Topband: anchoring radials in soil that freezes

[Eric Scace]

Here is a summary of responses on this question.  No particular order to
responses.  No one reported any problems with frost heaves.

W1DXH:
   -- Anchors with clothespins and doll pins, driven in with a hammer.
   -- Pins rot away after grass has overgrown the radials.
   -- No problems with frost heaves.

W4NF:
   -- Uses sod spikes to secure surface-mounted radials.  Sod spikes are
available at lawn & garden shops and pin sod down to
sloping ground to prevent washouts.  They are |_| shaped and about 15cm long.
   -- Installed by pushing in by hand partway and then finishing with the
heel of the boot.
   -- Pins have not rusted away completely yet.  These radials were
installed 3 years ago.
   -- No problems with frost heaves to date.

W5CGH:
   -- Has worked in broadcast engineering in South Dakota for many years;
never heard of any problems with frost heaves.
   -- Never heard of broadcasters using anything other than buried radials,
installed with a tractor plow down about 15-20 cm.

VE3CSK:
   -- Uses women's hairpins ("bobby pins") to hold wire in slit ~2cm below
ground surface.  [K1VR also mentioned the use of bobby
pins.]
   -- No frost heaves in 10 years since installation.

N4XX:
   -- Looped the end of each radial around an aluminum gutter nail of length
15-18cm.
   -- Nail pounded into ground such that nail and radial are 10cm below surface.
   -- No frost heaves in 7 years of installation.
   -- No information about whether this would work for surface radials.

NR1DX:
   -- Also uses 20cm gutter nails, but every 1-3 m along a surface radial.

K8GG:
   -- Anchors surface-mounted radials with a flooring nail at the end of the 
radial.  The flooring nail is 7 cm long, and the end of
the radial is wrapped around it.  The nail has a twisted shank.
   -- Fencing staples (U shaped of 5 cm length and 1 cm width) are used to
push radial down to the surface wherever the ground dips
down, causing a taunt radial to rise above the ground.  Pliers and boots are
used to push the fencing staple into the earth.
   -- No problems with frost heaves.
   -- Reports that W0CD plowed his radials 5cm into ground and has had no
frost heaves, either.

V31JP:
   -- No frost heaves in his past Michigan QTH.
   -- Used homemade staples formed from 12-16 AWG wire of ~15 cm length.

N0TT:
   -- Staked radials down with an 45cm length of wire.  That piece of wire
had loops twisted into each end and was placed over the
radial.  The loops were hammered down into the ground using an iron rod of
~1cm diameter with a slot in the end.  The loop fit into
the slot for insertion into the soil.  The end of the radial was looped and
pounded down as well.

W7CW:
   -- Wraps and knots radial wire around a double ring shank pole barn nail.
These nails are of various lengths; e.g., 15-25cm
length.  The nails were used only at the end of the radials.

K8DO:
   -- Just lays radial on the surface with no anchoring, and lets grass grow
over it.

K1FK:
   -- Anchors ends with 3 - 4cm long fence staples, pushed into the soil.

KK4CA:
   -- Uses wire or rod scrap formed into a J shape, with length 10-14cm and 
4-6mm width.  The J is jammed into the ground.  It rusts
and he feels the scaly surface of the rust helps the J grab into the
adjacent soil.

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