[TowerTalk] Radial question

[Kevin Stover]

The short answer is no, it won't make a hill of beans worth of difference.
What does make a difference is the number. Turns out the denser the 
radial field near the antenna, the lower the losses. Ground radials are 
there to shield the antenna from the ground underneath.

If I was doing it I'd install 32, 65' radials and 32, 32' radials.


On 2/27/2016 9:49 AM, Vincent Weal wrote:
> 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
>
>


-- 
R. Kevin Stover
AC0H
ARRL
FISTS #11993
SKCC #215
NAQCC #3441


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