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I have seen what appear to be AM broadcast towers in or on the edges
of salt marshes, and it seems pretty obvious to me why that's a good
place to go. However, the environmentalists being a little more
noticeable than they were once upon a time, this particular method of
siting is probably a little more challenging than it used to be.

I recognize that salt water is far more conductive than fresh water,
but fresh water's still superior to sand and the like. That being
said, I am wondering about using a pond as a ground screen and
mounting the antenna itself on an island (or a raft) in the middle of
the pond.

What I don't know is just how large a pond do I need in order for
something like this to work? Obviously it depends on type of antenna
and band and a bunch of other things, but even a wild-ass guess (with
some math or physics behind it) will help make the difference between
whether I bother trying or not.

For those who absolutely require less variables in their equations,
imagine a standard dipole tuned for 20m strung roughly 45 feet above
ground level between two trees, one on either side of a fresh water
pond. How wide does the pond have to be at that point (and others)
for it to work right? Even answers like "the pond will have to be
wider than the dipole is long" or "there will be no noticeable impact
on performance" are fine if they're based in reality, and ideally in
math and physics I can understand.

Oh, and another question: what difference, if any, would frozen
versus liquid water make in this situation?

Jack.
(exploring new antenna options.)
- --
Jack Twilley
jmt at twilley dot org
http colon slash slash www dot twilley dot org slash tilde jmt slash
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