[TowerTalk] Radial question

[Al Kozakiewicz]

I'm sure it will make a difference. The question is will it be perceptible?!

With ground radials, it's a situation of diminishing returns (# and length). A rule of thumb is that the radials should be at least as long as the antenna is high, though I have no idea if this "rule" is based on real physics or what.

Like the magic 120 radials for AM broadcasting....it's not that 120 represents some kind of gold standard but is, I believe, simply a regulatory threshold that allows an applicant to skip a lot of engineering and field observations in a license application.  60 radials may work just as well given local soil conditions and terrain, but use 120 and you don't have to prove it.

Al
AB2ZY

-----Original Message-----
From: TowerTalk [mailto:towertalk-bounces at contesting.com] On Behalf Of Vincent Weal
Sent: Saturday, February 27, 2016 10:50 AM
To: towertalk at contesting.com
Subject: [TowerTalk] Radial question

I'm installing a 40/80 meter vertical (DX Engineering 8040VA-1) which calls for 65 foot radials. However, I recently saw a video of an antenna presentation by W3LPL in which Frank suggests 70 foot radials for an 80 meter antenna. I'll be burying the radials about an inch in the ground.
Will it really make a dime's worth of difference whether I cut the radials at 65 ft or 70 ft? My understanding of radials has always been that elevated radials should be cut at a quarter wave plus 5%, but ground radial length isn't critical. I just wanted to get a consensus before I start chopping up thousands of feet of wire.

(Yes, I am burying the radials because the guy who cuts my lawn will annihilate anything in his path. He even once managed to destroy an inverted vee that was 40 ft in the air!)

73, Vince K4JC

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