Topband: Ground Screens - Another Small Space Option

[ZR]

Im sure chicken wire lasts longer in the great southwest but it rapidly 
turns to rust in the acidic soil and acid rain of the New England rust belt. 
I see rolls of it regularly at our trash transfer station and Id be willing 
to bet the current Chinese variety rusts a lot faster than the earlier US 
variety.

I keep stressing that the one size fits all theory of some just doesnt work 
for Topband antennas and grounds.

It is not recommended to use stranded copper wire for RF or DC/AC grounds 
and that should also apply to galvanized wire that only has a few twists at 
each junction. Each junction can eventually become a diode and I believe 
most of us on here are aware what that can cause.

Carl
KM1H



----- Original Message ----- 
From: Howard K2HK
To: zr at jeremy.mv.com ; topband
Sent: Tuesday, September 25, 2012 2:02 PM
Subject: RE: Topband: Ground Screens - Another Small Space Option


Rob Sherwood was once a strong advocate of chicken wire and has run many 
tests. Perhaps he might chime in here with some comments.


Howard  K2HK






> From: zr at jeremy.mv.com
> To: jim at audiosystemsgroup.com; topband at contesting.com
> Date: Mon, 24 Sep 2012 22:07:03 -0400
> Subject: Re: Topband: Ground Screens - Another Small Space Option
>
> I got the idea of the mesh at work from a Tech Class engineer but dont
> remember him referencing HRM. This was in the mid 80's and I was 
> complaining
> about the poor performance of a shunt fed 100' tower with 10/15/20 4el 
> yagis
> for top loading and 60 radials of 60-130' or so.
>
> Since chicken wire is only twisted, thin, and very cheap, I decided its
> utility would be very short lived and went with the 2X4" rabbit wire which
> is welded, hot dip galvanized and plastic coated. Quite expensive (no 
> China
> brands) but I found 5 4x50' reels in the next town in the local "Want
> Advertiser" that had been used less than a year and was a fraction the 
> cost.
>
> When I moved here it came with me and its been rolled up in the woods 
> since
> 1989, still looking fine. I went with elevated radials instead for the 2
> element 1/4 waves.
>
> Carl
> KM1H
>





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