Greetings all. This is my first post here, but I'll do my question first and then give a short intro.
My question is how does snow affect a base-loaded ground mounted AM antenna?
I have been thinking of "getting my feet wet" with AM this autumn/winter by putting a part15 station on the air. But I live in western NY state, and we get a fair bit of snow, so I'm assuming I'd need to dig out the antenna fairly often. Anybody on this forum deal with this to where they could give me some idea how far *around* the antenna I'd have to dig out? Or is that going to fall under "we'll cross that bridge when we come to it"?
Greetings all. This is my first post here, but I'll do my question first and then give a short intro.
My question is how does snow affect a base-loaded ground mounted AM antenna?
I have been thinking of "getting my feet wet" with AM this autumn/winter by putting a part15 station on the air. But I live in western NY state, and we get a fair bit of snow, so I'm assuming I'd need to dig out the antenna fairly often. Anybody on this forum deal with this to where they could give me some idea how far *around* the antenna I'd have to dig out? Or is that going to fall under "we'll cross that bridge when we come to it"?
Now to give a little background on what I'm contemplating, I'm thinking of homebrewing a Wenzel type transmitter (his improved design) and using it with a base-loaded antenna like the one people build for the SSTRAN mounted in the backyard.
Currently I run a little Cana-kit that I made using a standard house-wiring junction box for a case and that drives a little dipole inside my kitchen. The house has aluminum siding, so it only "gets out" maybe 50-100 ft past the walls, so it's "housecasting" or "yardcasting" for sure. But that's fine as it is, since I actually only wanted something so I didn't have to sit at my computer all the time when shoutcasting. But it got me to thinking of going for more of a community angle and trying for a modest bit of range, and AM looks far more probable for that then FM, assuming legal part15.
My little FM "toy" got some interest from next-door neighbors who sometimes tune in if they know I'm on the air, and there have been local visitors who said they'd like to tune in if they could actually pick it up. So I started reading things like the posts here and thinking in terms of AM.
Going for a rig like the Hamilton would be way beyond my budget at the moment (especially with the holidays coming up), and while something like an SSTRAN could be managed, having seen some of the discussions regarding factory made FCC approved, kit and homebrew, I'm leaning towards homebrew and crystal. I'm hoping for maybe 1/4 mile or so of range, and figure I can upgrade later to improve on it if I actually get a few listeners and I'm having fun with it.
I'm not an electronics expert on the level of some I've seen posting here, but I'm a decent hand with a soldering iron, and other than hobby I've worked in two different electronics plants in my life. So homebrewing and taking basic etc readings and etc are well within my experience. Not a total radio newbie either, I did some FM dj-ing at the college station back in the late 70s (still have my lifetime radiotelephone restricted permit as a memento), antenna and modulation experience mostly from CB back around the same time period, and so on.
Anyway, mostly since I started thinking about trying AM and seeing if I can get a few listeners, I've been considering mostly the programming and automation for at least some bits so ID, time, weather, maybe some news items from streams, and so on.
I've found a lot here, but if there's been any mention of how snow and winter conditions like ice, sleet and etc affect the ground mounted antennas with the load and antenna near the ground, I must have missed it, so I figured I'd ask before I start shopping parts and etc. LOL
Great forum, by the way!
Dan
WDCX AM1610 Part 15
John
Owner-Operator-Chief Engineer-Program Manager
To be sure, snow will affect the coil. What is your average snowfall? You could mount the base of the antenna a few feet off the ground. This will improve your range somewhat as well as reducing ground loss.
WDCX AM1610 Part 15
John
Owner-Operator-Chief Engineer-Program ManagerTo be sure, snow will affect the coil. What is your average snowfall?
Around 100 inches annual. So a foot or two or three in a night is not at all unsual.
You could mount the base of the antenna a few feet off the ground. This will improve your range somewhat as well as reducing ground loss.
I'd thought of that, but figured it would probably be best to avoid the whole "ground lead length" issue when starting out. Next year we might build up or terrace a flowerbed a bit and go for a more permanent base for the antenna there to get a minor bit of elevation so wind could help keep the coil and the lower length of the antenna swept clear.
Just kind of trying to figure out how much work I'm letting myself in for with this project. LOL
One thing I've thought of would be some sort of a plastic container over the coil and xmitter to keep wet snow or sleet at least a few inches off it.
Dan
Maybe build a small "Tent" structure from non-conductive material over the coil/xmtr area to avoid direct contact to the elements?
Maybe build a small "Tent" structure from non-conductive material over the coil/xmtr area to avoid direct contact to the elements?
I'd thought maybe something like a 5 gallon plastic bucket or a small plastic trashcan, but I like your idea better than mine, 12vman. I'm figuring if the snow is kept at least 3 feet away from the transmitter and the coil, hopefully it'll at least help keep it from throwing the inductance off too badly.
I figure the snow will be a problem in the winter and the trees more of a problem in the summer. But on the upside, I live within about 4 blocks of the center of town, and it's all downhill that way. So population density is somewhat promising even if the terrain and weather are less than optimal. Mostly 1 & 2 family dwellings, not many large steel frame or stone buildings.. pretty much line of sight to the downtown district.
So, what the heck, it's worth a try and see what kind of coverage can be managed. 1/4 mile or so, even if it's mostly in the downhill direction, could be enough to see if I can get enough listeners interested to make it fun.
How about using one of those 40 - 50 gallon rubbermaid trash containers. Cut a small hole in the center of the bottom of the barrel, slide it over the vertical radiator and then stake the base all around using metal tent stakes. Seal up the hole around the vertical radiator and your good to go. The plastic material the container is made out of is non- conductive, so it will have no effect on the antenna whatsoever.