[TowerTalk] Routing cables under buried radials

[Lee K. Brown MD]

What is the soil like under the radials? If it's regular old soil, (not clay) you can buy an attachment for a garden hose that emits a strong jet of water that can create a passageway through soil, for instance under structures like sidewalks. Been there, done that.
Lee, KI7UR

Lee K. Brown MDProfessor of Internal Medicine (Tenured)Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care, andSleep MedicineProfessor of PediatricsUniversity of New Mexico School of Medicine

-----Original Message-----
From: Ken Alker <ka6ken at alker.net>
To: Ignacy Misztal <no9e at arrl.net>; tower and HF Antenna Construction Topics. <towertalk at contesting.com>
Sent: Wed, Feb 23, 2022 12:03 pm
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] Routing cables under buried radials

If you decide to do option #1, there is a company in Santa Barbara that I 
hired once that owns a "pig" or "torpedo" or "mole" (pneumatic-powered long 
slender hammering device that look like a giant bullet) they use to bore 
horizontal holes underground.  You did not state how far you need to go, 
and I'm not sure how far they can bore, but this is likely an option. 
First they dig a hole in the ground that is probably five or six feet long 
and couple of feet wide.  Depth depends on how far you want your conduit 
submerged.  Then they drop their boring device into the hole and they hook 
an air compressor up to it and it starts pounding its way across your yard. 
I believe I paid about $1000 to get this done and it took an afternoon to 
go maybe 60' under a very large patio.  That said, it was for a non-profit, 
so I may have been given a pretty good deal.  I also knew the contractor. 
That said, if you can locate a company like this in your town (they often 
work for the cable company or ISP or telco or electric company or gas 
company laying fiber, pipes, etc.) that might want some weekend work then 
maybe you can strike a deal that is within your budget.  Keep in mind that 
it will break things in its path like irrigation lines.

Ken

--On Wednesday, February 23, 2022 1:19 PM -0500 Ignacy Misztal 
<no9e at arrl.net> wrote:

> I have a 100 ft tower that is surrounded by 36 100 ft radials and 4 x 20
> 50 radials. Coax and rotor cable are buried. The area is planted with
> grass.
>
> I would like to add more radials but a question is what to do if
> additional cables are needed past the radial field, e.g., for additional
> towers.
>
> Here are a few options.
>
> 1. Try to put a 4 inch PVC pipe below the radials. Lots of work.
>
> 2. Remove or cut radials, bury a PVC pipe and then solder the radials.
> Less work but soldering back critical
>
> 3. Just put cables on top. After 1-2 years they will migrate underground.
> Not sure if a riding mower, or a truck (to install a new tower) can do
> damage. Or enough damage creating intermittents, e.g.,  with OM8000
> amplifiers (if purchased).
>
> 4. Bury 2-3 cables under the radials and use Green Heron stuff for WiFi
> switching, including remote rotor controllers.
>
> 5. Route additional cables around the radial field with better coax to
> compensate for extra length.
>
> 6. ???
>
> Ignacy NO9E
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