Shack Grounding

20210718
I installed an 8' ground rod near the same corner of the shack where the radio station is.  The copper run to the rod is less than 6 feet.
I used a 'T-Post Driver' and a folding step ladder to get up to a height sufficient to start pounding, and then worked my way down the ladder as the rod was driven lower and lower and lower ... but because of the nature of the driver I had to stop when the rod was still a little over a foot out of the ground.  The last time I drove a ground rod was probably 1975.  I remember it wasn't easy then and we used water to make it go easier.  That was true today too!  Sprinkle some water, pound some rod, rinse and repeat - forgive me!  I couldn't help it.

Here is the 'location' photo.

And the 'detail' photo



I'm planning to ground the flag poles (maybe) so I parked the additional wire clamp here.



It's really difficult to see in this shot, but if you follow the ground wire down
to just above the molding you can just make out the hole I nibbled in the
shack wall for the initial cable runs.
My plan here is to (before the weather turns to winter), construct a passthrough
using PVC pipe and cover plates on both sides.  Then seal the pass through and any
rough edges with construction foam (there is 'pink' insulation in the walls).
I'll have to disconnect each wire, pull them outside, construct the passthrough
then push them back inside and reconnect them. 
I really should have taken the time to do it right the first time, but as usual
I wasn't sure where things were going to end up.  In particular just how large a hole would be needed for all the cables and connectors I was planning to run outdoors.
For now the hole is plugged with shopping bags - in this application they work pretty good!
When the (2-1/4" or 3" ID) PVC pipe is installed I will likely continue to keep water and bugs out with shopping bag stuffing inside the pipe.  It solves the problem of making the passthrough too small!



Here is where I terminated the solid 8AWG copper ground wire on a buss bar.



The FLUKE says there is 59mVDC between the protective electrical ground and my new RF ground.




And 3mVAC ... These readings were with all of the equipment on, radio not transmitting.

Today at 1300 local 1900Z the lower end of the 20M General Phone portion of the band is running between S1-S3 on the Alpha JPole jr (sloper), and S3-S4 on the Wolf SOTA antenna (vertical).