Radials....
My, this is a all consuming issue here on tower talk. What kind of wire to
use? Conductive wire. Anything will do that conducts like copper. I would
not put down nichrome wire...but I would use just about anything. There is no
magic here. Use coax if you have it....just use the outer braid... or short
the two conductions together. Use electric fence wire. Use steel...watch out
for rust...and it will rust away after awhile. Use aluminum.
Here is what I am using right now....because it was FREE! Two conductor (18
gauge) garage door opener wire. You know, the wire that goes from the button
by the door to the opening unit. The stuff that is wired to the sensors. They
give about 200 feet in each opener kit. The garage installer has gobs of the
stuff laying around. I bet I have 15 rolls of the stuff. I just twist the
ends together and solder them with a gun. Down on the ground they go. And
yes, they work OK...I radiate...the MFJ 269 says everything is good to go...and
I make gobs of contacts with it. I don't bury it...I don't strip it....I just
lay it in the grass and use home made (cheap) lawn staples about every 5 feet.
For radials....use conductive wire. Use as many as you can....32 seems to be
the magic number but also I've heard 50 or 60 as well. If you cannot get a
quarter wave each on the ground....do what you can....cut it off at the
property line.
Bond them together with just about anything. Remember, you will have to pull
maintenance on antennas anyway....so revisit this often throughout the year.
When metals are out in the elements...something is bound to corrode.
Use anything conductive.... wire, pipe, railroad track, I-Beam ir H-Beam.
What ever you got that is handy or cheap. I would not use chain link fence
or chicken wire. The connections are good enough between the links in my
opinion and dirt can cause problems in the radial.
Remember, HR is not rocket science....do what works for you...what you can get
away with...what you can afford...and remember not everyone has a super station
or the dollars the installations is done perfectly. The idea is to radiate
enough to work someone.
Lee - K0WA
In our day and age it seems that Common Sense is in short supply. If you don't
have any Common Sense - get some Common Sense and use it. If you can't find
any Common Sense, ask for help from somebody who has some Common Sense. Is
Common Sense devine?
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
TowerTalk mailing list
TowerTalk@contesting.com
http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/towertalk
|