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Old 11-20-2015, 05:44 AM   #22
NN5I
Carl, nn5i
 
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Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: Tallahassee, FL
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ke0me View Post
where can I get a decent rf ground? not sure if water pipes are copper or plastic, haven't been inside yet.
That, at least, is easy to check. Use an ohmmeter between the faucet and an electrical outlet's safety ground (not the hot or neutral). If the pipes are metal into the ground, there will be some connectivity; if plastic, basically an open circuit.

Anything less than 1KΩ or so, just about gotta be metal.

In any case it won't be a good RF ground even if copper; but it may serve as a counterpoise anyway. That way, you can help the neighbors wake up in the morning by making their faucets hot with RF.
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