On Sun, 12 Nov 2006 15:14:49 -0000, "Dave" wrote:

but rf doesn't flow 'into the earth'.

Hi Dave,

That statement is contradiction to the following:

'ground radials' ... are ... 'sucking' rf out of the ground.

It necessarily follows that RF does flow "into" the earth by your own
admission of it coming out (by whatever means).

the 'ground' connection
to a radio feeding a dipole is actually returning current from the ground
back to the feedpoint via the outside of the coax shield...

Very true. However, the ellipsis (...) elongates a 25 word statement
into an 118 word run-on sentence:

that is why you
can get high voltages at the radio end of the cable, if too much current is
coupled from the antenna onto other conductors connected to 'ground' they
will feed current back through the radio 'ground' and out the shield of the
feedline to get to the feedpoint, and if you happen to be too close to the
antenna or some other object that couples the rf to you then you get burned
when the rf from you flows back to the radio when you touch something that
is 'grounded'.

If I try to parse the intent of this, it becomes a string of
assertions held in suspension until the summary that ties them
together. That never happens. The conclusion:
then you get burned
when the rf from you flows back to the radio when you touch something that
is 'grounded'.
bears no relation to the matter of currents in the earth - except as a
consequence to rather perverse conditions.

73's
Richard Clark, KB7QHC