[TowerTalk] Anyone use a 120' qso king?

[Jim Brown]

On 1/23/2014 8:44 AM, Herbert Schonbohm wrote:
> Some would argue that putting ground rods at the end of radials 
> doesn't really help.

Right. Really bad idea. We do NOT want current flowing in lossy earth. 
The function of radials is to SHIELD the antenna from lossy earth and to 
provide a return for antenna current and the fields the antenna 
produces.  Also, the end of the radial is a high impedance point. Adding 
a ground rod messes up the current distribution on the radial, and 
increases loss.

> In most cases you can do well, perhaps better with #12 or #14 THHN 
> insulated wire laying on the ground.  You will only then need about 
> 90-100 feet for each radial due to the velocity factor of the wire 
> itself.  If you run out of space due to your lot size you can run the 
> ends at right angles. It is important that the ends are not grounded. 
> IMHO what you are trying to do is cause the ground system currents to 
> travel in those wires rather than being dissipated in the earth thus 
> improving the system efficiency. You can pin the wires down with large 
> galvanized nails, , pounded into the ground after a single turn around 
> them. (U clips are also available by the hundred lot from 
> DX-Engineering) Normally after two weeks the sod will cover them and 
> they will be invisible and allow the lawn mower to pass over without a 
> snag.

All of this is very good advice.On-ground radials are as good as buried 
radials -- the only reason to bury them is to protect them from foot 
traffic. In general, with on-ground radials, more is better and length 
is not critical.

73, Jim K9YC