Extensive Ground System at N6GR (

[@KF7P]

Terrific video! Brad did a great job on his grounding and the tower install!

[@danielhoffman6131]

A fantastic grounding job!!!!!!!!!! This is very close to the way I ground my systems. Dan / WM9P

[@joereiley3282]

I have over the last 5 or so weeks listened to many Grounding videos you have done. I use to do power audits for RF and Microwave equipment, test and measurement equipment, and large building's. (4 million square feet). Don’t know if this will help, so in any case: I use to do power audits all over the world, looking for slight ground fault currents, mis-wireing, and in some cases just dangerous practices. The way to bond metals together is a Cad-weld which minimizes or eliminates dissimilar Metal corrosion. I was trained by an “old salt” Electrical Engineer who’s Grand-father received one of the first EE degrees in the US in the 1880 time frame. The course given to us was in enhanced Power Audits by doing ground measurements. Concrete has a normal resistance of 100s of Ohms per Meter (4 Terminal measurement) In Dryer locations it can be KOhms per meter or as much as 100 MOhms per meter. Chloride infiltration (Red discoloration around the rebar was bright RED in color) can cause destruction of the rebar. (Old Salt told us of a major site with an X-Fer/Ufer with Counterpose made of 2” Rebar on 12 inch centers as having no rebar left in just 40 years. This site resistance was measured at near Infinite Ohms.) It was not possible to address the X-Fer, so trenches were drilled around the buildings and filled with Concrete with 2-3 % carbon powder well mixed into the concrete. They used pallets of carbon many years ago at the cost of about 20 dollars a bag. More expensive now but doable. His rule of thumb was choose an impedance to ground to have a circuit breaker to open up in 16 milliseconds. NEC code back then was ground (4 Terminal measurement) should be less than 25 Ohms. Old salt use to say .5 to an ohm or two impedance to ground. (Ground Rod Impedance measurement) I wonder if salt although good in the short term might decrease resistance, in the long term may cause many ancillary issues…

[@bnad2009]

I’ve read the ARRL grounding book, but it was great to see the principles actually put into practice. I have a much better understanding of what to do to improve my own shack.

[@tokillamurderer]

Wow! I wish Brad had his own KZbin channel. He clearly goes all the way on his pursuits, which would be great to watch walkthroughs and improvements on; and judging from the picture you showed, he's also a pilot, which makes for great videos as well. What a beautiful property, and outstanding ham shack!

[@darinhitchings7104]

Excellent content

[@TomG2NV]

Thanks Dave & Brad, very informative, food for thought and lots of great ideas for many of us! 73, Tom G2NV.

[@graywolf1911]

This was an excellent video of how N6GR approached his station grounding. I also bought the ARRL grounding book and found it extremely informative and I am using it to complete my station grounding. I will be sure to watch for your video on how the ground resistance meter works. I want to measure my system as well.

[@brandonnugent1887]

This is really motivating me to get my vertical up (and get my ground system dialed in). We recently having moved to the Sierra's with plenty of space, but with the obligatory lightning, that ground game is slowing me down :) The book is good, and seeing it implemented is even better. Thanks for this video!

[@RexTheDane]

This video is being passed around my ham club, K5LRK, this morning. For the "slower" hams like me this video gave me a way to test my system and quantify my efforts. Thanks Dave.

[@tomw5vlt119]

As a new operator living in hard, rocky landscape, sometimes solid limestone, who just finished my first ham shack and tower... after struggling to understand the high level, skimming, not connecting the dots clearly ARRL Grounding book... I’m glad to see that my solutions match this gent’s pretty much exactly; including the GEM material in rods and trenches. Good validation, though learned something from his resistance measurement and tool, though not connected the dots on specifics what, where, and outcomes to measure and shoot for.

[@joecraft4409]

My take away::::: one cannot have too much grounding. Great vid Dave

[@TheMikeDarling]

I live in the High Desert, and getting good electrical ground connection with dry volcanic cinders and ash is tough... I learned a lot and will be doing more work on my ground system. Thanks Dave for filming and sharing 👍

[@radioman4321]

Very good video. Kudos to Brad on his ground system implementation.

[@mickoram7524]

Thanks for the great video Dave, up here in northern NM I have 8 ground rods about 30 feet of #4 copper and 2 bags of GEM in the cable trench and I almost have a decent ground now ! 73 de KD5PX

[@TheDgdimick]

The Mil-Spec for underground, or partially buried bunkers, is the Ufer method as well.

[@fredmertz1895]

As always, Dave, a really good video. Information is helpful and introduced me to a new way to improve my ground. That said, the AEMC testing device used is $1200 - $1400 dollars, well beyond the reach of many hams. I'm not sure that providing an excellent video works well once a ham finds out he/she can't afford the equipment central to the subject. Anyway, still another great job. Thanks!

[@grumpy_ken]

a quick search in 2021 found many ground resistance meters suitable for amateur radio (non professional) use for less than $300 USD. how much did you spend on your last transceiver lol

[@alex_mahone]

Thanks to you and your great videos, I passed my Extra exam today with a perfect score.

[@davecasler]

Congratulations on your test results! Next step: become a VE.

[@phildurall7466]

Nice reference material David!

[@howardhiggins9641]

Excellent Video. Thank you and Brad very much !

[@margaqrt]

Such an exciting topic with great utility for the newly upgraded general. I hope Mr. Rich realizes his station will also benefit from radials.

[@robertduncan4370]

My elmer and I put in five 8' ground rods, ran #2 solid as the counterpoise from service ground and cadwelded the #2 solid to each ground rod, then filled the trench with GEM. I have a ground resistance of 0 ohms.

[@StanCook]

Nice video Dave to a returning HAM last on the AIR in the late 70s. KH6JMK advanced class, now living in the Pacific Northwest. I have subbed you and looking forward to more great info. Handle is Stan, retired military and police officer. 73s.

[@cathrynm]

Oh this guy is advanced level with his grounding.

[@koldark]

This helps more with understanding grounding. I would still like to understand more about joining the electrical ground to the RF ground.

[@chipandrews2892]

Awesome video Dave, thanks for sharing!!

[@brentjohnson6654]

Thanks for the tour! I am getting ready to install several antennas and want to fix the grounding/bonding of the existing antenna cable entry for cell phone LTE antennas as well as my Rohn 25G tower. (They only bonded one leg and I intend to fix this as well)

[@ericdee6802]

Carbon based "Ground Enhansing Material"? I have never heard of the stuff, definately going to purchase some. Excellent video Dave and Brad, with RF equipment, we can never have enough ground. Judging from how powdery that Desert soil is, it looks like the soil found in Pahrump,NV

[@glenmartin2437]

Thank you. A great and needed video. N0QFT

[@johnstevens9359]

Great video! I learned a lot from watching this. Thank you!

[@jwnh57]

Great video, one question I noticed you have a mix of solid and stranded ground wire. Any reason for that?

[@JimB42]

The ground meter is a fantastic device, but how many of us can afford to spend $1200-$1300 for one of them? Is there an alternative? Jim, NJ3B

[@ve6hdh992]

Good video, Dave.

[@morejelloplease]

i literally just sold my entire ham shack because i cannot get a proper ground where i'm at. i contacted professional grounding/broadcast tower companies and was quoted $40k for a ground! i spoke to the guys that wrote the motorola standard and other "professionals" in the industry and they all have DIFFERENT ways on how to properly ground a shack. i'm 5 minites into this video and i see some issues. cadweld and irreversible compression connections are a must. bentonite (found in kitty litter) is a good enhancement but needs to be kept moist. the double ground rods he mentions has to be within the sphere of influence, bonding from tower to shack needs to be copper strap with the surface area greater than total shields of coax, control cables, etc combined. connections need to be kept low to ground, i could go on and on, all this info and i'm still not confident enough to install a ground system at my new house without breaking the bank, so i sold all of my gear literally within a week and i'm out of the hobby until i find the right information on how to properly ground a 60' tower. FYI, i'm in lightning alley in central texas, 3 houses in my neighborhood were hit and burned to the ground in the last 2 years. it's not if, it's when.... like eating bacon every day and smoking a pack a day, some guys live past 100 years old, those are the same guys that leave their stuff connected during a storm and never have an issue. but one day they will take a lightning strike, and it will change their tune. good luck out there.

[@seabound1350]

Thats how you do it 🙏😊👍🏻

[@GiuseppeDucaDiParma]

Does the 2” copper ground strap entering the shack enter it through the top left corner opening of the entry panel for the coax? Or through another hole or slit?

[@daveherron]

Im far from an expert and am in fact preparing for my meager HF vertical install this week. I thought the tower should be grounded for lightning but not connected to the shack/common ground since it can carry a lightning strike though that ground into the shack over its much lower AWG wiring. I though just the coax lightning protector should be at the shack ground as a last chance effort to keep the lightning out. Wouldnt connecting the tower ground to the shack ground have a much greater chance of sending it into the house? Ugh Im confused. Beautiful and extensive setup. I have to assume they've done this the proper way its just that it conflict with what Ive read and thought I understood.

[@glenmartin2437]

Thank you, again. N0QFT

[@jimmycake7143]

Yes but I would also tidy up all the wiring

[@rays9033]

Where can someone purchase the conductive concrete? I looked online, but did not see an easy method to purchase the GEM mix shown.

[@michaelmarcus9005]

Gee whiz, guess I'd better abandon my "Black Magic" ground system and wire antenna (Apartment Dweller). My ground resistance must be on the order of kilohms! Nevertheless, I regularly work DX from AF, AS, and EU from an apartment in W7 Land. Who knew...

[@davecasler]

Sounds like you have a system that works! Don't mess with success.

[@rays9033]

Would a local electrical supply company sell the GEM25 conductive concrete?

[@yelyab1]

What does a 8 ohm ground resistance vs a 25 ohm mean to system performance? Is it protection from lightning strikes, spurious noise in receivers, losses in transmission power going to the antenna? For the SWLs it’s important to define the “why” of what the HAMs are doing. knowledge required to become an amateur radio operator is very practical electronics oriented.

[@kirkgoins7214]

I am just getting started in the HAM World. I have mast made up of 4 sections of Radio Shack Antenna Mast attached to my deck which is about 6ft above the ground. The op of the mast is almost at the height of my roof top. the deck is approx, 12x12 and the mast is diagonal across from where I want to exit my house. I plan to create a grounding plate in side and run it to a ground rod outside. So a couple of questions... #1 Should I place the ground rod near the exit point of my house or near the antenna mast as I intent to ground both the station and mast to it? #2 Is it a good idea to attach the ground braid to the underside if the desk (keeps it out of the way and out od sight ) or is it better leave it on the ground? Thanks for the videos

[@lyfandeth]

Who knew these things existed? But I'd still be curious to see, if he used CopperWeld (thermite) instead of clamping wires to the rods, if the resistance would drop even more.

[@davecasler]

With clean copper to start with, a clamped connection is pretty low resistance. One nice thing about copper is that the metal doesn't "flow" to reduce the tension on the clamp.

[@RizalMartinez]

FDOT SPECS for ground arrays is 2.5 ohms, fun task in sandy Florida :(

[@kristinabliss]

@Seventh DOF 😂

[@graywolf1911]

I was stationed at a Nike Ajax and Nike Hercules Missile base when I was in the Army back in 1959-62. We had a very dry summer in 1960, and our radars were built on an artificial hill, mostly gravel. One day during this dry spell, the 3 radars were not working well at all, we could not get our calibrations into spec. While we were yelling commands back and forth between the radars and the control van, our mascot German Shepard dog decided to pee on the ground rod outside the generator shack. The poor dog let out a terrible howl, ran like hell off the hill never to ever go up to the radars again. However, Rebel (the dog's name) found our problem. After that, someone was assigned to hose down the grounds every day during a drought. ( not pee either )

[@davecasler]

:-)

[@copdwarriormcdonald7968]

Outstanding de WV1Q

[@ryany4326]

I don’t undstand. Isn’t the grounding for lighting ? What do you get a couple strikes per decade there? I’m confused why all the effort

[@graywolf1911]

I checked the prices of the AEMC ground resistance tester, WOW, $1339 !! You can buy one nice radio for that price. There has to be a cheaper way to measure ground resistance effectively, or, at least close enough to give you an idea of the quality of your grounding system

[@bradcfi2]

There is a chinese model at about $300. I tested it and gave the same readings as the expensive model.

[@graywolf1911]

@@bradcfi2 WOW, that is more within my budget. Do you have the web page for that model Brad ??

[@davecasler]

The Chinese model Brad is referring to is the DLG DI-120. You can find it online.

[@nh6qzzz]

What do you suggest for grounding when you’re living in a condo up 8th floor???

[@gwzimmerman4480]

👍

[@ChrisN8PEM]

Great video. I’d be curious what a recommended entry level grounding system you recommend. 2 sets of grounding rods, one at the panel and one at the antenna?

[@davecasler]

The one at the panel should already be there--it's required by code.

[@ChrisN8PEM]

@@davecasler Yes it is. It seemed in the video that Brad purposely improved on the grounding on the panel. Do you think that should be one of the first considerations or a ham improving the grounding to his shack? To improve on the grounding at the panel over and above what the utilities company might provide?

[@gabrielM1111]

Thanks kilo echo 0 original gangster.. 73 - dynamic kid 818 - cb radio

[@stevenlawhon3695]

who sells those testers

[@rangersmith4652]

Wow, my brain is full. Now I have to go outside in the cold and find my house ground.

[@davecasler]

Wait 2 years for what? I recommend getting your General as soon as possible and then getting on the air for a couple years. Then your Extra means a lot more to you.

[@rangersmith4652]

@@davecasler Dave, I'm afraid I don't understand your reply. Perhaps it was meant to apply to a different post?

[@davecasler]

@@rangersmith4652 You're right. My assistant sends me comments to reply to. Looks like this got mis-posted. Sorry about that.

[@rangersmith4652]

@@davecasler No worries, Dave.

[@32532jfbk]

That ground meter costs $1,300 new!

[@bradcfi2]

I bought used for 1/2 price of new but still crazy expensive. There are chinese models that work for much less.

[@32532jfbk]

Brad Rich Do you know if the Chinese ones work good enough?

[@bradcfi2]

@@32532jfbk I had one and I gave it to Dave Casler. Dave said he will produce a video on how it works. The Chinese model tested ok on my ground system showing the same resistance as my other more expensive meter.

[@davecasler]

The Chinese meter is the DLG DI-120.

[@lt4324]

Wondering if you can just use an ohmmeter to test between station and ground rod? Or between 2 ground rods. I would say yes but not sure, any help?

[@HamAndShortwaveRadio]

I think his install violates the safety code. Bonding cannot be achieved over the distances which he indicated between his tower and service panel. We are not dealing with a simple DC circuit here.

[@elwood.downey]

Some of the connections are too curved also, causing large inductance. High currents will avoid curves.

[@bradcfi2]

@@elwood.downey Good point. I will fix that. Thanks!

[@pda49184]

Well, strike me down with a feather duster..!! I seem to have completely missed the point of amateur radio (ham) ... I should be studying the BBC's broadcast station manual.. I was running away with the idea that a home made antenna, strung up as your circumstances permit, and a modest rig along with some operating skills was all that was needed.. Oh well..

[@elwood.downey]

Some folks are in a whole 'nother world.

[@slshock]

looks like a $1000.00 to $2000.00 piece of test equipment on ebay.