Topband: BUG (Beverage under ground)?

[Chuck]

On 3/12/2012 8:41 PM, Joe Subich, W4TV wrote:
>
> Anyone know the skin depth of earth at 1.8 and 3.5MHz and how that
> might impact a BOG buried three to six inches?  Local soil is "very
> poor" mostly sand.
>
> 73,
>
>     ... Joe, W4TV
>
> _______________________________________________
> UR RST IS ... ... ..9 QSB QSB - hw? BK
>
>

Very little. The exact answer depends on whether your sandy soil is dry 
or wet. The exact values are:

dry sandy soil : 1.8 MHZ 165 feet (!) and 3.6 MHZ 118 feet
wet sandy soil : 1.8 MHZ 12 feet and 3.6 MHZ 8 feet

Medium wave DXers have occasionally used Beverages just underground with 
some success so it looks like skin depth is not an issue in that case.

For "normal" soil, (.001, 12) the skin depth is around 37 feet at 1.8 
MHZ in case your soil is more like soil than sand, but the effect of 3 
inches is still ignorable.


Chuck