Topband: Ground Radials

[kb9cry at comcast.net]

Fred, I've had the same problem with my radials for the 4 square and the shunt fed tower on 160M.  Both myself and the dog can't seem to pick up out feet until the grass overgrows the wires.  And trust me, they will in short order and then you won't have this problem.  Yes, you need to use more staples; in some places I've used one every foot.  To reduce the cost, make your own staples.  I buy an 1/4 mile roll of 14 Ga electric fence wire from Farm n Fleet for about $18.  I cut off about 6 to 8 inches and fold in in half over my hand.  I then bend the bottom half of each leg outward a bit and stick it into the ground over the wire.  As I insert it into the ground, I squeeze the legs together and the slight bend in the legs spreads out a bit in the ground and helps to hold it in.  The staples get lost under the grass and then will eventually corrode away. I have not problem raking now.  Phil  KB9CRY
> Hello Fellow TopBand ops,
> I have a small "wonder" vertical on my wooded lot. And I would like to construct 
> an inverted L , also needing a ground screen. There's about 50 radials for both 
> antennas already laid out on the ground with some sod staples holding the 
> radials down. I'm one of those types of fellows who likes to keep the lot clean 
> and fairly free from the leaves and the twigs and branches. My ground radials 
> are really catching hell from the raking.I  also notice on my clumsy days, that 
> I'm tripping over these radial wires too. Blowing leaves with my backpack blower 
> is better, but there is a time where they need to be raked into the Chipper / 
> shredder machine.I might answer my own question here. It looks like I have to 
> use a LOT more sod clamps every couple of feet to nail down these radials, 
> before I destroy my entire RF system. Are there other ways to create a ground 
> screen? I understand that chicken wire is a good thing for RF ground, but how 
> much of that would be equal to the individual wires I'm using now? What are the 
> rest of yous guys doing that have ground radials in a woods situation? I would 
> appreciate some innovative ways around this ground radial problem.
> Thanks for any help.
> Fred KC4MOP
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