No problem Ron, and I hope you know I wasn't trying to be snotty or
anything.
Hope to hear you on the 40 meter roundtable some Saturday.
73, Steve KW3A
On 7/2/2014 12:02 PM, Dr. Ronald E. Milliman wrote:
> No, Steve, that was not a typo on my part when I used 16' 3" as a quarter
> wave on 40 meters; that was simply a mistake on my part, and you are
> absolutely correct. The more correct number is closer to 32' 6" which is a
> quarter wave for the center of the 40 meter band. I simply divided a
> one-half by 4 instead of 2. Of course, I know better. That is what I get for
> multi-tasking! Give me a break, that is the first mistake I've made this
> year, which means I'm slipping a bit because last year I didn't make any
> mistakes at all! <lol> Thanks for keeping me on my toes! <Smile>
>
> Ron, K8HSY
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: For blind ham radio operators [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
> On Behalf Of Steve Forst
> Sent: Wednesday, July 02, 2014 10:40 AM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: Questions about Setting Up Radials
>
> Don't want to be nit picky over an obvious typo, but there are some new
> hams trying to get their heads around all this stuff.
>
> 16 feet would be a quarter wave on 20 meters and for 40 meters would be in
> the 33 foot range.
>
> For whatever it's worth, Butternut and maybe some of the other vertical
> builders recommend going a bit longer than quarter wave. 240 / freq in mhz
> instead of the usual 234 / f in mhz.
>
>
> I guess the bottom line is we all just put up what we can, where we can, and
> how we can, then work the world.
>
> 73, Steve KW3A
>
>
>
>
>
> On 7/2/2014 11:24 AM, Dr. Ronald E. Milliman wrote:
>> Colleagues,
>>
>> With respect to a radial system used with a vertical,
>>
>> 1. The length of the radials, ideally, should be a quarter wave length
>> for the lowest band for which the vertical is designed; for example,
>> if the vertical is designed for 40 to 10 meters, the radials, ideally,
>> should be around 16' 3" which is one-quarter wave length for 40 meters
>>
>> 2. The more radials, the better
>>
>> 3. Ideally, the radials should be placed symmetrically around the base
>> of the vertical
>>
>> 4. Insolated wires are less likely to disintegrate as quickly as
>> uninsulated wires
>>
>> 5. At least one ground rod should be driven into the ground at the base
>> of the vertical to which the ground side of the vertical and all
>> radials should be attached
>>
>> 6. In general, larger gage wire is better than smaller gage wire, but
>> even wire as small as 20 gage will work just fine
>>
>> 7. The above are best case scenarios; shorter radials are better than
>> no radials, as few as four radials is better than no radials;
>> non-symmetrical patterned radials is better than no radials, and
>> uninsolated wire radials is better than no radials at all
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: For blind ham radio operators
>> [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
>> On Behalf Of Lloyd Rasmussen
>> Sent: Wednesday, July 02, 2014 7:44 AM
>> To: [log in to unmask]
>> Subject: Re: Questions about Setting Up Radials
>>
>> The more radials the better. Heavier-gauge wire could be better.
>> Stranded, insulated, should make little difference. How are you going
>> to mow the lawn if the wire is just on the ground? I have heard that
>> if there is good grass growing, the wires will tend to get buried in
>> organic matter, which prevents further damage by lawn mowers.
>> If the antenna is bracketed to the house (I think you said a couple
>> feet outside), this antenna is going to be rather compromised, anyway.
>> It is really impossible to predict the results you will get, good or
>> bad. The radials will probably make the biggest difference on the low
>> bands. I hope you will have the tuner out near the antenna base and not
> back in the shack.
>>
>> Prepare to do a lot of expeerimentation.
>> 73,
>>
>> Lloyd Rasmussen, W3IUU/4, Orlando, FL (at the NFB convention)
>> http://lras.home.sprynet.com -----Original Message-----
>> From: Richard B McDonald
>> Sent: Wednesday, July 02, 2014 8:12 AM
>> To: [log in to unmask]
>> Subject: Questions about Setting Up Radials
>>
>> Hi!
>>
>>
>>
>> Soon, I will install a 43' HF (160M - 6M) antenna. I have a few
>> questions about setting up the radials for this antenna, as follows:
>>
>>
>>
>> 1. The manual for the antenna recommends using 18 gauge wire. Would
>> using a larger gauge wire (e.g., 16 gauge( be better? Since my radial
>> system will not be ideal (see below), I wonder if increasing the gauge
>> of the wire might be helpful.
>>
>>
>>
>> 2. Does it matter if the wire is solid copper or braided copper? Is
>> one better than the other? Also, should the wire be a) insulated or
>> b) uninsulated? Does it matter, or is one better than the other?
>>
>>
>>
>> 3. These radials will not be buried in small trenches in the ground.
>> Instead, the end of each radial will be "staked" into the ground, and
>> also likely a few "stakes" along each radial's length. So, regarding
>> the "stakes", is it OK that they are metal? Is it better if these
>> stakes are insulated, similar to the wire? Would plastic or wood
>> stakes be any or much better?
>>
>>
>>
>> I think I will be able to layout about 16 radials. However, not each
>> will be the height of the antenna (maybe half of them will be), their
>> layout will not be symmetrical (like spokes on a wheel) and about 180
>> degrees radius off of the antenna will not have radials extending outward
> in this quadrant.
>>
>>
>>
>> Finally, are there any tricks I can employ to improve my radial
>> system? For example, I think I once heard of someone laying down
>> chicken wire around the antenna base. Is something like that beneficial?
>>
>>
>>
>> 73,
>>
>> Richard KK6MRH
>>
>>
>>
>
>
>
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