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Re: Topband: Radials over a stone wall

To: W2PM <w2pm@aol.com>
Subject: Re: Topband: Radials over a stone wall
From: Herb Schoenbohm <herbs@vitelcom.net>
Reply-to: herbs@vitelcom.net
Date: Sat, 11 Aug 2012 10:10:45 -0400
List-post: <topband@contesting.com">mailto:topband@contesting.com>
When drilling in stone to prevent overheating of the drill bit and tip 
consider using water as a coolant.



Herb, KV4FZ




On 8/11/2012 9:22 AM, W2PM wrote:
> Be real careful when drilling at those seam points tho as the bit can get 
> stuck when hitting the harder area around the joint and if your holding on 
> with both hands it will twist your arms around real good.
>
> Sent from my iPad
>
> On Aug 10, 2012, at 16:20, "ZR" <zr@jeremy.mv.com> wrote:
>
>> Rent a hammer drill with a 1/2" or 3/4" bit and an extension. Takes about 15
>> minutes a hole as long as you have AC out there. My 3/4" bit is 12" long and
>> Ive used it several times to bust up big boulders at or near the surface in
>> the yard.
>>
>> Start at a point where there is space between 2 rocks to minimize the
>> effort. This is a job where you sit on the ground to work and then lay down
>> when tired and keep drilling!
>>
>> Carl
>> KM1H
>>
>>
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: "Herb Schoenbohm" <herbs@vitelcom.net>
>> To: "N2TK, Tony" <tony.kaz@verizon.net>
>> Cc: "'topband'" <topband@contesting.com>
>> Sent: Friday, August 10, 2012 3:32 PM
>> Subject: Re: Topband: Radials over a stone wall
>>
>>
>>> Tony, no need to fret about drilling. I would say than going under is
>>> better than going over.  The crews who do direct burial for cable TV and
>>> fiber have special directional drill attachments that you should try to
>>> borrow. the will go straight down along the wall until they get to the
>>> dirt under the wall, find their way under the wall and come up on the
>>> other side.  You just a need a few of these connector and for them it is
>>> something they do all the time under highways, concrete drainage and
>>> sidewalks, as a matter of their work.
>>>
>>> If you want to DIY you could also excavate as much as possible on both
>>> sides, take some 8 foot ground rods and drive them at an angle drive
>>> with a sledge on each side and see if you can "establish contact".  Fill
>>> both sides of the pilot holes with rock salt, the water them for several
>>> days.  Eventually you should have a fairly low resistance connection
>>> from one rod to the other, even if they do not touch. Connect you
>>> radials to both ground rods. Only problem with the rock salt is it will
>>> eventually each away at the copper covered steel rod.  But you should be
>>> good for a year or two.
>>>
>>> Before I get royally flamed here and subjected to humiliation by not
>>> having this advice peer reviewed, let me suggest that this method has
>>> never been tested by me and probably not by anyone else.
>>>
>>>
>>> Herb Schoenbohm, KV4FZ
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> On 8/10/2012 2:21 PM, N2TK, Tony wrote:
>>>> Thanks Bill and Herb about drilling a hole through the wall. That could
>>>> be
>>>> tough. It is a stone wall with no mortar. It is about 20-28" thick. It is
>>>> well constructed with large field stones. It would be rough to drill
>>>> through
>>>> all of that. I had thought about taking portion of the wall apart but
>>>> figured I would never get it back to looking as good as it does now. The
>>>> stones go fairly deep so not much chance of going under the wall.
>>>>
>>>> 73,
>>>> N2TK, Tony
>>>>
>>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>> From: Bill Wichers [mailto:billw@waveform.net]
>>>> Sent: Friday, August 10, 2012 12:26 PM
>>>> To: N2TK, Tony; topband
>>>> Subject: RE: Topband: Radials over a stone wall
>>>>
>>>> I would expect an "up and over" to clear the wall would result in a
>>>> choke-like effect on the radial and would, at best, reduce the radial's
>>>> effectiveness.
>>>>
>>>> It should be easy to just drill some small (maybe 1/4"?) holes through
>>>> the
>>>> wall in a few places to pass the radials through. With a decent hammer
>>>> drill
>>>> and a carbide bit a small hole like that is pretty quick and easy to
>>>> complete -- even in concrete or stone. Then just use a piece of
>>>> coathanger
>>>> wire as a wire fishing tool to run the radials through the hole.
>>>>
>>>> I use a wire pulling tool called a "creep-zit" to pull radials under
>>>> fallen
>>>> trees and logs in the woods. It works great. I basically just take one of
>>>> the 6 foot long fiberglass rods (each of which is a little over 1/8"
>>>> diameter), tape the radial to one end, and then I can push it under
>>>> fallen
>>>> debris easily. With a little practice you can even get around hidden
>>>> obstructions in the ground this way.
>>>>
>>>>    -Bill
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>> I shunt feed my tower for topband. I use variable vacuum caps and a
>>>> vacuum
>>>>> relay at the base to switch between the low end and the high end of
>>>> the
>>>>> band. It seems to work okay. I have 100' buried radials spaced 10' at
>>>> the
>>>>> ends from o degrees going clockwise through about 220 degrees. I have
>>>> a 4'
>>>>> high stone wall that runs about 20/200 degrees that is about 35' at
>>>> its
>>>>> closest point to the tower. So the radials are progressively shorter
>>>> on
>>>>> the
>>>>> West side of the tower.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> I am making an assumption that going up over the wall will distort any
>>>>> benefits of extending the radials on the West side? Is that a true
>>>>> assumption.
>>>>>
>>>>> I can't really have the radials go from the tower base up at an angle
>>>> to
>>>>> clear the stone wall and continue on. If I am to extend them the
>>>> radials
>>>>> would have to go on the ground to the wall then up and over and back
>>>> down
>>>>> to
>>>>> the ground.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> 73,
>>>>>
>>>>> N2TK, Tony
>>>>>
>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>> UR RST IS ... ... ..9 QSB QSB - hw? BK
>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>> UR RST IS ... ... ..9 QSB QSB - hw? BK
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> UR RST IS ... ... ..9 QSB QSB - hw? BK
>>>
>>>
>>> -----
>>> No virus found in this message.
>>> Checked by AVG - www.avg.com
>>> Version: 10.0.1424 / Virus Database: 2437/5191 - Release Date: 08/10/12
>>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> UR RST IS ... ... ..9 QSB QSB - hw? BK

_______________________________________________
UR RST IS ... ... ..9 QSB QSB - hw? BK

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