N6LF Rudy's web site and associated QEX series has empirical data to
answer all of these questions regarding the number and length of on
ground radials.
73/jeff/ac0c
alpha-charlie-zero-charlie
www.ac0c.com
On 12/10/20 11:14 AM, Mark - N5OT wrote:
Yeah. I don't claim to be a radial expert but I do claim to have a
lot of experience working other stations on 160 meters.
My buddy W9RE told me on a DXpedition once that he built a dipole
laying on the ground and it resonated on 160 when the wires were about
80 feet long.
Ray, with respect (N6VR and I go back a LOOOONG way), I think 80 feet
is the "new quarter wave radial" on 160, and frankly the only thing I
really think I understand about verticals is, the more wire on the
ground, the better, but you can get to a point where adding more is
not worth the effort, YMMV etc.
My story for the week is: I put up yet another temporary 160 vertical
for the ARRL 160 last weekend, and only managed 14 radials before it
got so dark I thought I better be getting on the air.
I worked 970 QSOs that night, including 5 Europeans, and while I was
out there on Saturday adding more radials, I got a text from K5ZD
saying I was an alligator, that I was very loud the night before, but
couldn't hear him calling me for 10 minutes as he needed Oklahoma.
So I stopped adding radials, I was up to 22 radials at 80' long, and
moved on to listening antennas.
Worked maybe 10 Europeans and counted 10 JAs, so I know my signal was
getting to those places.
That's really all I know about that.
The vertical is 50 feet tall and has two symmetrical top-load wires
that bring the resonant frequency to 1.8 MHz.
73 - Mark N5OT
P.S. Got an email from a guy in South Dakota who worked 376 QSOs
(including 4 other countries) using an inverted L that was 20 feet up
and the rest horizontal, fed against 20 radials 25' long in his yard.
I love stories like that.
On 12/10/2020 9:52 AM, Wes wrote:
IMHO, for that number, on-the-ground radials do not need to be
anywhere near that long. Personally, I subscribe to the
same-length-as-the-vertical guideline.
My inverted-L is 55 feet of vertical tubing plus the horizontal
wire. My insulated, on the ground radials are 55.5 feet (9 radials
out of a 500 ft roll of wire). By serendipity, measuring one radial
against all of the rest with a VNWA it is resonant at 1.84 MHz. To
be fair, I still have fewer radials than planned (18 vs. 36) in which
case, shorter is actually better according to Belrose and Severns
(https://www.antennasbyn6lf.com/files/antenna_ground_system_experiment_4.pdf).
Wes N7WS
On 12/9/2020 7:00 PM, Raymond Benny wrote:
If your vertical is ground mounted you need alot [sic] more. I'd say
atleast 36
radials, 135ft long. It will make a big difference in your signal
and be
easier to match.
I have over 100 radials but probably an over kill, but I feel I have
a good
signal on 160m.
Ray,
N6VR/ W7YA
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