>This affords you the > opportunity > to bond the tower, rebar, AND several copper clad ground rods together for > the best possible DC ground for your tower. If you want an RF ground > return > for your installation, install a heavy duty copper ring and bond it to the > ground rods. > Best Regards, > Steve White, W5SAW > SW Commercial Electronics
A good lightning ground is also a good RF ground. This means several radials should be installed along with the ground rods. A ring connecting ground rods around the tower does nothing for a lightning ground. The lowest impedance is in a straight line out away from the tower. A sharp turn at the junction of the "ring" to get over to the next ground rod in the "ring" looks like a high impedance path to the lightning as the sharp turn has considerable inductance. Also the other ground rods in the ring are already at the same potential as they are connected directly to the tower. The lightning will be carried out away from the tower in all directions. There will be no current carried by the ring connection so it is a waste of wire. The ground system would be better served by using that wire for another radial. 73 Gary K4FMX
