[TowerTalk] Radials vs. cows

[john at kk9a.com]

The tower is probably acting like a vertical so radials should help. I  
have been leisurely (very leisurely) installing radials in very hard  
clay using an edger.  The blades do not last long here but it does a  
nice job and I have not needed staples.  Even if you don't have a lot  
of them it should help that antenna.

John KK9A




Gary Johnson NA6O

The advice so far is consistent: Other than moderately deep burial, any
other radial installation will eventually become cow chow.

Some background. This is a 30 ft commercial tower on a ridge top that we
are getting a ride on. Basically we stuck a Yagi and a 40/30 dipole on
top. The land owner will not permit any kind of elevated radials nor
other vertical elements nor pretty much anything else. The only thing I
talked him into for the low bands is use of an existing 6 ft fence post
about 90 ft away, so for 80m we have a half-sloper (fed at the top of
course). Extensive simulation says that having at least a few radials
should lower the radiation angle and improve the match. But it can
function without them.

So I’ll try to do some trenching, if I can.

Gary NA6O