[Lowfer] Overnite185mar21

[John Andrews]

Bill,

> Your 0.3 hz separation from WA gives plenty of breathing room except for
> maybe Mr 'LF Receiving USA' 40 miles from here. I can easily lower just a
> bit more if need be.

About 20 kHz should be OK. Can I send you some more quartz?

On a more serious note, I'd agree with Bill's comments about a ground
system. What we're doing here is providing what the commercial guys would
describe as  a "ground screen" in the vicinity of the antenna. This is done
to reduce dielectric losses, and not really to do what a full-fledged ground
system does. So follow Bill's advice, and keep the conductors at or near the
surface. Ground rods won't hurt (and they will help with lightning
protection), but they may not justify the labor and expense involved. The
earlier comment about chicken-wire is actually a very good idea, and may be
quite practical outside of grass-growing season. Bill Cantrell used to roll
the stuff out in the winter, and claimed it made a big difference.

A real ground system that would significantly improve antenna current and
low angle radiation is out of the question for most of us, as it would
involve many radial wires that are a quarter mile or better in length. That
being said, it does pay to bond to metal in the area that may extend for a
long distance. That certainly includes the water main (if it's not plastic).
Metal fences are another possibility.

I once was in charge of a rooftop "T" antenna on the bottom end of the AM
broadcast band. It had a 350 foot single wire flattop, and a 35 foot
downlead. Darn thing had a measured resistance of 2 ohms. This was due to
extensive bonding of copper cornice work on the building roof, connections
to water pipes, electrical conduits, anything that might be available. And
it was in the center of a city, so there was zero vegetation in the area.
The only sap in the vicinity was me.

John Andrews