[TowerTalk] Radials how deep is too deep?

[John V]

Greetings all. 

We are in the process of doing a major remodel on our 50' X 117' city lot
and our house fills the front 40% of the lot. On the back of the lot a new
500 Sf garage and 600 Sf RV pad have been built, both sides of the lot now
have large retaining walls. I have run individual wires to all of the rebar
used in the foundations and in many cases run radials under where the slabs
were poured. I am also running in ground radials in any locations where
there is no concrete or rebar but most of my yard is now house, garage, slab
and retaining walls.   Many of the radials that are not run under the
concrete or to rebar are now covered with as much as 6" of compacted dirt
and decomposed granite. As time allows I continue to add more radials in the
areas that have soil.

 

I'd guess that I have used about 1500' of wire for the radials in the
project and have another 1500' of salvaged wire to use. Needless to say the
lengths are random somewhere between 50' and 80' . 

 

#1, have I wasted a bunch of good copper wire by running "radials" under the
slabs.

 

#2. Have I wasted more copper wire by attaching some of my runs to the rebar
in the retaining wall foundations, slabs, and foundations?   (we don't get
much lighting here) 

 

#3. How deep in the soil can a radial be and still operate properly, how
deep is too deep?  

 

I guess that my saving grace is that all of the radials are individual runs
and could be added or subtracted from the field for testing. The goal for
the radials would be to use them with lowband inverted "L"s  or even a shunt
fed tower some day. 

 

Thanks in advance, John NA6L