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Table of Contents
Earthing
Resources specific to the UK
RSGB EMC Advice Leaflet EMC 7 - Earthing and the Radio Amateur: Basic Leaflet
RSGB EMC Advice Leaflet EMC 7 - Earthing and the Radio Amateur: Advanced Leaflet
Warnings for the UK
Installing earth rods for RF is misguided. (a) it doesn't work very well due to skin effect, (b) it is not permitted for a non competent person to make changes to domestic mains earth arrangements, which you may end up doing, either deliberately or by accident. You may cause a hazard (fire, shock) and you may invalidate your home insurance. If you think you need to put in earth rods, you probably don't - consult a qualified electrician.
An insulated wire laid on the ground makes a good RF earth. It conducts (couples) RF into the ground fairly effectively, but insulates at mains AC frequencies and DC, up to very high voltages.
It is not advised to make extraneous connections between your radio equipment and mains earth. Many ham radio DC power supplies explicitly isolate the DC negative pin from the mains earth connected chassis. Test it with a multimeter to be sure.
The authoritative source for wiring regs in the UK is BS 7671 - also known as the IET Wiring Regulations. Unfortunately it is not freely available. As of July 2025, we are up to 18th edition amendment 3, with amendment 4 likely 2026. More info