[TowerTalk] Number of radials and length to install ??

[Lew Sayre]

Yo,
    That has been looked at by guru Rudy Severns. Google  N6LF and click on
design of radial systems.  It is very easy to spend hours absorbing what
Rudy has been studying.
  73 and I remain,
   Lew   W7EW/W7AT

On Sat, Apr 30, 2011 at 8:40 PM, <k2dp at charter.net> wrote:

> Jim,
>
> I believe that the key question for you is whether your vertical is "ground
> mounted" or elevated mounting ?
>
> Assuming that it is ground mounted, radials which are placed on or below
> the
> ground's surface are detuned by the ground, therefore, the length is not
> critical.  Get as many radials down as possible, each as long as possible.
> Rule of thumb is that a minimum of 20 fifty foot long radials will get you
> going in the right direction.  Additional grounding through 8 or 10 foot
> long ground rods needs to be in place as well for both lightning protection
> and as part of the RF ground system. Again, the rule of thumb is a minimum
> of 1 ground rod, however, 4, placed around the base of the antenna would be
> ideal.
>
> Hope this helps.
>
> 73,
> Dave, K2DP
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Jim Lux" <jimlux at earthlink.net>
> To: <towertalk at contesting.com>
> Sent: Saturday, April 30, 2011 10:19 PM
> Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] Number of radials and length to install ??
>
>
> On 4/30/11 4:32 PM, W1JCW wrote:
> > Hey guys -
> >
> > I have a 32' vertical I'm installing.
> >
> > I searched the post files but didn’t see a related msg reply.
> >
> > What would be a good number of radials to put down and what lengths for
> > 80m - 10m ??
> >
> > I know there are many schools of thoughts and theory so I figured I would
> > see what I get
> > for replies.
> >
> > Thanks.
> >
> > 73-
> > W1JCW
> > John
> > _______________________________________________
> >
> >
> >
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> >
>
> Assuming you mean laying on the ground or buried
>
> Radials longer than the height of your vertical (i.e. 30ish feet) are
> probably past the point of diminishing returns.
>
> More radials are better.
>
> twice as many radials half as long is probably better.
>
> 30-60 radials is probably the point of diminishing returns.
>
> so, let's say, you have a 500 foot spool of wire. you could do 16
> radials 30 feet long.
>
> or you could do 30 radials 16 feet long.
>
>
> My gut feel is that the latter is better.  The current at the base of a
> vertical is higher, so the current density in the soil near the base is
> higher.
>
>
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