Since the topic has migrated from "will salting the ground
improve my low band antenna" to something along the lines
of "defoliating a victory garden", let me up my ante to
4 cents by pointing out that 'salts' are fairly chemically
stable. I think they would be likely to hang around in the
environment for a fairly long time. For knocking back
the weeds around antenna bases or grounds, a proper
herbicide would likely be a much safer choice. These
compounds tend to break down more quickly, and they are,
after all, approved for this sort of use. I believe "Roundup"
is very popular for this purpose in the US. It is even safer
to simply cut weeds back with a 'weed whacker'.
I still say that salt or deicer is not a good idea, even if used
only in limited areas.
The materials in bags of deicer are likely not a proper 'salt' in
any case, as deicer is approved for application on driveways
and sidewalks. It is well known that it will run off onto lawns
and into sewer systems and/or small tributaries, whatever
consequences that brings. If it is not 'real' salt, it probably
does not work that great for either RF grounding or defoliation.
BTW the use of wire radial ground fields has been well
covered on this reflector. My understanding is that they
are vastly superior for improving antenna performance,
and that ground rods are of more limited use, being best
deployed for Beverage/Ewe/K9AY antenna grounds,
coaxial feedline decoupling grounds, or for lightning safety
grounds at the bases of towers.
73, David K3KY
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