[TowerTalk] Ground wire between tower and ground stakes

[Jim Brown]

On 11/14/2017 3:26 PM, Chris Hoelzle wrote:
> I had been planning on going with Solid AWG 2, but then I saw some pictures
> of folks using stranded.

The simple facts are that 1) bigger will carry more current before it 
melts, 2) bigger is harder to work with, 3) stranded makes bigger easier 
to work with, 4) stranded does corrode faster when exposed to air or 
water, 5) insulation prevents that exposure except at connection points. 
Many years ago I came into a big roll of insulated #4 stranded, and 
that's what I'm using. All of life is a compromise. Good engineering is 
making the best compromise for any given application. That's also true 
of life.

Many things are done the way they are in broadcasting and commercial 
radio because of 1) tradition and 2) they have the labor/budgets to do 
it better. 120 radial systems for AM broadcast stations are an example 
of both. So is #2 solid for cell sites.

73, Jim K9YC