[UK-CONTEST] GROUND SYSTEM ADVICE PLEASE !

[Don Beattie]

A strenge request for the Contest Reflector, but I have a problem.

I'm re-engineering the Butternut HF6-V here, which I use as a spare antenna for the occasions in contests when the beams are 180 degrees out from the direction you want, and you can get a quick result with a call on the HF6. I've been relocating it a little, and took the opportunity to put down a better set of radials (40x10m radials lying on the ground)

It works great on 30-10, but on 40 and 80 the minimum VSWR is about 2:1 (and yes, the coils are resonated properly). When I checked it with the analyser, I found that I could get 1:1 VSWR with just a ground rod earth, but as soon as I added more than a few radials, up went the vswr. Now I've been putting about 100 radials around the big 87ft vertical (and it's far enough away not to be coupling to the HF6) and the more I've added, the better it's got. With the HF6, the reverse seems to be happening. 

Has anyone else with an HF6/HF9 noticed this effect or can offer any words of wisdom ?

Don