[TowerTalk] grounding

[Tower]

A couple of points.
My whole ground system is "CadWelded(tm)".  That consists of currently 32 to
33 (forgot the count) 5/8 ths inch X 8 foot copper clad ground rods and over
600 feet of bare #2.

Now, before running out and purchasing a carbon block and the associated
equipment, I'd suggest comparing prices of the carbon block versus the
"OneShot", CadWeld (tm) process for the number of welds you are
contemplating.

IF you have enough welds to make, then by all means go with the carbon block
form, but unless doing a bunch it is far, far, cheaper to use the one shot
cartridge.  The amount of welds I had to make actually favored the Carbon
block/form slightly, but as I was going to be doing the job over several
years, I chose to go with the OneShots rather than purchasing the form,
tongs, and required charge quantity plus igniter. Again with the OneShots
you have to specify the rod size, cable size, and whether straight through,
end, or junction.

I don't sell anything and have no connection with any of these companies.
The following page shows The hydraulic drill I build for about $5 and the
steps for installing the ground rods which are "CadWelded" to the cable.  I
use the term CadWeld properly as that is the system I used.

http://www.rogerhalstead.com/ham_files/ground.htm covers making the ground
connections step-by-step using the "oneShot" process and
http://www.rogerhalstead.com/ham_files/tower.htm is the installation of my
tower and antennas.

I hope you find the two pages of informative useful, or at least
interesting.

Roger Halstead (K8RI, EN73 & ARRL Life Member)
N833R, World's Oldest Debonair (S# CD-2)
www.rogerhalstead.com