Lee & all, My soil is very poor for ground, Where I needed to set the HI-Z 8 element pro up is right on top of a glacial Moraine and the rocks are a barrier to pounding any ground rod in more than a foot or more. I was able to get them in enough to support the antennas but every attempt was met with a boulder under the thin earth that stopped me from going deeper. I had asked here about Epsom Salts as an adjunct to getting a better ground for these Rx antennas. Lee had some suggestions regarding my adding radials (see his suggestions below) Here are my results:
I cut 4 22' wires from WD-1A wire for each of the 8 elements, I was able to get two pairs of those wires into one ring terminal, using two terminals for 4 wires. I placed them N-S-E-W and I used these in the contest last night. Since I don't have a way to A>B them with/without the radials I can't speak with certainty how they helped as conditions always change. That said; the effect of these radials appeared to be significant in the way the antennas worked. I found I could often find a null where I could completely wipe out a signal from a specific geographic region and I was able to focus on a desired signal with far less background noise. I'm running QRP so my hearing somebody doesn't mean they can hear me but last night I was able to hear far more DX than I was able to work. Using the 8 Element Pro I was able to isolate many of those stations and even though they couldn't hear me, I could often isolate their signals from those calling them (frustrating as I have an amp sitting cold, next to me). Very nice Rx on this end. This is different than what I usually find; I have always found the S/N improved with the array but I have experienced nowhere near as much isolation and rejection. The radials surely were worth the effort to put them on. I might consider adding four more to make 8 as Lee suggested below but at this moment, I am very impressed with how much of a difference four radials per antenna made. Good luck in the contest and thanks to those who have struggled to hear me. 73, Gary KA1J > > Hello Gary and Top-Banders, > Gary, I would be more inclined to think in your case you would be > better off with some radials laid out on each vertical the same way. > Short verticals no longer than the element height should help more > than trying to influence the ground conditions. Each vertical must > have the radials laid out very closely to the same way. Maybe 8 to > 10 radials should make a decent ground for the high impedance > elements. > Lee K7TJR OR > > > The earlier discussion about Epsom Salts and Beverage grounds got me > to thinking about my active antennas and if it might be helpful for my > situation. > > I have 8 antennas (the Hi-Z Pro 8 > element), the base of these acts as the ground rod. The soil > conditions I had to put the bases in are markedly different from one > another. Some of the bases are definitely in good soil but several of > them are in such impossibly rocky ground that it took dozens of tries > to get the rod 2' deep & with that, they were surrounded by stones > from the top, down and there's very little soil around them. > > I'm wondering if anyone has had a poor > location for active antennas like these and used something like Epsom > salts to help get a better ground. > > If so, did it help you & how did you find it helped? > > How did you apply it? > > Thanks & 73, > > Gary > KA1J > > _________________ Topband Reflector Archives - http://www.contesting.com/_topband