[TowerTalk] Power ground

[Jim Brown]

On Wed, 26 May 2004 05:45:45 -0400, David J Windisch wrote:

>When the rod is replaced, would there be an additional lightning-strike
>safety benefit to adding "some number" of short radials to it?

Absolutely. Longer is better (obvious difficulties with getting them in the ground) 
and more widely separated is better. 

>What are the *technical* pros and cons of burying the line?

The only "con" I can think of is corrosion.  
>
>Can physically-separated grounds be tied together with buried copper water
>pipe sections brazed together?

I don't see any reason why not. Others who know more about what happens to 
buried copper may have different advice.  In general, the more copper you can 
have in contact with earth, and the more moist the contact, the  better your safety 
ground will be. That copper pipe counts, IF the earth it is in contact with is moist. 

I strongly agree with Tom Rauch's advice to bond all of that together with 
whatever you do for you ham station. 

Jim Brown  K9YC