[Boatanchors] Grounds, thanks all

[Glenn Little WB4UIV]

I am confused as to what you are trying to do.
If you are looking for a safety ground, this is to protect you from a 
failure in an electrical circuit.
If you are looking for a lightning ground, the ground rods are too 
close together.
I know of no reason to install ground rods any closer than twice the 
buried length.
This would be 16 feet for 8 foot rods.
In any case all the grounds should be bonded together.
To not do so will cause you more problems than having just one rod in 
a lightning strike.
MIL HDBK 419 (available on the web) is a very good reference for grounding.
Motorola R-19 is what is used for Motorola site maintenance.
In no case should braid be used for a lightning ground, it would be 
questionable for a RF ground.

73
Glenn
WB4UIV



At 11:17 PM 3/21/2012, Phil wrote:
>I want to thank everyone for all the good suggestions.
>
>I once used the braid from RG8 coax for ground connections on a
>Butternut HF-2V antenna.  When I took the antenna down after about a
>year's use, the braid was heavily corroded, nearly corroded through in
>places (it was roof mounted and grounded to the metal roof and gutter).
>So that was out, and besides the only coax I have are a 15 foot length
>of RG-213 and a 55 foot length of RG-213, both with connectors and with
>plans to use on antennas in the future.
>
>After reading some of the replies I went down to OSH and I just got
>back.  It turns out they didn't have any aluminum wire anyway.  I got to
>talking to a licensed electrician (even had his work outfit on :)in the
>electrical department who was buying some supplies himself.  He said
>they did away with the aluminum wire, at least here in California a few
>years back due to safety concerns. I find that odd as that is what our
>TV antenna installers always used at the shop where I worked. He
>suggested stranded/insulated 14Ga wire as that is what he uses for
>"safety grounds".  I couldn't make him understand the "skin effect" at
>RF, so didn't try.  But I DID buy a length of 10Ga bare solid copper
>wire for the grounds.  I wanted the 8 Ga (or even the 6Ga ;-) but the
>money in my wallet wouldn't stretch that far. It should be much better
>than the scraps of 18Ga stranded at any rate. . .
>
>--
>73 de Phil,  KO6BB
>http://ko6bb1.multiply.com/ (OTR Blog)
>http://www.qsl.net/ko6bb/  (Web Page)
>
>RADIOS:
>Grundigs: Satellit 750 (2011), S-350 (2006)&  G6 (2011).
>Icom: R-75 with Two 250Hz CW Filters.
>Kenwood: TS130S Transceiver (circa 1980).
>Radio Shack: DX-380 digital portable (circa 1990).
>Yaesu: VX8R Quad-Band HT (circa 2010).
>Zenith: Royal-7000 Transoceanic (circa 1969).
>
>ACCESSORIES:   Homebrewed LF Pre-Amp, MFJ-949E HF Tuner
>                 Homebrewed 6 Hz Filter.
>
>ANTENNAS: 88' Long Ladder-line fed dipole, Apex at 35 feet.
>            Amplified Mini-Whip up 29 feet for LF/MW
>Merced, Central California, 37.3N 120.48W  CM97sh
>
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