[TowerTalk] ground wire thoughts

[w5jmw at towerfarm.net]

Jim,what about the crossing of the radials.Isn't doing that not 
recommended?Right now I can do either.I am confined to such a pattern 
due to me antenna placement.I have a overhead power run alomg my east 
fence and a metel fence along my west.I have already attached to both as 
a ground.really more of a lightning dispersal path.I might point out 
that I do have pretty good soil.I have very dense clay in certain at abt 
3-4 foot.It does stop water sippage to a point.Also we have an aerobic 
septic system which the spray nozzles are located in thi same 
pasture...thank you,john





On 2020-12-24 13:52, Jim Brown wrote:
> On 12/24/2020 1:56 AM, w5jmw at towerfarm.net wrote:
>> What I am wanting to do ie to run radials from corner to corner.That 
>> is to say from ne to sw and from nw to south east.Initially run these 
>> then go from side to side.The radials will be jouned in the middla by 
>> a split bolt to a ground rod....I plan on using the radial for all the 
>> antennas if possible.My question...First Can I do this ?
> 




> The short answer is that this is a very bad idea. The earth is a big
> resistor, and if the antenna sees it, it burns a lot of the
> transmitter power. Radials or a counterpoise provide a low resistance
> return path for the antenna current; radials, in addition, shield the
> antenna's field from the lossy earth.
> 
> An antenna's field surrounds it on all sides, and for radials to be
> effective, they must extend out from the base, and be connected to the
> coax shield. An earth connection (ground rod) does NOT make a transmit
> antenna work better unless it's to an expanse of salt water.
> 
> Radial systems work best if they are symmetrical and dense, but if
> available real estate and antenna locations prevent that, the best
> layout for on-ground radials is to run as many as you can in as many
> directions as you can. There is no need for on-ground radials to be of
> equal length. There are many practical ideas about this in a tutorial
> talk I've done at ham conventions and club meetings. Slides are here.
> No original work by me, but a collection of great work by others.
> 
> http://k9yc.com/160MPacificon.pdf
> 
> 73, Jim K9YC
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