[CQ-Contest] Insulating Elevated Vertical in 4 Square

[Ken Widelitz]

After reading the two part  "A Study of Elevated Radial Ground Systems" in
the recent NCJs, I'm looking into elevating my 80 meter 4 square in PEI. My
idea is to cut 50' telephone poles in half, put the bottom 5' in a hole,
leaving the base of the vertical at 20'.

The issue has been raised as to whether or not it is necessary to insulate
the vertical from the telephone pole out of concern that the pole may get
wet and be a path to ground. Insulating the radiator would complicate the
installation. My gut tells me it wouldn't be a problem, but what does my gut
know. Currently the 4 square elements sit on ceramic plates at ground level
with the radials elevated a few feet. Snow is deep enough such that it is up
against the driven element. I haven't noticed a difference in operation
between winter and summer, even though I would expect a difference since
snow should be a conductor.

What do the experts out there think?

73, Ken, K6LA / VY2TT