[TowerTalk] Hazards of low soil conductivity

[Lux, Jim]

On 1/9/22 8:22 PM, Jim Brown wrote:
> On 1/9/2022 4:48 PM, David Gilbert wrote:
>> That's a different situation, of course, but certainly very true.  I 
>> bet lots of people have multiple grounds connected to their homes, 
>> and most don't realize they do or the potential effect of it.  I've 
>> seen internet providers stake their own ground because the egress for 
>> their equipment was too distant from the utility service entrance.  
>> Then you get TVs and computers connected to different ground 
>> potentials in the case of nearby lightning hits.
>
> Electrical Codes adopted throughout North America carry the force of 
> law. Virtually all include a requirement that all earth connections in 
> a premises be bonded together, with certain exceptions for separate 
> buildings. Lots on my website about that.
>
> Over several years after moving in, I found some real horror stories 
> in how this was not done in the home I bought when I moved here in 
> 2005. Not even the craziest thing was that the required earth 
> connection for the electrical service was to a nearby outlet for a 
> garden hose, which was fed by PVC pipe. 


There are multiple websites with examples of poor "earthing" on 
satellite TV, cable TV, and telco installations.

Out at the barn where I used to keep my horses, the telco guy just drove 
a new rod at the demarcation point (on a fence 50 feet away from the 
nearest building).