded. This has two implications:

- You may not be able to clean it enough to re-establish a good contact

- The copper may be gone from the portion of the rod which is beneath
the soil surface, and hence your ground conductivity may be shot.
. . .

Surely the ground conductivity doesn't depend on that thin plating of
copper, does it? Isn't the conductivity of rust better than the dirt
it's in contact with?

Roy Lewallen, W7EL