[TowerTalk] Beverage Question

[Chuck]

I am putting out a 1200' beverage at 12' high.  I plan to have a relay
at the far end to switch the termination resistor in and out per the
ON4UN diagram in his book.  I will feed the relay voltage down the wire
and the return path will be through the earth.  I have a 12v relay which
has 400 ohms resistance in the coil.  I have about 40 ohms resistance in
the wire and 2 rf chokes.  I hope to put 24v on the wire to switch the
relay.  I will have 2 copper clad 8' ground rods, one at each end for
the grounds.  The end of the beverage wil be 1100-1200 feet from the
shack.  My ground is extremely good.  The beverage will be fed with 1/2"
TV hardline (about 300').  Now my questions:

1.  Has anyone tried the ground for a return path for such a relay?  How
did it work?  What was the ground resistance?

2.  Am I correct in assuming that a perfect system in my case would be
where there was 360 ohms of ground resistance plus the 40 ohms circuit
resistansc to match the 400 ohms relay coil resistance where I plan to
put 24v on the circuit to a 12v relay?  Is this a reasonable amount for
ground resistance or will it be higher?

Thanks in advance for the usual high quality responses!

Chuck, KZ5MM


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