[Boatanchors] Ground Rod

[Brian Clarke]

Hi Ray,

Have a careful look at the call sign - I'm in Australia - where drought is a 
normal condition. When we get rain, our house actually twists and some 
doors don't open and others close no matter which way you leave them, 
because of the water uptake by the underlying soil and rock.

We normally don't rely on grounding for RF purposes because it's so 
variable. Further, our local building ordinances are so restrictive that most
of us can't put up ground-plane antennas for HF. A good dipole is likely to 
give more gain and more controlled directivity. Hence we use dipoles.

73 de Brian, VK2GCE.
  Ray said:

  Unless you have been going through a VERY severe drought, the earth 
  below your home and yard,
  depending on the type of dirt of course , is usually always going to be 
  moist enough to provide a
  satisfactory ground.    
   <snip>
       Remember, the ground rod is for RF purposes, not DC potential 
  purposes ....