[TowerTalk] Ground Radials Insulated or Not

[kb9cry at comcast.net]

Lightning isn't gonna care about that insulation; it'll blast right through it.  Phil  KB9CRY  
And, you'll have a separate, extensive lightning grounding system in place anyway, right?!!

-------------- Original message -------------- 

> >From a performance point of view, I suspect it doesn't make 
> any difference at all whether the wires are insulated or not. 
> One consideration that I haven't heard discussed with regard 
> to radials, however, is lightning protection. Wouldn't it be better 
> from a lightning perspective to have at least some of the radials 
> in the system uninsulated? Perhaps a few heavy radials (6 to 8) 
> made from #4 bare copper interspersed with the balance of the 
> radial system made from whatever is cheapest. Just a thought. 
> 
> Mike, W4EF...................................... 
> 
> 
> > As far as insulated or not.. My gut feel is that it probably doesn't make 
> a 
> > huge difference. You're conducting RF, so DC contact isn't important, 
> > there's a huge area that's buried. The copper will corrode a bit and 
> > probably forms an insulator anyway The field gets there through the open 
> air 
> > in the first place, etc. On the other hand, I have absolutely no 
> > theoretical or experimental basis for making the statement. NEC4 does 
> model 
> > insulated wires in the earth, and I've been meaning to run some 
> comparisons, 
> > but haven't got around to it. 
> > 
> > ----- Original Message ----- 
> > From: "Chuck" 
> > To: "Towertalk" 
> > Sent: Monday, December 06, 2004 4:31 AM 
> > Subject: [TowerTalk] Ground Radials Insulated or Not 
> > 
> > 
> > > I think the article by K3LC answers my question about the best number of 
> > radials for the installation in my particular application. The nest 
> question 
> > I have is what benefit if any is there to using bare wire as opposed to 
> > insulated wire in the radial system. 
> > > 
> > > When I go to the local houses to buy wire it is cheaper to buy 12 or 14 
> > guage spooled insulated wire rather then bare wire. When I look at 
> ordering 
> > it online buying locally is more attractive from a cost point since 
> shipping 
> > has thus far made online orders significantly more expensive then local 
> > purchases. 
> > > 
> > > Does direct earth contact buy anything as opposed to insulated radials 
> > with respect to use as the rf ground? 
> > > 
> > > Chuck WD4HXG 
> > 
> > 
> > _______________________________________________ 
> > 
> > See: http://www.mscomputer.com for "Self Supporting Towers", "Wireless 
> Weather Stations", and lot's more. Call Toll Free, 1-800-333-9041 with any 
> questions and ask for Sherman, W2FLA. 
> > 
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> > 
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________ 
> 
> See: http://www.mscomputer.com for "Self Supporting Towers", "Wireless Weather 
> Stations", and lot's more. Call Toll Free, 1-800-333-9041 with any questions 
> and ask for Sherman, W2FLA. 
> 
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