Hi Brandon, I don't know what part of the country that you are located in, but here in west Tennessee the ground (or at least the top 2 ft. of it)is of the consistancy a saturated sponge at this time of year! I could likely just push the first 18" to 24" of an 8 ft. grounding rod into the ground by sheer tricep power ;^> Now, if it was about mid-August, that would be an entirely different story ;^0 Once you get past that first 2 ft. or so, then you will need to proceed according to Rev.
Fuzzy's instructions. A step ladder and a 3 lb. shop (blacksmith)hammer should work good to "get it started" then once you get it driven in enough that you can comfortably swing at it and strike it
from ground level, upgrade your hammer to a 10 lb. sledge ham- mer. Others have also mentioned flowing water into the hole to soften up the soil to ease starting the ground rod if the soil is hard. David Rieben----- Original Message ----- From: "Brandon Hendershot" <brandonhendershot@xxxxxxxxx>
To: "Tesla Coil Mailing List" <tesla@xxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Saturday, February 06, 2010 9:31 PM Subject: Re: [TCML] Safely Grounding a Tesla Coil
Hi "Fuzzy"'These things are like 8 feet long. Unless I'm hiring Micheal Jordan to help me, I'm going to need to know how to start it in. (That's supposed to be funny, just in case it came off the wrong way.)Thanks, BrandonOn Feb 6, 2010, at 8:23 PM, "Reverend Fuzzy" <cmayeux@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:Best way to sink a ground rod (with all seriousness intended) is with as large of a hammer or maul, as you are physically capable of handling. If your aim leaves something to be desired, hold a chunk of 2x4 on top of the rod, and pound that... much bigger target, and less likely to smack your hand. And above all, it is highly recommended that you slip the clamp, or other attachment device onto the rod BEFORE driving it in, as there is more than likely to be some "mushrooming" on the end of the rod, and it's a HUGE possibility that you won't be able to slip it on after. Stop hammering when there is just enough rod showing to comfortably deal with the clamp.--- Reverend Fuzzy Pastor, MSB Ministries Hattiesburg, MS http://www.msbministries.org-----Original Message-----From: tesla-bounces@xxxxxxxxxx [mailto:tesla-bounces@xxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Brandon HendershotSent: February 06, 2010 7:30 PM To: Tesla Coil Mailing List Subject: Re: [TCML] Safely Grounding a Tesla Coil Hi Richard, A lot of what you guys are trying to explain seems way over my head. How about some advice for sinking a ground rod? Lol, but I think I will try the chicken wire counterpoise before I do any permenant damage to the lawn. Thank you all for your patience with me, BrandonOn Feb 6, 2010, at 5:27 PM, "Richard Schmuke" <rdj@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:Lets try this Brandon , if you have a antenna, the standard is a dipole , 1/4 wl out the center of the coax and 1/4 wl out the shield side. You can set this on the ground and have a rod going up from the center 1/4 wl, now from the shield side spread out several wires 1/4 wl length to act as the other half of the antenna. This is sometimes called a counterpoise. It gets more involved but did this help? If not I can sent you some simple drawings I use for my radio classes. Rich , KDZZ Disclaimer: Any errors in spelling or facts are transmission errors. -----Original Message----- From: tesla-bounces@xxxxxxxxxx [mailto:tesla-bounces@xxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Brandon Hendershot Sent: Saturday, February 06, 2010 11:11 AM To: Tesla Coil Mailing List Subject: Re: [TCML] Safely Grounding a Tesla Coil Hi Jim, Could you explain the concept of "counterpoise" for me or provide a link to some documentation? I've never heard of anything like it... Thanks btw, Brandon On Feb 5, 2010, at 9:39 PM, jimlux <jimlux@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:Brandon Hendershot wrote:Hi all,I know that it's said that you need an entirely seperate ground rodwhen opperating tesla coils because the high voltage groundingthrough the house wiring is extremely dangerous to anything pluggedinto any other grounded outlet on the same circuit.Not precisely.. You need a separate RF return for the coil, be it a counterpoise, good grounding system, etc.The reason you don't want it interconnected too well with the "houseground" is that it will propagate HV transients into your house wiring system (by capacitive and inductive coupling).. those transients wreak havoc on most consumer electronics. I wouldn't say "extremely dangerous".. I'd reserve that for something like juggling chain saws. But what if you attached the coilsground wire directly to the ground rod. It would be bypassing the house wiring, so the high voltage won't be running by any precious electronics inside the house. It shouldn't be running back up into the house right?Exactly.. But there is a problem because at some point, you need tobond to the "green wire ground" at least for things that are pluggedin or that you might touch (e.g. equipment cases).I'm trying to be minimalistic so I don't have to try to pound down a ground rod of my own.Think counterpoise.. a big conductive sheet.. chicken wire workswell. A circle that has radius = the height of the top load above it.Hook that to the bottom of your secondary. _______________________________________________ Tesla mailing list Tesla@xxxxxxxxxx http://www.pupman.com/mailman/listinfo/tesla_______________________________________________ Tesla mailing list Tesla@xxxxxxxxxx http://www.pupman.com/mailman/listinfo/tesla No virus found in this incoming message. 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