[ICOM] Grounding

[Nick Pair]

Hi William.

Yes I have heard this many times and even had arguments with electrical
inspectors over this practice. That being said, they do it for national
electrical code requirements. But I  have argued and won in the light of RF
requirements and the need for separation of grounding expresly used for
lightning suppression. You need two grounds for the perfict radio room. The
equipment that is connected to the power company service needs a connection
to your service ground which is connected to the utility ground. After your
line connected equipment the now DC powered equipment is isolated from
utility ground and can be connected to your station RF ground.All tower and
antennas need thier own ground rods, with the leads connecting to rods
havind large radius bends and no conductor over a foot running horizontal,
and all rods connected together with number 6 or larger conductor. To keep
from lightning strikes on any tall antennas be sure to put one of those
spikey discharge devices as near to the top as possible.The code states that
any device that uses a transformer has isolation that requires regrounding
downstream of it. This is satisfied with the station ground. Connecting the
grounds together will allow strikes on the utility to travel thruogh your
station, It won't be much current but could be considerable voltage. As you
have learned only a radio completely isolated from grounds, antennas, power
supplies, and any other wireing will be safe. Hope this helps and not
confuses more! I have used this method on many cell phone sites with
success.
Nick WB7PEK