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Re: Topband: Radial placement comments

To: Top Band Reflector <topband@contesting.com>
Subject: Re: Topband: Radial placement comments
From: John Bastin <bastinj@gmail.com>
Date: Sun, 20 Apr 2008 11:41:04 -0400
List-post: <topband@contesting.com">mailto:topband@contesting.com>
On Apr 16, 2008, at 19:12 , doktorij@bellsouth.net wrote:
> Just some comments regarding advice posted in the ARRL Contest Rate  
> Sheet on radial installation:
>
>> "Go mow the yard!  Spring is a good time of year to play "Hide the
>> Ground Radials".  If the thought of trenches in the sod raises the
>> blood pressure of you or your spouse, here's a time-tested,
>> no-digging procedure.  Get out the mower, sharpen its blade, and cut
>> the grass as short as possible.  Yes, that short!  Scalp it!  Then
>> lay out the radials and hold them down against the crew-cut blades
>> with short U-shaped pieces of wire placed every couple of feet or so
>> along the radial. (Cheap iron wire will do nicely and rusts away
>> fairly quickly.) In a couple of weeks the grass will have completely
>> covered the radials and you'll never trip over them or hit them with
>> the mower!  The grass will continue to work the wire down until it
>> hits the soil. Grass clippings and earthworm activity will contrive
>> to bury it."
>
> This technique works well if the ground is fairly level and even.
> Unfortunately, on uneven and sloped ground this doesn't work as well  
> as
> one would hope. I've already torn up radials this mowing season that  
> were
> installed this way.

You're being far too conservative with the U-shaped pieces of wire.  
You need to use more of them.

My property is on a very slight slope with lots of little humps and  
ridges in the surface. After I lay a radial, I walk it from the  
antenna to the end. If there is any place the wire is not against the  
ground, I put in another bobby-pin.

Many times during the summer I walk around the radial field (behind a  
lawn mower...:-)). If I see any wires that are coming up into view, I  
put in some more bobby-pins.

I use 6- to 8-inch pieces of electric fence wire bent in a U-shape for  
the bobby pins. The wire is cheap, use a lot of them!

> If you find yourself in such a situation, the best course of action  
> I've
> found is to determine the high spots and slit them, then bury the  
> radial.
> You can use the above method in between the high points, if warranted.

You can do this if you want. To me, it's much more work and I'm trying  
to minimize the work involved when I'm laying lots of radials.

> The best time to slit is when the ground is moist and will stay  
> moist for
> a while. That's springtime for most of us. This give the roots a  
> chance to
> seal the slit. I bought a used metal bladed edger to make my long  
> slits,
> for smaller slits an old knife will work fine. It's all labor  
> intensive.
> Something else I've noticed in our Tennessee clay is that enamel  
> coated
> wire does not stay put as well as bare wire unless buried.
>
> Also, I use a variety of jacketed wire that I find cheap at yard  
> sales or
> surplus auctions. I've also noticed that darker colors (Black, Blue,  
> Dark
> Green) seem to get grown over quicker than White jackets. All I can  
> figure
> is that the darker colors absorb some heat in the colder months and  
> that
> makes them more plant friendly. Possibly, it is the chemical makeup  
> of the
> jacket material.

A more likely explanation that I've discovered in my experience laying  
radials using wire with various jacket colors acquired at hamfests and  
various surplus and scrap sources, is that the darker colors contrast  
less with the surrounding grass and dirt and so seem to go out of  
sight more quickly, especially at a distance, such as looking out from  
a window of the house, than the white stuff. Get up close, it's all  
about the same.

> Hope this helps someone out.

73,

John Bastin K8AJS
bastinj@gmail.com



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