[Elecraft] On ground - in ground radials

[David Gilbert]

That post illustrates the mistake in thinking that a lightning ground 
(Ufer) is the same as an RF shield (radials) to avoid ground return 
losses.  They are NOT the same and they perform completely different 
functions.

73,
Dave   AB7E


On 1/16/2022 9:35 AM, jerry wrote:
> All,
>
>    I had a similar situation.  The 4BTV was mounted on a pole pounded 
> into
> my wildland hill behind the house.  It had about 50 radials, and every 
> year
> when we whacked the weeds, one or two of the radials would get tangled 
> in the
> whacker.
>
>    In the fullness of time, we put in a swimming pool a bit down the 
> hill, and
> the antenna site became a solar heating field for the pool.  The 
> concrete guy
> poured a 70' by 10' pad for the solar heating array.
>
>    After he built the forms, I came out with a roll of 8AWG copper 
> wire.  I
> laid 80 feet of it along the rebar.  I pounded my pipe into the earth 
> and had
> the wire come out next to it.
>
>    He poured the concrete, and I had an "Ufer" ground.  I installed a 
> brand new
> 6BTV, and DX Engineering's tilt base on the pole.  No radials. Works 
> great!
> I carefully tuned it, and then installed an MFJ998RT KW autotuner at 
> the base of the antenna.
>
>               - Jerry KF6VB