A while back, I specifically asked K3LC whether there was a significant
difference electrically between tying radials to a buss in a 4 square or just
letting them overlap. To my surprise, Al said that the modeled antenna gain of
the overlapping radial system was slightly greater than that of the ground
system where the radials are terminated in a copper buss.
The issue boils down to: 1.) the extra time spent cutting, stripping and
soldering the wires to the buss strap; 2.) the cost of the extra wire wasted in
running the wires the full length beyond where they overlap; and 3.) the
longevity of the wire insulation.
Here at my QTH, I use #14 THHN for radial wire. In some parts of my property,
the soil chemistry is such that the wire insulation deteriorated in about four
years. In the case of teflon wire, I would expect a much longer service life
Two years ago, K8MFO built an 80 meter four square using HyGain Hi-Towers.
There are 48, quarter wave radials under each vertical and Don just laid the
radials on the ground and overlapped them. He said that laying down the ground
staples was enough work and he gets superb performance from his array.
73 Dennis W0JX
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