You might do well to read his (Cebik's) articles at :

http://www.cebik.com/radio.html

He has quite a few dealing with the effects of different radial systems
for vertical antennas.

Food for thought and it might save you time and back breaking labor.

73 Dave

===========================

Without any doubt, Cebik is the finest author on radio antennas. The extent
of coverage of practical subject matters, numerical accuracy and use of the
English language are beyond reproach.

How he manages to find time even to keep his web-site in good working order
is amazing.

But even for the above-average-intellect amateur, the amount of detail is
too excessive to take in. Few people have time available for a complete
study. And I'm an approaching, still willing to learn, octagonarian.

What is needed is a very much abbreviated summary, just the essentials of
his works. Perhaps in small book form. But this can be produced, without
unintentional distortion, only by Cebik himself. Does such a work exist?

=======================

I have searched without success for the behaviour of simple antennas in the
presence of so-called poor ground soils. Can't find much in Cebik except
doubtful, expensive computer programs.

The 'constants' of ground soils are Resistivity (Conductivity), Permittivity
and Permeabilty. (In the absence of magnetic material such as iron in the
soil permeability can be neglected.)

It is generally accepted that ground loss increases as resistivity increases
above that of salt sea water. But this cannot be universally true. Taking
the extreme case of soils which approach insulators (solid granite rock and
arid desert sands) it is obvious soil loss falls again to very low values.

There MUST be values of resistivity at which soil losses are at a maximum
but which reduce at higher values of resistivity.

Here we are concerned with buried ground radials. It is submitted that
maximum ground loss occurs at lower soil resistance values than are
upposed - if they are supposed or imagined at all!

Suppose soil resistivity is 377 ohm-metres, not a very high value, but it
happens to completely absorb, without reflection, radio waves received from
an antenna. Is this a suitable candidate for maximum loss in the ground?

The statement, for simplicity, ignores permittivity and the angle at which
radiation strikes the ground. But you get the idea.

Has anyone any info on this subject?

Of course, I may be trolling, just to catch old-wives. ;o)
----
Reg, G4FGQ