Ad Astra Observatory

NEC 250 requires grounding rods 8′ long to be inserted (vertically) into the ground around each building. I need two of them for the observatory. I picked these up at Home Depot, 5/8″ x 8′ copper-jacketed steel.

I got them 4′ into the ground by the simple expedient of whacking away with a 3# sledge. However, they each stopped moving completely at that point (there is something very dense down there 😐 ). I decided to rent a hammer drill to finish the job, as this seems like the way a lot of folks do it. The local rental place rented me a huge (2′ long) object, but it didn’t quite work (there’s a safety thing built in that prevented me from just chucking the ground rod into the tool). I called them back, and they said “we have a ground rod driver, but not for that one, only for The Bigger One”. So I swapped it out.

They wheeled the new one out on a metal cart. It was built like a jackhammer, two handles, and weighed about 100#. K and I proceeded to spend the next couple of hours trying to wrestle this stupid thing around, including carrying it up a ladder (the rods were sticking 4′ out of the ground, remember?). We got one of the rods in place, but the second one was going in at a strange angle, and I ran out of steam before I could get it driven all the way in. It still has about 1′ to go before I’m ready to call it done.

I’m half-tempted to chop the thing off and drive a third rod.

Any ham radio operators who read this, and feel like chiming in, your thoughts are welcome. I have no idea what’s below the topsoil in my backyard, but whatever it is, it’s serious.

I will get this done, too, once more into the breach and all that. For now, I am a little irritable at copper rods and the National Electric Code right now. Why not four 4′ rods? The topsoil is the wet stuff that will be conductive anyway. Meh.

I am 1′ of copper away from being done with electricity. Someday, I will look back on this and laugh.