Jim Lux wrote:
. . .
You also have to really contemplate "shovel and back" vs trencher. I
had a 100 ft or so gas line installed a year ago, and the plumber just
got the shovel out and trenched it by hand in a couple of hours. That's
comparable to the time I spent going down to the rental yard, getting
the trencher, bringing it home, unloading it off the trailer, spending
30 minutes trenching for the irrigation lines, then returning it.

And I'm not sure my back was any better off than the plumber's at the
end of the day.
. . .

I have a hand tool that's considerably better than a shovel for cutting
a narrow slot. I think it's intended to be a manual edger. It's on a
handle like a shovel but the blade is flat, semi-circular, and
sharpened. You can push it into the ground by stepping on it, then you
can rock it to widen the slit it cuts. I wouldn't try using it here in
the summer when the ground is basically adobe, but it's reasonable in
the winter when the ground is wet and soft. I don't think it would make
a slot deep and wide enough for conduit, but you could probably use one
to get bare coax under the sod and mower.

Roy Lewallen, W7EL