[Elecraft] Station grounding question

[Robert Tellefsen]

Hi Glenn
Seems a lot of work for a relatively simple rf ground.
Why not just take a piece of copper tubing and lay it in a shallow trench
and bond your ground wire to it?
RF doesn't penetrate the ground very far, so a deep trench wouldn't be
needed.

Glad to see you're still around.  Haven't heard you on in a while.
73, Bob N6WG

-----Original Message-----
From: elecraft-bounces at mailman.qth.net
[mailto:elecraft-bounces at mailman.qth.net]On Behalf Of Glenn Maclean
Sent: Wednesday, July 13, 2005 7:48 PM
To: elecraft at mailman.qth.net
Subject: [Elecraft] Station grounding question


I recently up graded my house electrical panel from 100 to 200 amp
service. In order to do the up grade I had to install a Ufer ground
which was 20 feet of bare #4 copper wire in cement. Our local code
allowed a 10 foot run of wire in a U shape in a 9 inch wide trench. The
wire had to be 3 inches above the dirt 3 inches from the side of the
dirt 3 inches between the wires and three inches away from the dirt on
the other side of the trench. That allows for 3 inches of cement all
around the bare copper wire. The more I found out about Ufer grounds the
better they seem to be to me. The PH factor in the cement and the fact
that the cement never completely dries out and retains moisture make it
an excellent ground.

This leads me to my question. Is anyone out there using a Ufer ground as
a counterpoise or to ground their tower and station? This seems way
better than the old ground rod pounded in the dirt. Any comments would
be appreciated.

Glenn WA7SPY
Sacramento, CA


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