Towertalk
[Top] [All Lists]

[TowerTalk] EdgeHog

To: <towertalk@contesting.com>
Subject: [TowerTalk] EdgeHog
From: jimlux@earthlink.net (Jim Lux)
Date: Tue Jun 3 10:17:23 2003
I laid some wires (not enough) down before I laid the sod on the quasi
prepared dirt...

Hey, there's a new feature for new housing developers...  (you wouldn't want
them to think radio.. capitalize on some other perceived thing.. maybe
"currents of death"?)

Preinstalled ground mesh in the yard!

Shield yourself from EMI, etc. (after all, most utilities are underground
now)...

"This exquisite 4br,3ba home has granite counter tops, a built in spa in the
master retreat, and a complete shielding network to protect from radiation
fields from the underground power lines. Think of your children playing the
yard. They're much closer to the high power wiring buried by the utility
company in that 10 foot wide easement across your 5000 square foot lot."



----- Original Message -----
From: "Michael Tope" <W4EF@dellroy.com>
To: "James White" <k4oj@tampabay.rr.com>
Cc: "tower" <towertalk@contesting.com>; "Jim Lux" <jimlux@earthlink.net>;
"AA6DX" <aa6dx@pacbell.net>
Sent: Monday, June 02, 2003 9:30 PM
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] EdgeHog


> Yes, Jim, we used one of those "ditch witches" here at
> my QTH last year to lay drain pipe and my gas line. As
> you say a "very cool machine", but unfortunately, they are
> much too big for laying radials. It looks like the Edge Hog
> might work well in regular soil, but at my location the
> "mean free path" to a rock is about 2 inches even when
> you are close to the surface where we were burying the
> radials.
>
> One technique which sort of worked utilized my friends
> hydraulic ground rod driller. It is essentially a long piece
> of galvanized water pipe (~3/4" OD) with a garden hose
> attachment on a short elbow segment of galvanized pipe
> which does double duty as a handle for pushing against.
> When installing the radials, we found that if you turned the
> ground rod driller on edge so that it made a shallow angle
> relative to the ground, you could sort of plow a little
> mini-trench for the radial with the water jet. We still hit a
> lot of rocks, however (they are right at the surface at my
> QTH) and the mini-trench was a little on the shallow side
> and usually required a follow-up with a garden pick. I did
> notice that in the hot sun, the ground rod driller seemed like
> less work to operate than a pick, which may have been
> its main attraction (less sweat per hour).  Anyway, between
> the pick and the ground rod driller, it took my crew of two
> about 40 man-hours to bury 1500' of radials 3" to 4" inches
> below the surface our rocky soil. Still not much of a ground
> system by ON4UN standards, but my lot is very small
> (50 x 100'), so I now have wire almost everywhere where
> I don't have house.
>
> 73 de Mike, W4EF..............................................
>
>
> > ...it is overkill but trenchers, the digger looks like a giant chain saw
> > blade, are now common rental items here in FL, these puppies are like
> > totally kewl. You will want to be sure nothin is in the gorund in their
> > path that you want left untouched!
> >
> > k4oj
> >
> >
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
>
> See: http://www.mscomputer.com  for "Self Supporting Towers", "Wireless
Weather Stations", and lot's more.  Call Toll Free, 1-800-333-9041 with any
questions and ask for Sherman, W2FLA.
>
> _______________________________________________
> TowerTalk mailing list
> TowerTalk@contesting.com
> http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/towertalk

<Prev in Thread] Current Thread [Next in Thread>