[TowerTalk] w7ekb & ground rods

[Ken]

It seems to me that the ground above my rock layer (@ 36-40”)  gets really dry during the summer.  Does that dry dirt have enough conductivity to be useful?  I do not know the answer to that question.

Are there different answers depending on why we have the ground rod?  (RF ground, power line ground, or lightning protection)

Ken WA8JXM


> On Jan 19, 2015, at 12:53 AM, Kelly Taylor <ve4xt at mymts.net> wrote:
> 
> It seems to me a valid question to ask on this thread: Do you gain anything
> by, for example, drilling a hole to get a ground rod deeper?
> 
> If you think about it, the answer might not be so simple.
> 
> The point of a ground rod is to maximize electrical contact with the ground.
> If you have to drill 48 inches of an eight-foot rod and don't employ some
> kind of conductive filler (concrete, bentonite, etc.) to bond the rod to the
> rock, how much better off are you than just putting in a 48-inch rod? Even
> if you do use bentonite, is rock a good connection?
> 
> If that's the case, what would be wrong with cutting the eight-foot rod into
> two 48-inch rods and driving them 96 inches apart?
> 
> The point of eight- or ten-foot ground rods is to get eight or ten feet of
> contact area, not necessarily to get eight or ten feet deep, yes?
> 
> Just curious on all this.
> 
> 73, kelly
> ve4xt