[TowerTalk] Vertical in the swamp

[W2RU - Bud Hippisley]

-----Original Message-----
From: Gary Schafer
Sent: Tuesday, May 13, 2008 00:51
To: towertalk at contesting.com
Subject: Vertical in the swamp

Does anyone have any experience with putting up an 80 or 40 meter vertical
in a swamp? I have a swamp of about an acre and a half that contains rather
thick undergrowth and trees that are old but not well developed.


How about a 160-meter vertical?  At my last QTH, that's what I had, in about
2 to 3 acres of swamp.

 

Would the trees absorb a lot of energy if a vertical was placed in the
middle of this mess with radials lying in the mostly wet ground?


Maybe they do, but with about 24 radials of varying length that was a super
antenna for me.  Those trees are the last thing you should be worrying
about.

 

What about mounting the vertical at the edge of the swamp and laying half
the radials in the swamp floor with the others on a little higher and dry
ground?

That's actually what I had.  The ground rose to the west of my vertical,
until it got to my property line.  That also happened to be the side that my
radials were noticeably shorter (because they hit the property line). 

 

Is it worth the trouble to invade the swamp or would it be better to keep
clear of it?


Not sure what you mean by "worth the trouble".  I was *delighted* that I was
in a "swamp", even though it meant I only laid new radials in the winter
(when the surface was frozen, I could crawl around on the ice without
getting my clothes soaked, and all the mosquitos were sleeping).

Fresh water not salt water swamp.

Ditto.

Bud, W2RU