[TowerTalk] DX Engineering radial plate question

["Rob Atkinson, K5UJ" <k5uj@hotmail.com>]

Hi Tom,

Yes, I also found the job of soldering radials something that would come 
with problems.   It might be okay for a few, like 20 or so, but I planned to 
put down 90 to 120.   I figured if I had a ring or big lug point, I'd be out 
there on the grass in Oct. or Nov. with a torch or my big high watt iron 
(needing a long cord and having to heat up a big piece of metal outside).  I 
pictured myself having to solder and string out and anchor the wire, then go 
back and relight the torch to solder the next ones, then there'd be the 
problem of the ring getting hot and some already installed radials coming 
loose....so I did what you did except I omitted the lugs and simply stripped 
and wrapped the wire around the bolts.

I made a plot of the property and divided it into quadrants and planned the 
layout of the radials with that, so I would not put them down piecemeal and 
wind up doing it wrong.  This had to be done because I did not have room for 
full size radials going out in straight lines in all directions.  I anchored 
the plate to a ground rod and installed the nut/bolt/washer combinations in 
all the holes.  Then with wire strippers, socket wrench and C wrench, wire 
staples, hammer and two 500 foot rolls of no. 14 solid, I proceeded to strip 
about 4 inches from the ends of the wire on the two rolls, wrap them around 
a bolt and tighten it, and spool out the wire to 120 feet or the property 
line whichever came first and staple it down.  Then I cut it and repeated 
the process.  I think the plate made this go a lot faster but it still took 
about 3 weeks working in my spare time to get down around 90 radials.   I 
consider the fifty bucks for the plate money well spent however if I could 
afford it, I would prefer something like this:

http://www.kkbc.com/images/WSWK%20090.jpg

http://www.kkbc.com/images/WSWK%20070.jpg

http://www.kkbc.com/images/WSWK%20096.jpg

http://www.kkbc.com/images/WSWK%20072.jpg

73,

rob / k5uj

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