Topband: Ground under a K9AY Loop

[pa5mw at home.nl]

Hi Pete,

Maybe...


I have 3pcs  8ft GND rods under my K9AY which I install each winter in my (puny) 23x28ft backyard.

Going from one to three rods, water them regularly etc.  showed me a constant F/B on AM BC stations between 25 and 42dB ( no S-meter; but s/n differences on an SDR Perseus) 

Interesting though is the relatively high termination values I have to set in on the K9AY control box;  settings 2, 3 or 4 usually offer the best F/B.  The standard advised settings per band would offer 10 to 15 dB less F/B performance.

Knowing that such value alters both the depth and  t.o. angle of the backside lobe it is still interesting to see that it is relatively higher in value than 4  seasons ago when I only had 1 GND rod.

I also tried  4 and 8 radials once ( + a 4ft single GND rod) which did not perform that well. YMMV.

I have tried this setup at several contest field-day locations on farm-soil successfully, using a single copper GND-rod 5ft/ 1 inch dia.


**Answering your question; yes, GND  can be too good, especially if you cannot match the optimal termination.


73
Mark PA5MW

-----Original Message-----
From: Topband <topband-bounces at contesting.com> On Behalf Of N4ZR
Sent: Wednesday, October 23, 2019 3:36 AM
To: topband reflector <Topband at contesting.com>
Subject: Topband: Ground under a K9AY Loop

Thanks to everyone who responded to my earlier question about substituting radials for a ground rod.  We just had 3 days of rain - our first in 6 weeks, so I don't think I have a ground rod driving problem any longer.  I'll find out tomorrow.

But all those suggestions raised an interesting question - is there any such thing as too good a ground under a K9AY?  For example, if I drive an 8-foot ground rod and then run 4 radials from it, out under and past the elements of the K9AY, might that be TOO much?  It's really not that much extra effort, and my last lawn mowing for this fall is Thursday.

-- 

73, Pete N4ZR
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