Finding good ground.

The Sentinel radar system puts out huge amounts of voltage, which makes proper grounding critical ... as in life and death.

A poor ground can not only cause blown fuses and circuit cards, but also prevent you from doing the high-voltage discharge procedure. That could lead to someone being electrocuted.

Good grounding starts with good connections. When you screw on the power and grounding cables, make sure the connectors are completely seated before you screw the connector rings tight. Gently jiggle the connectors to make sure they're seated. Otherwise, you can screw the ring down tight but not truly have a solid connection.

In any environment, just sticking the grounding rod under a landing leg or driving it a few inches in the ground won't cut it. In places where the soil is moist, you must drive the ground rod all the way in the ground and straight down. If you can't drive it in straight, drive the rod in at no more than a 45[degrees] angle. You want the rod to reach a water table if possible.

In the desert, it's difficult to reach the water table. One solution is to install a sectional ground rod using extensions to reach deeper into the soil. Or you can dig a 30-in deep trench--or as deep as you can get it--long enough for the ground rod. Mix five pounds of salt or epsom salts with five gallons of water.

Lay the rod in the trench and pour part of the mixture on it. Cover the trench with sand and pour the rest of the mixture onto the area. The moist soil will help keep a good ground. Check at least twice a week that the area is still moist. If it isn't, pour more mixture on the trench.