Having spent over 30-years as a telecommunications consultant, and
having
specialties in lightning protection and r.f. grounding, I say that
adding
ground rods, etc., is NOT balderdash! No, adding such does not always
produce measurable results. However, the majority of times adding
external
grounding does contribute favorably.
There are PROPER methods of installing coaxial cable. NFPA NEC
(National
Electrical Code) requires that the coaxial cable shield be connected
to a
ground rod at the point where it enters the building. This is for
lightning protection as well as providing an r.f. grounding point.
Also,
when the cable is installed on a tower, mast, etc., the shield needs
to be
grounded to that structure as near the antenna as possible and at
the point
the cable leaves the structure to enter the building. In addition,
if the
structure is higher than around 100-feet, the shield needs to be
grounded
every 50-feet to 75-feet along the structure.
All "other" ground rods, etc., MUST also be connected to the AC mains
ground. There are several reasons for this of which lightning
protection
is foremost.
Way too many seem to think that the 3rd wire in the AC wiring in their
house provides sufficient grounding. Sometimes it does and, more times
than not, there can be problems on various bands caused by the
length of
the wire between the outlet and the AC mains ground rod.
The whole idea is to get the lowest impedance path to ground. When just
wire is concerned, the length of the lead needs to be no more than
around
4-feet long and shorter is better. You can increase the length of the
grounding path by using something like aluminum flashing which is
available
in widths from around 4-inches wide to more than 36-inches wide.
Aluminum
is not as conductive as copper. However, it is much cheaper and having
wider widths overrides the conductivity.
Just get the flashing as near the ground rod as possible (usually on
the
inside of the building), and then a short piece of large diameter wire
through the building wall to the ground rod.
There are other things, like using chemical ground rods, that can
definitely improve r.f. grounding. One just has to do as much as
possible
to achieve a good grounding system. Of course, the more that the
individual can do themselves, the cash outlay is reduced.
Glen, K9STH
Website: https://k9sth.net
On Monday, February 3, 2020, 09:57:16 PM CST, Jim Brown <
jim@audiosystemsgroup.com> wrote:
Balderdash. The earth is not a sump into which noise, RFI, and other
trash is poured. Comments like this bring to mind the infinite
number of
monkeys and typewriters producing Shakespeare.
73, Jim K9YC
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