[ICOM] Grounding

[wb4mle at surfbest.net]

>
>I spent a few hours today with an engineer from the power company as I had a
>whole house surge device put on my main electrical service.
>
>He said that my present grounding setup is a problem, i.e.., separate ground
>rods for the tower as well as the radio room.  He said that I needed "single
>point" grounding system with the tower and radio room tied into the main
>power company ground so there will not be a difference of potential.
>
>He said that a small wire such as #10 will be fine.
>
>Has anyone else heard of this?
>
>
>From an electrical code perspective, ALL grounding electrodes on the
premises must be bonded together. A man-made electrode such as a rod,
plate or concrete encased electrode require a #6 copper minimum
bonding conductor. A #4 copper is required if the conductor is not
"physically protected". The engineer probably was referring to the #10
because the telcos largely specify this as a minimum conductor size. 

Separate grounds can cause quite large potential differences between
the systems even when physically close to each other. Many years (28)
as a certified electrical inspector and traffic signal systems
technician have proven this to be a reality. 
-- 
Eddie Seymour, WB4MLE
E-Mail wb4mle at surfbest.net