[TowerTalk] Cadwelding vs Silver Solder for Ground Radial Systems

[Pat Barthelow]

Folks, a photo of a buried cadwelded cell site perimeter ground system.  
Perimeter of large guage, solid, tinned copper ring about, 50-60 ft direct 
buried, 8" subsurface, with about 15 ea 8' cadwelded ground rods attached.

See:  http://groups.msn.com/hamtech/shoebox.msnw?action=ShowPhoto&PhotoID=13

toggle fwd or back for more photos..

73, DX, de Pat AA6EG aa6eg at hotmail.com;
                  Skype:  Sparky599

>From: Jim Lux <jimlux at earthlink.net>

>A couple observations...
>
>The ground resistance from a buried wire 16 ft long is probably comparable
>to a pair of 8 foot rods connected above ground by a 16 ft wire.  Why not
>just trench or slit and bury the wire?  No connections to worry about, no
>rods to buy, etc.
>
>Cadweld oneshots from Tessco are only $6-7 each.  I imagine that the cost
>of the ground rod is comparable..[Tessco shows a Harger 8'x5/8 rod is $17
>(list)].  Ultimately, you're looking at a cost/benefit tradeoff (better
>ground = lower risk of damage from transients).. Assuming you've got 3 legs
>on your tower, and a couple ground rods on each, you're looking at $60 or
>so for the CadWelds.. that's not a huge number compared to the several
>kilobucks you've got into the tower/antenna/radio....