[TowerTalk] Guy Wire Anchors

[Richard (Rick) Karlquist]

The discussion of "Class 1", etc soils reminds me
of trying measure ground conductivity values for
NEC simulation.  Real grounds are just way too
complicated and inconsistent vs location and
dependent on seasonal moisture for it to be possible
to do a realistic "engineering analysis" for
something like a screw in anchor.  I have
a few feet of pure clay above cemented hard pan.
I can't imagine getting the screw to go into
my hard pan just with an impact wrench.  The
depth to the hard pan varies depending on where
you are on the property.  The clay above the
hard pan will not hold anything when it
is saturated with water.  But wait, I had
the property "ripped" to a 7 feet depth with a D10
Cat.  Now, depending on the luck of the draw,
you could hit one of the fissures in the hard
pan and get no grip.  The fissures also open
and close seasonally.

I can't depend on testing because the clay
when dry is like concrete and would give a
high holding power at the time of test.

As was was pointed out, the mere weight of
concrete + dirt makes the soil composition
much less important.

Rick N6RK