Generally the deeper your rod, the lower the resistivity will be.
Bury any horizontal wires, the more ground/dirt contact the better. Just an inch or two below the surface will do. You can use a flat blade shovel to create a “trench” that the wire can be laid into. This works well with lawns. It is best to bury your rods entirely if possible to avoid anyone tripping over them, the lawn mower hitting them, ect. Some will bury any metal that will not corrode (tin cans, ect) in the area to help.
! CAUTION
CAUTION !
So look over the site, sometimes it will help to get pictures before you get there. It can be possible to use the HVAC “boxground” connection, for an “Earth” ground. This con- nect will connect to the electrical ground rod. Don’t try to connect to this yourself unless you are qualified, there are dangerous voltages inside of the HVAC panel that can kill you. Call an electrician to make this connection. Some- times there may be a water pipe or other metal pole lead- ing into the ground you can use. You need to be creative with grounding sometimes. I once used a deep well. I con- nected to the cast iron sleeve that went into the ground and had great range. The iron sleeve was metal and went deep into the ground. The more metal / dirt contact the better. Note that the ground wires to the transmitter need to be clamped down so they will not move. Do not connect to gas lines or other unsafe objects in any way
The type of trench ground system above can work well with sandy/dry soil.
2.2 Finding a place for the Transmitter
Transmitter location is also very important and will determine your range. You want the transmitter to generally be the highest thing in the area if possible, but you still need to be able to get to it to make adjustments. The antenna that screws into the top needs to be in the open air, not up against anything, especially metal. It is best if the an- tenna is above surrounding man made things. Natural things like trees should not be a problem, however don’t let branches, leaves actually touch the antenna.
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