[TowerTalk] Using steel e-fence wire for antenna wire

n0tt1 at juno.com n0tt1 at juno.com
Mon Sep 21 13:47:24 EDT 2015


Hi Gents,

Heh...heh...as usual this topic has taken a life of its own, but I'll
add my few words to the vast knowledge base about radial wire...

Years ago, I installed a 7mhz 4-square vertical.  I wondered
about using galvanized steel electric fence wire on the ground
and eventually, in the ground by "natural burial" by tough field
grasses.

Then I remembered that I had a conversation about using the fence wire
with
W2FMI (SK) when he was actively building his famous shortened
vertical antennas.  He said (as I remember it) "So what if it
rusts?...rusty 
wire still has far less resistance than most soils and will still be far
more effective than just plain dirt."

Well, I used the fence wire, a "deluxe" ground screen of 120 radials
per element.  So, fast-forward about 10 years when I erected a 160m
vertical with many radials (copper wire) plowed in with a homebrew plow.
I sliced though some of the old 7mhz radials (now not needed) and 
some of them popped up out of the ground, rusty, but still intact!

So, my experience/philosophy with the fence wire (for MY average
clay-loam soil) is to go ahead and use the fence wire for buried
radials IF I plan on having the antenna for only several years.  The
wire will eventually just rust away long after the antenna itelf is gone,
leaving almost no trace.

73,
Charlie, N0TT
 
On Mon, 21 Sep 2015 08:50:43 -0700 dw <bw_dw at fastmail.fm> writes:
> My only experience with the use of steel electric fence wire and the
> resilience of connections is using them as radials for vertical 
> antenna
> experiments.
> In that case, I wrapped 8 wires together and brazed them to a steel
> plate which I bolted to the bottom of the verticals radial plate.
> Left them laying on the ground for a couple of years here in the 
> high
> humidity summers and deep snow winters.
> Later after I got rid of the vertical antenna I pulled up those 
> radials
> to put them into storage and found the brazing still looked good 
> and
> solid.
> Don't know how many years it would take for those connections to
> deteriorate.
> N1BBR
> -- 
>  Bw_dw at fastmail.net
> 
> _______________________________________________
> 
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
> TowerTalk mailing list
> TowerTalk at contesting.com
> http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/towertalk
> 
 



More information about the TowerTalk mailing list