On Jun 28, 2004, at 11:55 AM, Leigh L. Klotz, Jr. wrote:
Wayne,
What radial did you use on 40m for the 50ft random wire? 33ft, 33ft
shortened for ground coupling, or random length?
Background: I have tried using your recommendation of 28ft for the
center conductor and band-switching with 16, 24, or 33 ft on the
ground for the radial. Bonnie KQ6XA recomends a radial 10-15% shorter
than 1/4 lamda if it is not elevated, but I found 1.2:1 with the ATU,
and don't have the RF Ammeter (or light bulb) that K6ACJ Bill used to
verify those length recommendations.
The optimal length of ground radials will vary with how many you use,
as well as local conditions, including nearby objects (Bar-B-Ques,
highly-conductive family members, volleyball net supports, etc.). I was
actually using a single 15' radial, alligator-clipped to a 3' or so
ground rod that some past user of the picnic table had kindly pounded
in ;)
50' is also just an estimate. In any case, the KX1 and K2 auto-tuners
both tuned up the random wire on all bands.
73,
Wayne
N6KR
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