Hi, everyone:
I live in a terrain that I am not sure how to characterize in terms of
ground conductivity. The surrounding streets are paved asphalt and the
entire area is built on an old, rugged lava field topped with a shallow
layer of rocks, sand and mud (some might call it soil...).
I have sometimes wondered what role the ground really plays in the
radiation characteristics from my antenna. For example, I have had fairly
good success with low horizontal wires on topband, while most advise
against this as the ground is believed to "mirror" the antenna currents
and cancel the radiation.
Is there any good way to measure or estimate the ground characteristics
with respect to radio waves on the low bands (1.8 and 3.5 MHz)? Primarily
the conductivity, but also the dielectric constant (which I have never
grasped what role plays w.r.t. the propagation from the antennas, by the
way). Any "radio-based approach" to measuring the ground parameters,
rather than sticking rods into the earth and try to get any estimates that
way.
73 de TF3KX, Kris
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