On Sun, 9 Jan 2005 13:08:53 -0500, "Jack Painter"
wrote:

Never, ever use "Grease" (or any other lubricant/protectant) in an
electrical connection for RF. Grease is a dialectric (so is silicone) and it
will ensure you have practically no electrical connection at all.

Not if you make the electrical connection first, and then coat with
grease.

You wouldn't paint the radials ends and then make the joint.

OTOH, perhaps you would.

PS: Paint can be a dielectric too......
--
from
Aero Spike

"news" wrote:
I need to improve my ground system, and am thinking of burying some
radials under the lawn.

Good idea. Bury anything that will conduct, eg biscuit tins! I spent
ages unwinding and burying the coils from old TV CRTs. 40 years ago (I
was a 160m nut) I bought a very large reel of bare 18 swg "garden
wire" from local hardware store. It looked like copper but too light
and seemed to be an ali alloy. It was buried in around 2"-4" slits in
100 - 150' lengths in clay-ish non-acid soil. Still looks in good
shape. I used choc block connectors to join the wires in pairs or
triplets, soldered the group and left a tail to make the next larger
group. Used heavy auto earthing braid for final lead into ground floor
shack.

Was it worth the trouble? Yes. With a ~200' inverted L (3/8th wave on
topband), no problem working Ws on a 500mW transistor (germanium!)
box. Dead band with earth disconnected.

Alf GW3SRG

As suggested, lots of wire. Doesn't matter to the RF if
it's insulated or not (it will matter as far as corrosion
is concerned). No soldering, use heavy clamps instead. Coat
with some kind of noncorrosive 'goop'. Bury it deep enough
so the lawn mower doesn't get into it. when you think you
have enough metal in the ground, add another mile...
'Doc

PS - If you're going to use 136 Khz, make that 10 miles.

I make the wavelength to be 2204 metres.

"'Doc" wrote in message
om...

PS - If you're going to use 136 Khz, make that 10 miles.

On Sun, 9 Jan 2005 15:52:09 -0000, "Airy R. Bean"
wrote:


"'Doc" wrote in message
. com...

PS - If you're going to use 136 Khz, make that 10 miles.

I make the wavelength to be 2204 metres.

Your point being what, exactly?
--
from
Aero Spike

Ian J wrote:
I need to improve my ground system, and am thinking of burying some
radials under the lawn.

[I realise this is not the most efficient way to do it from an
electrical point of view, but the alternative approach of installing
the radials above the ground is completely out of the question, for
aesthetic reasons].

Some practical questions:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1. What is the "best" type of wire (or braid) to use for the radials?

Whatever you can get a lot of at a cheap price, and isn't going to
corrode immediately it's buried. That means NOT braid or bare stranded
either.

Bare or insulated solid wire is fine, and likewise insulated stranded
wire.

2. How do I bond the radials together? (I guess my 15-watt soldering
iron won't be up to the job ...).

I used a horizontal busbar of copper tube, supported by a token ground
rod. Each radial was looped round the busbar and secured with a twist,
and finally the whole lot was soldered with a blowtorch (used at a
careful distance).

3. What kind of solder and flux should I use?

Ordinary tin/lead. I used Fluxite paste and rinsed it off afterwards.

4. What precautions should I take to minimise the effects of corrosion
at the joints?

Clear polyurethane spray has worked perfectly for several years. I chose
clear so I'd be able to check for corrosion underneath, but there hasn't
been any.

5. How deep should I bury the radials? Two inches, six inches, 12
inches?

Zero inches, if you can. Cut the grass very short in a few weeks' time,
and staple the radials down. This part of the question was discussed
here, only a week ago.

6. Is there anything else I should know?

You're going to have backache.



--
73 from Ian G3SEK 'In Practice' columnist for RadCom (RSGB)
http://www.ifwtech.co.uk/g3sek

Staples? Presumably fashion from short lengths of
fencing wire, or similar?

"Ian White, G3SEK" wrote in message
...
Zero inches, if you can. Cut the grass very short in a few weeks' time,
and staple the radials down. This part of the question was discussed
here, only a week ago.

Airy R. Bean wrote:
"Ian White, G3SEK" wrote in message
...
Zero inches, if you can. Cut the grass very short in a few weeks' time,
and staple the radials down. This part of the question was discussed
here, only a week ago.

Staples? Presumably fashion from short lengths of
fencing wire, or similar?

You've got the idea.

The original reference to the thread was:
http://groups-beta.google.com/group/...na/browse_frm/
thread/67f88578a6f58a9a/1191189b9db0a400?q=staple+radial+group:rec.radio.
amateur.antenna&_done=%2Fgroups%3Fas_q%3Dstaple+ra dial%26safe%3Dimages%26
as_ugroup%3Drec.radio.amateur.antenna%26as_drrb%3D b%26as_mind%3D25%26as_m
inm%3D12%26as_miny%3D2004%26as_maxd%3D9%26as_maxm% 3D1%26as_maxy%3D2005%26
lr%3D%26hl%3Den%26&_doneTitle=Back+to+Search&&d#11 91189b9db0a400

Or alternatively:
http://tinyurl.com/4dnhg

(Tinyurl.com really is the best thing since.... well, since Google
Newsgroups Search, I suppose.)


--
73 from Ian G3SEK 'In Practice' columnist for RadCom (RSGB)
http://www.ifwtech.co.uk/g3sek

6. Is there anything else I should know?

You're going to have backache.

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

In all probability he will lay down far more and longer than necessary,
anyway.

Is Sloan's Linament still available?

I may have missed something here but in my case I only have a 1/2 acre
'clear' under my tower. Because of the limited area
I chose to use a grid system of insulated solid wire an inch below the
surface with spacing of 3 feet per side of the grids.
I then removed insulation ar cross over points and crimped the wires
together, the crimping then made it quite easy for the solder to flow.
Tree roots have pushed up the wire in a couple of places but the rest is
unseen. I don't do to much work with verticals so I can't comment on the
sutability of this type of ground and have not read anywhere of any
comparisons to the normal radial
type ground especially for use over ALL of the amateur bands.
Food for thought. Judging by the number of responses recieved by the poster
there is a whole bunch of knoweledge out there on how to mess up your lawn
( yard over here)
P.S. get a mechanised pizza cutter to make the wire slots and place it on
the wheel of a wheel barrow so as not to alarm the neigbourhood
Cheers
ART


"Reg Edwards" wrote in message
...
6. Is there anything else I should know?

You're going to have backache.

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

In all probability he will lay down far more and longer than necessary,
anyway.

Is Sloan's Linament still available?