"JR" wrote:

Would a vertical antenna such as the Hustler 6BTV operate (Transmit and
Recieve) well on a ground mount in the middle of a concrete parking lot if
the concrete contained a lot of the concrete reinforcing wire? The parking
lot is next to a large lake as well and the ground stays pretty wet most of
the time.


JR


A concrete pad is very close to being an excellent ground system. If
it has all the rebar welded together and a strap brought up for you to
connect to, it IS an excellent ground system, called a Ufer ground.

Concrete is a poor conductor, but there are a lot of paths for that
poor conductor to reach surrounding soil, which may even be a poorer
conductor. A Ufer ground takes advantage of that. IIRC, it was
invented in WWII for keeping quonset huts filled with ammo from
blowing up from static discharge. Turns out it makes a good RF and a
good lightning system ground.

If I ever have a house built, I'll make sure it has a Ufer ground, so
I don't have to deal with ground rods and radials.


--
Eric F. Richards

"Nature abhors a vacuum tube." -- Myron Glass,
often attributed to J. R. Pierce, Bell Labs, c. 1940