[TowerTalk] Another Grounding Question

[K8RI]

On 9/6/2012 11:44 PM, Gary "Joe" Mayfield wrote:
> I need to make one more grounding connection by bonding the tower grounds to
> the electrical ground.
>
>
>
> My power meter is on a light pole about 20 feet from my house.  The power
> comes to the pole underground and then goes to the house underground as
> well.  It just pops up out of the ground for the light and then the meter.

Normally the meter would be on the house.  The cable would come up to 
the basement wall from a junction box out at the power pole or a riser, 
go up to the meter box, then from the meter it'd go down the plate on 
top of the basement wall and follow that "inside" to the breaker panel. 
  I've never seen one go through a basement wall.

At any rate there should be a green wire hooked to the panel, to the 
meter box, and then to 1, 2, or 3 ground rods depending on the soil. But 
with this arrangement I don't know if they'd be close to the house or 
not. I'd expect them to be close to where the power goes through the wall.


>
>
>
> The power enters the house through a basement wall.
>
>
>
> There is no obvious ground rod to be seen.

The tops of the ground rods may be roughly 3 to 6 inches under the 
surface.  Possibly a little deeper.

  The pole has a bare wire running
> from the meter into the ground.  I suspect it is attached to the bottom of
> the pole.  If I bond the tower grounds to this wire have I done what I am
> supposed to do?  If not what do folks suggest?


Go to the polyphaser page http://www.protectiongroup.com/Home and read 
up on lightning protection and safety.

The usual idea is to have everything enter the home through a grounded 
panel. Power, Telephone, cable, and coax, but often that is not feasible 
and you have to create a grounded bulkhead panel for the coax and 
rotator cables.

Typically there is one ground rod out about 3 feet from each tower leg. 
On mine each of those runs out about 80 feet with an 8' ground rod 
CadWelded(TM) to the grounding cable about every 16 feet.  From the 
tower I have two grounding cables that run all the way to the bulkhead 
panel and the house entrance.
  http://www.rogerhalstead.com/ham_files/cablebox.htm

Overall I have 32 or 33 8' ground rods CadWelded(TM) to over 600 feet of 
bare #2 stranded. Each strand is about #14 or so.  For most 
installations that would be a lot of overkill, but I figured if I had it 
I might as well use it.

Yes that 100' 45G has been stuck directly many times.

73

Roger (K8RI)


>
>
>
> Thanks and 73,
>
> Joe kk0sd
>
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