[Elecraft] Got the radio...

[Don Wilhelm]

David,

If you add ground rods, know that all ground rods should be tied back to 
the Utility ground rod by a large conductor (#6 wire is the minimum 
size).  That is not only a requirement of NEC safety rules, but also a 
safety consideration for your station.  All driven ground rods must be 
connected together unless the separation between the ground rods is 100 
feet or more.

My own installation has grounds that are as much as 200 feet from the 
Utility Ground rod, but there are intermediate grounds that are less 
than 100 feet, so *all* are interconnected by large diameter 
conductors.  This is primarily a consideration for AC fault conditions, 
but also part of my plan for lightning protection - perimeter wires 
around each building and all grounds interconnected with #6 or greater 
wire to give the charge from a lightning surge a large area to dissipate 
(hopefully without damage such as punching holes through the house 
foundation).  All towers and masts are grounded to this system.

Your home safety demands that you tie all grounds together and tie into 
the utility ground system.

73,
Don W3FPR

On 4/16/2014 9:13 PM, David Cole wrote:
> Hi Don,
>
> Thank you for that info, I have powered everything, (except for the
> amp), off a single largish UPS, that way the grounds are the same, and I
> get a few minutes to kill power of the commercial power dies...
>
> I will be adding a new ground rod to the house ground system, and
> bonding that to the station ground later this week.
>
> Thanks again for the info on grounds.