Topband: Buried radials or non-buried radials?

[w2pm at aol.com]

There is  person who is also a ham who sells radial staples -- they 
work very well and are dirt cheap -- something like $7 USD for a  1/2 
pound bag of 315 pcs.    He is (or was) on Ebay but his email is:

radialstaple at wowway.com

There are a couple Ebay instant buy items now --    see

http://cgi.ebay.com/315-Premium-Radial-Staples-for-Vertical-Antennas_W0QQitemZ320460637974QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item4a9cf14716

I have no connection with him other than being a repeat customer every 
Spring...

Pete W2PM

-----Original Message-----
From: Dennis Peterson <dennisissure at comporium.net>
To: Topband Reflector <topband at contesting.com>
Sent: Sun, Dec 13, 2009 6:00 am
Subject: Topband: Buried radials or non-buried radials?


To be or not to be-----------TO BURY OR NOT TO BURY--that is the
question..................................IMHO of 34 years playing with
antennas,
it has been my experience to use NON-BURIED Radials as I am a firm 
believer in
making WORK-WORK FOR ME......Since we aren't faced with the ardent task 
or
necessity to place QUARTER LENGTH RADIAL WIRES, doing exactly what many 
have
suggested is adequate enough towards laing out a radial field.

HOWEVER;
when  laying the radials on the ground, it is important to note that 
just
placing them on the ground isn't good enough unless you anchor them 
securely. I
use metal coat hangers discarded by many housewives today who prefer 
the plastic
over the metal.  These metal coat hangers are very good for ground 
radial
staples.  I can get 6 or 7 six inch lengths of wire per coat hanger.  
Bending
them in half like a hair pin provides enough length to securely anchor 
the wire
to the ground every 18 to 24 inches.  On the far end of the wire I wrap 
two
turns around the hairpin wire and pull the wire tight to help hold it 
in place
and then work backwards towards the ground plate or grid to place the 
staples.

I have never had any problems with this method nor have I ever pulled a 
wire
loose during the mowing season.  A good  application of fertilizere 
after the
ground laying procedure in the fall will increase the grass growth in 
the spring
and afterwards you can't even see there they were or are.  I even do 
the same
thing for the feedline coax for my RX antennas.  Course the hairpin 
wires need
to be about 8 or 9 inch lengths and then folded in half to make a 4 
inch hairpin
but they work FB just the same.

Another advantage of NON-BURIED radials is that you won't end up with 
an
unsitely star pattern in the lawn that creates an eye sore for the
XYL.....................

As to the question;  which is better-----buried or non-buried goes to 
saying
which is better FORDS or CHEVYS; APPLES or ORANGES.  I don't think 
there have
been too many studies on the topic that can really sustantiate with 
good cause
whether buried is better or vice versa.  Whatever the operator feels he 
is
confortable with doing for HIS own specific condition.   Again, I want 
the WORK
to WORK for me I'm not going to WORK for it!  Therefore, I choose on 
the ground
insulated ground radial wires stapled every 18 to 24 inches.  Most of 
my radials
are only 36 feet long; although my current inv-L system has 9 wires at 
136' each
and 24 at 36' each,

The dry cleaners will sell you metal coat hangers very cheap if you 
don't have
any.  I think the last time I paid something like $5.00 for 50 of them. 
 That's
10 cents each which is cheaper than buying anything else.  Oh, by the 
way;
another cheap type of lawn staple is the welding rod ends thrown away 
at a
welding shop.  Those make good staples as well and they don't rust as
fast..................and they're cheap.  Most shops will you a 5 
gallon bucket
to carry away if you want.

Have fun and remember--------don't make work out of the project----make 
the work
WORK for you.

de K4CKDennis







Read my story below by clicking the URL:

http://www.yananow.net/Mentors/DennisD.htm

Dennis G. Peterson
326 East Jefferson Street
Apt 2
York, SC  29745
803-389-9366

_______________________________________________
160 meters is a serious band, it should be treated with respect. - TF4M