[TowerTalk] folded radials

[VR2BrettGraham]

K8DO added on query about merit of longer radials on (or in ground)
folded back when in a tight space:

>An old AM broadcast engineer I know is also a ham and I have chatted with 
>him on 80 meters... He uses a 1/4 wl. vertical antenna... He has a 4 foot 
>square (4' x 4'), 10 ga., copper plate with a hole for the base insulator 
>to pass through...  He does not use radials... He gets out just fine and 
>feels that the plate is not a compromise in gathering the return currents 
>compared to the usual radial system that a city ham can get down... He has 
>the room for  some radials and states that changing to the plate increased 
>his field strength over the previous radial system enough that he no 
>longer uses radials...
>I mention this as an item of interest for those who cannot put out radials 
>that perhaps the cost of a copper plate may be a fair return for 
>performance....
>
>He did state that thin copper sheathing as for roofs, etc., is not as 
>efficient as a plate with some thickness of ~ 0.100" or more - and that it 
>wants to be a single plate, or if pieced together should be continuously 
>soldered at the joints......

I would imagine that chap had good soil conductivity, especially some
distance away.

First two meters of the vertical would be right up against a 2m tall
brick-&-concrete wall in the same three directions I can run out
radials, but I am in a valley with abandoned farm land that gets rather
moist in strategic directions (as well as stay that way, judging from
the mosquitos).

Thanks for sharing that - you've got me thinking...  ;^)

73, VR2BrettGraham