Topband: Radials on ground v FCP

[Richard (Rick) Karlquist]

On 1/9/2022 4:51 AM, CUTTER DAVID via Topband wrote:
> Hi Rob
> 
> I see copper prices have doubled in the last year.
> 
> My intention is to compare and contrast the cost and performance of short verticals over a large field of ground radials v the very modest amount of wire required for the FCP.  In Guy's article
> 

This is a false dichotomy between FCP and a broadcast station ground 
screen.  The best use of wire is to have a small number of elevated 
tuned radials with proper RF choking.  As shown by N6LF, you can do well 
with just 8 radials, about 100 feet long each.  On 160 meters, they 
should be 20 feet high for optimum performance.  BTW, cheap aluminum 
electric fence wire works perfectly for elevated radials  Also consider 
N6BT's single spiral radial configuration as an alternative to FCP.

Rick N6RK