[Elecraft] Radials for Verticals

[Doug Person via Elecraft]

Well, the point was having all this aluminum wire that I didn't want to 
throw away.  A vertical dipole is very much on the agenda for things to 
try this Summer.  In this case, I am experimenting: "how well does a 38' 
vertical fed with a remote tuner work with 30 to 40 radials buried 3 
inches beneath the top soil?"  The radiator is already put together from 
scrapes of mill tubing - not exactly a work of art - but effective none 
the less.

I have a Hy-Gain AV-620 mounted at a high point in the meadow elevated 
to about 6'.  I wouldn't consider it a remarkable performer.  But it has 
fine SWR bandwidth on all bands 20 through 6 and is very capable of 
making plenty of Qs.  I did have a GAP Titan when I lived in suburban 
Charlotte, NC many years ago, hidden in the trees and painted flat 
black.  It was completely invisible even to my next door neighbors.  I 
would define it as a "versatile" antenna giving reasonable, usable 
performance on 80 through 10.  If you have a little copse of trees any 
of these no-radial wonders can get you on the air.  Flat black paint 
does an amazing job of making them disappear - especially in pine trees.

I guess its possible the aluminum wire may not last long in the ground.  
Another aspect of the experiment.

73, Doug -- K0DXV

On 6/30/2014 10:40 AM, David Cole wrote:
> Why not use a vertical dipole?  Gap sells them for single bands, or get
> a multi-band Gap.  The Gap Challenger I have works really well on 40 and
> 20.  I would think a single band vertical dipole would do wonders, and
> no radials...