[TowerTalk] Radial wire deterioration

[Jim Lux]

A
>Since electric fence wire is inexpensive, we can afford to replace it
>every few years.  Test the soil and choose steel or aluminum fence wire
>according to pH.

I suspect that for some hams, the labor cost is substantially greater than 
the wire cost, in which case, longevity might be a bigger concern.

The lack of recognition of labor costs (even if your time is nominally 
"free", it still is time when you could be doing something else, like 
spending time with your family, or operating on the air, etc.) is a failing 
in many, many analyses done in the ham world. For instance, the many very 
nice analyses done on "how do I optimally use X feet of wire for ground 
radials" completely neglects the not inconsiderable labor involved in 
stringing radials.

Yes, every one's labor cost is different, but that doesn't mean that it 
shouldn't be considered.