Re: [Elecraft] On ground - in ground radials

Several places I’ve seen the results of experiments conducted measuring vertical antenna radiated field strength as the number of ground radials were increased. There is definitely a point beyond which the addition of more radials produces diminishing returns at increased expense and effort -

Re: [Elecraft] On ground - in ground radials

: elecraft@mailman.qth.net Subject: Re: [Elecraft] On ground - in ground radials Message-ID: <7ecd295a-25fd-51ad-af9c-86f034849...@w0mu.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8; format=flowed A well known 9 lander lid uses chicken wire for his 160 antenna and it works very very well.? I

Re: [Elecraft] On ground - in ground radials

At my last QTH (I moved a week ago), I had 3000' feet of #14 THHN under my 30' vertical. I paid about $30 per 500' roll. Putting them down was a relative piece of cake. I cut the grass as short as my mower would permit, then laid the radials on the ground, securing them with sod stables as often

Re: [Elecraft] On ground - in ground radials

I found Lots of SNAKES in Texas ! WA6VAB Ray K3 From: Fred Jensen Sent: Monday, January 17, 2022 1:34 PM To: elecraft@mailman.qth.net Subject: Re: [Elecraft] On ground - in ground radials Yes.  A long time ago on the engineering crew at KSBY-TV, the station would rent us out to some

Re: [Elecraft] On ground - in ground radials

Yes.  A long time ago on the engineering crew at KSBY-TV, the station would rent us out to some of the AM stations who did not have a resident engineer, usually when something quit or when their PoP came due.  Mostly 5 and 10 kW, usually directional, at least at night.  These stations were

Re: [Elecraft] On ground - in ground radials

Just out of high school, I had a summer job at WSAZ, a 5-kw with a 4-tower array, with the same ground screen/raidal configuration on each tower, silver-soldering those radials. 120 radials was a legal requirement of FCC Rules, and was primarily for standardization of performance. 73, Jim

Re: [Elecraft] On ground - in ground radials

On 1/17/22 at 10:52 AM, w3tb@gmail.com (Ted Edwards W3TB) wrote: > Good methods for getting the wire down. > Separate Question: What about using an insulated wire that way? K9YC recommends : Guidelines for All Radials • Insulated wire holds up longer •

Re: [Elecraft] On ground - in ground radials

Mike, When I was an AM radio broadcast engineer in the 60s & 70s, we used a copper screen for the first 20' to 50' around the tower base and silver soldered all the 1/4 wavelength radials to the common point straps and several places along the screen. This was in Florida with sandy soil. I seemed

Re: [Elecraft] On ground - in ground radials

A well known 9 lander lid uses chicken wire for his 160 antenna and it works very very well.  I am not sure what effect crossing the wires has.  Has anyone done any real testing of this or is it just theory or a wives tale?  Did he stumble upon the holy grail of radials? Most of the results

Re: [Elecraft] On ground - in ground radials

Good methods for getting the wire down. Separate Question: What about using an insulated wire that way? On Mon, Jan 17, 2022 at 9:24 AM Gary Peterson wrote: > A friend was installing a homebrew, two tower, vertical directional array > in his back yard. His method of placing the copper wire

[Elecraft] On ground - in ground radials

A friend was installing a homebrew, two tower, vertical directional array in his back yard. His method of placing the copper wire radials below the surface of the ground was quite unusual. He slowly crept along the ground on his hands and knees, while pushing a skil-saw, with carbide blade,

[Elecraft] On ground - in ground radials

...”Digging in radials does not interest me. Likewise, catching them in lawn equipment is also a PIA. So, here is what I have done and it has worked well”... Tom, WB2KLD” I did something very similar, many years ago, after hombrewing a 40 meter vertical. In order to pin the copper wire

Re: [Elecraft] On ground - in ground radials

: [Elecraft] On ground - in ground radials I made a handful of staples using some scrap solid wire.  #10, #12, #14 works great and no need to remove the insulation.   Make them about 4" long per side, and place them over the radial, pushing them into the ground.  I agree, cut the grass short,

Re: [Elecraft] On ground - in ground radials

man.qth.net wrote: > > Message: 9 > > Date: Sun, 16 Jan 2022 11:20:11 -0500 > > From: Tom & Barb Valosin > > To:elecraft@mailman.qth.net > > Subject: Re: [Elecraft] On ground - in ground radials > > Message-ID:<8d6b4b1b-cd91-59ba-c485-0f49b0d5a...@mid

Re: [Elecraft] On ground - in ground radials

This discussion reminded me of a question that I’ve often wondered about but have never asked. I have read that when laying out radials on or under the ground, one should be careful to ensure that they radiate out from a central point without ever crossing one another. I have also read about this

Re: [Elecraft] On ground - in ground radials

Well, The concrete pad had to go in, for other reasons. Specifically, that solar field saves me thousands of dollars per year in natural gas heating for the swimming pool. I would have been a fool not to put that wire in it, while the forms were open. By "work" I mean that the

Re: [Elecraft] On ground - in ground radials

On 1/16/2022 12:19 PM, Mike Markowski wrote: A construction site had left over galvanized mesh rolls that I bought at great discount. I unrolled them symmetrically about my then soon-to-be installed vertical. Easier than individual for lazy hams like me:-) and 2nd qso at 100W from

[Elecraft] On ground - in ground radials

ject: Re: [Elecraft] On ground - in ground radials Message-ID:<8d6b4b1b-cd91-59ba-c485-0f49b0d5a...@midtel.net> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8; format=flowed Now in my mid seventies I have embraced the idea of conservation of energy. Digging in radials does not interest me. Likewi

Re: [Elecraft] On ground - in ground radials

A construction site had left over galvanized mesh rolls that I bought at great discount. I unrolled them symmetrically about my then soon-to-be installed vertical. Easier than individual for lazy hams like me :-) and 2nd qso at 100W from Pennsylvania was Cambodia! That qso made my day and then

Re: [Elecraft] On ground - in ground radials

Indeed! and I've seen Tom Shiller's presentation of his "Illuminator."  My HOA antenna at home is a 41 m end-fed wire on the top of a 2 m high wooden fence.  It "works" surprisingly well considering what we all know about antennas.  It also "works" for the HOA.  Tom even came up with a 3-lamp

Re: [Elecraft] On ground - in ground radials

On 1/16/2022 10:21 AM, jerry wrote: Have you actually tried one?  Mine seems to work. Define "work." N6BT famously said many years ago that everything "works" by quickly working all continents on a light bulb. I was ready to put out radials also, but doesn't seem to be necessary. The

Re: [Elecraft] On ground - in ground radials

"Seems to work".  Sorry, but I don't know what that means. Everything works to some degree or other, and unless you are able to do A vs B testing, or can take reasonably accurate field strength measurements, you don't know what you actually have any more than I know what you have. I do know

Re: [Elecraft] On ground - in ground radials

Hi Dave, Have you actually tried one? Mine seems to work. I was ready to put out radials also, but doesn't seem to be necessary. - Jerry KF6VB On 2022-01-16 10:07, David Gilbert wrote: That post illustrates the mistake in thinking that a lightning ground (Ufer) is the

Re: [Elecraft] On ground - in ground radials

That post illustrates the mistake in thinking that a lightning ground (Ufer) is the same as an RF shield (radials) to avoid ground return losses.  They are NOT the same and they perform completely different functions. 73, Dave   AB7E On 1/16/2022 9:35 AM, jerry wrote: All,    I had a

Re: [Elecraft] On ground - in ground radials

All, I had a similar situation. The 4BTV was mounted on a pole pounded into my wildland hill behind the house. It had about 50 radials, and every year when we whacked the weeds, one or two of the radials would get tangled in the whacker. In the fullness of time, we put in a swimming

Re: [Elecraft] On ground - in ground radials

Now in my mid seventies I have embraced the idea of conservation of energy. Digging in radials does not interest me. Likewise, catching them in lawn equipment is also a PIA. So, here is what I have done and it has worked well. I trim the grass.  Then I use a length of string and stretch it out