part15er

I am looking to optimize my Rangemaster setup. I would like your thoughts on the most effective configuration for my situation.

Option 1, and the current configuration, has the Rangemaster mounted on a 5′ TV mast that is supported by an eave mount on the far end of the garage. The unit is about 12′ above ground level. An appropriate length of #8 jacketed stranded copper wire connects the bottom of the TV mast to a single 6′ ground rod. I plan to add at least two more ground rods if I can find a source of 6-footers locally. I have discovered, to my dismay, that nobody but nobody sells ground rods any more! Home Depot sometimes has the 8 footers, which I don’t want to use because they are very difficult to put in and impossible to remove later on (should you change your mind).

If I keep this configuration, does anyone have an opinion on how far apart to space the ground rods? The wires interconnecting them will be run on the ground, not from the garage roof. Also, does anyone know who sells ground rods?

Option 2 would be ground mounting in the back yard. Unfortunately, in this case it would only be possible to space the unit about 10′ away from the back of my home. In addition, there are many trees and bushes to contend with, as well as an old galvanized wire fence along the back of my property. Beyond the fence is a river, which is normally meek and mild, but which becomes rambunctious when it floods. I can run radial wires down the bank to the river, but anything I put down there will be swept away in the next flood. I could deploy at least three ground rods and probably some radials (e.g. 16 radials 10′ long, on the ground) in that location.

Option 3 would be to mount the transmitter in the back yard on a short pole, say for example 6 feet, set into the ground. As in option 2, radials could be installed, but I would probably not want to elevate them, so they would be on the ground. The only advantage to this option over Option 2 is that it gets the transmitter a little ways off the ground. But not high enough to clear the house.

Let’s hear your thoughts on these three options. Which would you choose? Or do you have another recommendation? My home is a ranch house with an attached 2-car garage.