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boden

wrote:
On Wed, 27 Aug 2008 07:55:54 -0400, "Bob" wrote:

"Andy" wrote in message
...

Andy asks:

I recently had to have the phone line replaced between the street
and the DeMark box on the side of my house.

It would have been a lot easier for the contractor to have
located
a new DeMark box on the side of the house and taken away the
old one ---- less tunnelling under driveways, etc.

I was told that the Demark box MUST be installed at the
electrical
service entrance and the ground wire attached to the service entrance
ground rod...

I suggested just putting in another ground rod at the alternate
location instead. I was told this was not allowed --- the Demark box
MUST go at the meter service entrance. Both the phone company
technician and the phone line subcontractor told me this, separately.

So, does anyone here have any expertise on this ? I'd sure like
to
see some discussion about this requirement.

There is potential (no pun intended) to create a ground loop by using
two separate ground rods. Ground is somewhat of a relative term. Soil
composition and moisture content are two of the major elements that
can affect it. Not all earth grounds are equal.

This is reminiscent of times (many years ago) when I was setting up HAWK
missile system batteries in the desert. One of the tasks I assigned to
the logistics NCO was to make sure his folks all urinated on the ground
rods driven in at each pieces of equipment. The systems always worked
if this was done first.

If you do this all earth grounds are whole lot more equal.