[TowerTalk] Radials for a vertical array---summary

[William Q Meeker]

I want to thank everyone who responded to my question about radials for a 
vertical array. I thought that it might be useful to summarize the information.

The consensus was that the approach suggested in figure 11-99 of ON4UN's 
book (3rd edition) would be best practice. Moreover, it is recommended to 
bond any radials together when they cross. If crossing radials are not 
bonded together there can be arcing while transmitting (with potential fire 
hazard if there is dry grass near) or undesirable noise during receive.

Silver soldering was suggested to provide stronger bonds and a more 
reliable method of bonding.

It was suggested that if insulated wire is used for the radials (my 
previous plan), bonding might not be necessary, but if/when  (probably when 
if the insulation is ordinary PVC and the radials are not buried, as PVC is 
highly susceptible to photodegradation) the insulation fails, the 
undesirable behaviors mentioned above could ensue.


William Q. Meeker
Department of Statistics
304C Snedecor Hall
Iowa State University
Ames, Iowa 50011
Phone: 515-294-5336
Fax: 515-294-4040
Home Fax: 515-232-1323
www.public.iastate.edu/~wqmeeker