In reply to David Stone I have this to say. I was initially considering an external outbuilding as a radio shack. I have seen several garden sheds or old wash houses used as an amateur radio enthusiast's radio room. Ships' radio rooms may have confused me not being called shacks.  Now I understand that a radio shack can be an internal room in a house.


The items mentioned like radiators, storage radiators or metal pipes may or may not be extraneous-conductive-parts within a house. It depends on how well they are connected to earth. If plastic pipes are used a central heating radiator may not be connected  with earth at all, or very poorly. An electric storage heater will be earthed via its circuit protective conductor, but if the house is TT earthed then that is not a problem. So many new properties are supplied by plastic main pipes these days, such as gas and water so no main equipotential bonding within the house will be required. 


A whole house can easily be converted to TT earthing from PME earthing if required. That would just need the PME earth conductor disconnecting and a separate earth electrode installed in a suitable location and connected to the house main earthing terminal. RCD protection then is essential on all circuits.


With PME earthing that is why electricians are required to install 10mm2 main-equipotential-bonding

conductors to extraneous-conductive-parts in a house and other locations, to mitigate potential shock risks in case of a lost neutral on the incoming supply cable. And that does happen as has been reported on the IET electrician's forum.


I know little about amateur radio so am just speaking from the point of view of an electrician and BS 7671.


C.

In reply to David Stone I have this to say. I was initially considering an external outbuilding as a radio shack. I have seen several garden sheds or old wash houses used as an amateur radio enthusiast's radio room. Ships' radio rooms may have confused me not being called shacks.  Now I understand that a radio shack can be an internal room in a house.


The items mentioned like radiators, storage radiators or metal pipes may or may not be extraneous-conductive-parts within a house. It depends on how well they are connected to earth. If plastic pipes are used a central heating radiator may not be connected  with earth at all, or very poorly. An electric storage heater will be earthed via its circuit protective conductor, but if the house is TT earthed then that is not a problem. So many new properties are supplied by plastic main pipes these days, such as gas and water so no main equipotential bonding within the house will be required. 


A whole house can easily be converted to TT earthing from PME earthing if required. That would just need the PME earth conductor disconnecting and a separate earth electrode installed in a suitable location and connected to the house main earthing terminal. RCD protection then is essential on all circuits.


With PME earthing that is why electricians are required to install 10mm2 main-equipotential-bonding

conductors to extraneous-conductive-parts in a house and other locations, to mitigate potential shock risks in case of a lost neutral on the incoming supply cable. And that does happen as has been reported on the IET electrician's forum.


I know little about amateur radio so am just speaking from the point of view of an electrician and BS 7671.


C.