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Re: Topband: earth tester

To: "topband" <topband@contesting.com>
Subject: Re: Topband: earth tester
From: "Paul Christensen" <w9ac@arrl.net>
Date: Wed, 22 Apr 2015 09:00:02 -0400
List-post: <topband@contesting.com">mailto:topband@contesting.com>
"Do you use a earth tester? Which brand do you know is very good and accurate to consider?"

Jorge,

If you can, try and find a "clamp-on" earth tester rather than the type that relies on the fall-of-potential method with electrodes. There are several good clamp-on units by Megger, Fluke and AEMC. I recently acquired an AEMC model 3711. It wasn't supplied with a calibration loop, but I found one from Fluke that quickly checks calibration at 100, 50, 12.5, and 0.5 ohms. You'll want that calibration loop to validate the accuracy of the clamp tester, especially if you use an off-brand model from Asia.

N4CC and I recently installed a large grounding field, with some ground rods driven down to a depth of 24 ft. The clamp-on device was useful for quick validation. Had we used a unit with electrodes, it would have taken us much longer to perform our tests. By the way, in sandy/clay type soil here in north FL, we found that connecting 8 ft. rods end-to-end to form a 24 ft rod substantially lowered earth resistance by a factor of 10x.

Paul, W9AC
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