Good Grounding (

[@mstrawn69]

When I was in the Army in the late 70's, we had to ground our communications vans and we suppose to build a little pool around the rod with saltwater in it. On one mission we were on, we didn't have any salt handy so we figured if we all pee'd on it, that would do the job. A little while later a busy-body captain came sniffing around and he asked if we put salt in the water around our ground rod. We said "Yes sir!" so he proceeds to stick his finger in it and tasted it! He just looked at us, didn't say a word, and walked away.

[@JimmyShot]

That may be the funniest story I’ve read on a ham post 😂😂😂😂

[@greglawrencemusic]

Best enlisted comms story ever. \m/ ô¿ô \m/

[@DynoDieselWagon]

Lmbo

[@vincentbarrett5282]

Now that's funny 😅

[@davidhosmer1424]

Years ago I sold stainless steel, 10' threaded end ground rods to the local railroad signal crews. They would drive one in and then do a DUCTOR test ( low micro ohm / high micro mho ). If it wasn't good enough another rod was screwed onto the first and drive and test again, They added rods until they got a good enough reading. I think the idea was to reach down into better soil conductivity instead of multiple rods all into the same soil. We also sold a lot of "Cad Weld" thermite supplies to the steel mills. Thanks, always interesting to a non Ham.

[@tomnorman5461]

I've been using #4 solid on ground rods for residential electrical services for years.

[@mpgrenda]

I was pleased to read your new column in July 2021 edition of QST. Congratulations on being able to bring "Ask Dave" to QST each month. I have been watching your videos since becoming a ham in 2013. You have been my You Tube Elmer for the past 8 years and I continue to learn from you several times a week. I particularly enjoy your grounding discussions. Mark (AG6UK)

[@PatrickDickey52761]

Cadweld is what you were thinking of. The thermal connection for the wires to the ground rod. You can also use it above ground.

[@THEBossSound]

I have NEVER heard of someone saying you are better grounded than you need to be! WOW. Said NO ONE EVER. I am a broadcast engineer managing 2000' towers. One can NEVER have too much grounding, or "more than you need".

[@countycarpentryandbuilding1684]

Your videos are always a great source of information and reference. Thanks Dave keep up the good work Andy M7IND 👍

[@ralphquinn890]

I Dave thank you for your educational videos.

[@SheepdogPreparedness]

Good info. Grounding has always held a great mystique in my mind, mainly because I worry about how to avoid the dreaded ground loop.

[@markrosneck4603]

Really enjoyed this one! I have a house built in the 1970s which doesn't seem to have a "utility ground." In fact, Ma Bell, once upon a time in years gone by, attached their ground to the service box conduit. What, if anything, should I consider doing here?

[@glenmartin2437]

Thank you, Dave.

[@markrosneck4603]

Speaking of grounding, I once had a tour (unclassified) of Cheyenne Mountain in Colorado Springs back in the 80s. Once computer networking happened, they were in deep trouble since none of the Ethernet connections would work reliably between buildings. As you might know, the buildings are on giant springs (which seemed like a good idea at the time). Nothing they could think of worked and they eventually had to call in Navy specialists in grounding on submarines for a solution.

[@Mike-H_UK]

Cheers Dave, another great video.Please keep them coming!

[@DonDegidio]

Hi Dave, Once while I driving in a ground rod it went in only 4 ft. I cut it off, ground a new point on the cutoff and put it 6 ft away. They were above surface so did not use a welding method. I have always wondered if a ground rod, buried horizontally in a trench about a foot deep, would be similar as one driven vertically. Your thoughts. You and the family have a safe and happy 4th. 73 WJ3U

[@louandpaulanickles7172]

It all depends upon the conductivity of your soil and the moisture content of the soil.

[@yv6eda]

What are this "thermate" things Dave?

[@greglawrencemusic]

Two fallen trees and a lightning strike...just finishing up mounting my third OCF Folded Dipole (AH-710) in the trees and taking a break from pounding another 8' rod into the ground. (I decided to wait until the sun goes down -lol.) -Yep.. I missed out on Field Day 2021 :-( I checked DXEngineering for the thermite welding "stuff" and there doesn't seem to be anything listed. Any ideas or pointers to the thermite welding "stuff?" (or do I get out the chemistry set? ;-) I also received my Nano VNA today and looking forward to measuring all my antennas! ($44 on eBay) Thanks Dave, you're the best! -'73

[@xjfo]

Search for "Cadweld" on the DXEngineering site and you will find the thermite welding products from Erico.

[@garrysekelli6776]

I have a satellite dish attached to some coax. Can i turn that into a ham radio station? What extra equipment would i need?

[@tomnorman5461]

Start with a brain!

[@juanlu1bam46]

Como me encantaría que estuviera subtitulado al español 😪😪😪👍🇦🇷73

[@JimmyShot]

That hair is getting shaggy dave!

[@miketessitore6987]

my mother-in-law has quite a few gold fillings. i was thinking about burying her in the yard and using her as a ground rod.

[@JayN4GO]

W6LG did a great video on this. Did it help him. Not really.

[@hedgerowpete]

as ever with ALL RADIO TECH CHANNELS, total ignorance to the poorer few and only the rich kids and toys. try a discussion about earths for flat dwellers or up stairs back bed room hams and on abudget

[@migsvensurfing6310]

You have a point but I dont think you can/should replace the type of ground rod used by utility services by any other type of rod. In a flat on another level then ground level you will always have a long wire from the ground wire to your equipment (long is something like 10feet and longer), Here thicker cable will help some but the ground will be less effective the longer the wire from the rod. Its all about keeping the length as short as possible to get as low a resistance as possible. But that said it is better to use a long wire than none at all.

[@stridermt2k]

Thank you for all of your awesome videos Dave! 73 de N2NLQ