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
>
>
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