[TowerTalk] Aluminum wire radials

[Jim Lux]

bringing up the intersting question of how one could protect buried aluminum.  Coatings can crack or be scratched, although there might be some viable techniques.

Jim Lux
-----Original Message-----

From:  "Dan Hearn" <dhearn at air-pipe.com>
Subj:  [TowerTalk] Aluminum wire radials
Date:  Fri Nov 17, 2006 7:40 am
Size:  816 bytes
To:  "T talk" <towertalk at contesting.com>

I used aluminum wire radials on a Hy Tower in Dallas TX. After a year or so
I pulled on the radial wires at the tower base and a short piece of wire
came out of the ground. They were severely corroded thru. The soil there is
alkaline and has very good conductivity. A 4square array installed later
using nr 16 solid bare copper wire worked for years with no such problems.
  The ground conductivity map in the ARRL handbook shows a large band of
high conductivity running north/south through the central states. I wonder
if most highly conductive ground is alkaline. The 4 square worked great, Hi.

73, Dan, N5AR

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