[TowerTalk] HF9V update and a question [SUMMARY]

[berferd]

Wow.  I received over a dozen responses already.  Thanks everyone.

Most people suggested the anchors that are typically sold for anchoring
sheds or parts of mobile homes.  A couple responses mentioned nursery/
farm supply outfits.  One person said he used T-bars that are typically
used for fencing.  Also suggested by someone was a pet supply store.

I do use short sections of T-bars for the rope guys on my HF9V, but I
think I'll go with earth screws for the telescoping mast.

Now to figure out what diameter phillystran to buy.  I don't think I'll
need anything more than their 1200 lb. material.

Thanks and 73,
Jeff KI0RO

> Hello,
> 
> Just thought I'd follow-up with a quick report on how things turned out.
> 
> I ended up putting ground mounting the HF9V with 16 buried radials
> (plan on adding more) and a 8'x10' piece of hardware ground fabric
> directly under the antenna.
> 
> It works surprisingly well...I've worked ~120 countries in the few
> months I've had it up.  It tuned up pretty well except for 17 meters.
> The best I was able to do on that band was 2.8:1..but it still
> gets out well on that band.
> 
> Now my question.  I'm putting up a 36-foot telescoping mast and
> I'm looking for a source of inexpensive, light-duty earth screw
> anchors.  The purpose of the mast is for a multiband inverted
> vee, but I also plan on putting a Diamond 2m/70cm vertical
> on top.  The legs of the inverted vee will also act as guys.
> Since the wind load isn't really going to be that much, I plan
> on using dacron rope for guy material (the black UV-resistant
> stuff).  I have a galvanized pipe which I will drive into the ground
> about 4 feet and the bottom section of the mast will slide into
> that tightly and be bolted as well.
> 
> The Rohn earth screws seem a bit expensive...and I probably
> don't need something geared toward heavy towers.  Any
> suggestions/sources?
> 
> Thanks,
> Jeff KI0RO
> (ex KC0HEP)
> 
> 
> On Fri, 11 Feb 2000, berferd wrote:
> > Thanks to everyone for all the good advice.  I've decided that
> > the incremental performance gain (if any) from a rooftop installation
> > is not worth the risks I'd be exposing the structure and occupants
> > to in the case of a direct strike.  Even with the proper grounding,
> > I would still be worried.  Also much easier to for maintenance
> > 
> > So instead I'm going to ground mount the Butternut in the middle
> > of my backyard with a buried radial system.
> > 
> > Which brings up another question.  Would a single ground rod
> > tied into the buried radial system be good enough as far as the
> > antenna goes?  I would still tie into the service ground rod and
> > there would be another ground rod near the shack which the
> > lightning arrestor would be attached to.
> > 
> > Thanks again everyone.  This people on this mailing list are a
> > great resource.
> > 
> > Jeff
> > KC0HEP
> 
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