[TowerTalk] [Bulk] Re: RF Ground is a Myth

[Jim Lux]

On 1/20/15 7:13 AM, Grant Saviers wrote:
> If your house slab was installed correctly with a vapor barrier and/or
> foam insulation, then it is insulated electrically from earth.

In the middle, yes.. so it forms a big capacitor plate.

But, around the edges, your slab is still in contact with the soil.  My 
house slab is about 50 feet long and 30 feet wide, so I've got 260 
running feet of contact, with at least 1 foot of concrete exposed.

I can't remember exactly how deep the footing edges go, but it's about 
12-18" and at least 8" wide, then it pops back up to the 4" thick post 
tension slab in the middle.  Only the 4" slab part has the vapor barrier.





> Tower bases make good Ufers as do perimeter foundations, so my towers
> and shop both had the rebar set as Ufers when constructed.
> I also noticed that a new service transformer I had installed is set on
> a concrete vault that has a ground stub cast into the side.  The power
> company used it, no ground rods.  I'd estimate its surface area in
> contact with earth as more than 16 sq ft.  Compare that to less than 2
> sq feet for a 10' 3/4" ground rod.
>