Ground Survey is a detailed of the grounding system including ground windows, radio halo rings and the AC ground configuration for each site. Proper site grounding provides two critical functions. The first is safety. A properly grounded site provides protection for both the personnel and equipment from high voltage transients introduced by lightning or other exterior influences. The section is service quality. A properly grounded system will eliminate white noise and spikes created by the operation of various electronic components at the site.
A ground survey can help isolate several types of problems in a telecommunications site. The most common problems corrected by a ground survey have to do with noise in telecommunications circuits and unexplained high failure rates of circuit packs. A ground survey will examine a communications site for:
1. External primary and secondary ground electrode field(s)
2. Office Principal Ground Point (OPGP)
3. AC House Service Panel(s)
4. Standby Engine
5. Cable Vault
6. Vertical Riser(s) and COGBs
7. DC Power Plant Grounding
8. Ground Window(s)
9. Isolated Ground Planes
10. Other Integrated Ground Plane issues
11. Radio System and other Antenna Grounding