On 16 Oct, 04:16, Denny wrote:
Let me second Richard's comments about radials needing to be some
specific fraction of a wave - not....
Just put down the radials you can manage... If it isn't a perfect
circle around the antenna, don't even think about it, put the radials
down and enjoy your antenna..
Don't measure them, just pace them out from the antenna, cut and
secure the end, step sideways, secure another end and pace back to the
antenna, repeat... Whatever you get down will work...
Read, K3LR's comments about putting up a low 160 inverted L for an
impromptu contest while on vacation, having just two 1/4W radials and
working 40 some states and a bunch of countries...
So, assuming you can get down 20 or more radials under each vertical,
the 4 square will work...
If you could get down lots more radials the 4 square will work a bit
better on weak signals (strong signals won't notice how many radials
you have down)
If you could get down 120 'full wave' radials, the 4 square will work
the very best it can be (roughly 2 ohms series resistance on the
ground circuit)...
But after 50 radials of random length, you will be hard pressed to
tell any difference between that and the 120 radial 'perfect' ground
plane...

cheers ...
denny/k8do

Exactly! All you are doing is providing a low impedance
to ground so the return current gets back to transmitter ground
instead of the travelling up the outside of the coax.
Myths are really hard to put down
Art