[TowerTalk] W7PUA Tiny Ground Probe

[Jim Lux]

The challenge is that the "dipole laying on the ground" isn't particularly good (as Hagn found when developing the OWL probe)
There's too many "other factors" that perturb the measurement - it's super sensitive to small variations in the height above the soil.
I've done a ton of modeling of antennas laying on Lunar regolith, and some test measurements as well, and it's pretty flaky.  For the Lunar application, once the antenna is laid out, you can calibrate it with astronomical sources.

That's not particularly practical for a field measurement on rough terrain.  I was hoping that something like a 50cm loop or similar might work.
 


On Wed, 4 Mar 2026 01:24:26 -0800, Brian Beezley <k6sti at att.net> wrote:

Jim Lux said:

"what would be interesting is a probe design that doesn't require
penetrating the surface (e.g. I could put it on my concrete driveway)"

Jim, here is an interesting survey of the many ways to measure ground
constants. I wish it had more detail on some of the more obscure
methods. But the data section is fascinating. Where else are you going
to find the HF dielectric constant of dry peridotite on the Kola Peninsula?

https://scispace.com/pdf/measurement-of-earth-medium-electrical-characteristics-4x03gkvvc1.pdf

Brian

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