I have found all of the pieces of my
original Part 15.219 set-up that was
on the air between 2007 and 2009.
You may not have heard this, but that
set-up was a temporary installation
I have found all of the pieces of my
original Part 15.219 set-up that was
on the air between 2007 and 2009.
You may not have heard this, but that
set-up was a temporary installation
that was built on the fly - it was only
meant to last a short time - but it was
out in the back yard for about 2 years
until it started to come apart. I did not
have time to build it correctly and that's
why it became unreliable and I took it
down. I spent the most time burying
the ground radials. I could not spend
a lot of time on that, either, because of
family commitments, etc.
The most important part is a special
loading coil that had been missing for
3 years, which i had made and lost.
I found it yesterday. It was in the mud
in my back yard. I found it when I was
moving a tree branch. This coil is obviously
a mess, but I can remake it. I also found
all of the original antenna material - the
copper pipe and other hardware.
i am thinking of temporarily plunking this
thing down in the backyard - the transmitter,
coil, antenna, and ground radials. Then I can
just run supply voltage and audio out from
my studio.
The original set-up had 16 ten and twenty foot
radials. They were buried. These new radials
would be just sitting on the ground in the grass
but not buried.
Has anybody tried using ground radials this way?
Again, the transmitter and everything is sitting on
the ground and the ground wires will fan out from
the middle, but would just be resting on the grass.
As opposed to being buried. What do you guys think?
Maybe I will be the first one to collect data on how
this works??
Then again - maybe not!
best Wishes,
Bruce, DRS2
I'm not sure if it would work, but it sounds very interesting. I would like to know how a setup like that would work out. Mainly because if I was to construct a radial setup, it would probably be laid right on the grass. Mainly because I don't own a shovel. Haha 🙂
I think there's a special shovel for part 15 work.
From what I understand, the only compelling reason to bury radials is to get them out of harms way, so that you won't trip over them. I'm not sure about Part 15, but lots of discussion about radials in the amateur radio world.
If you came chugging along with your power mower and it started pulling in radials your whole transmitter and 3-meter vertical might get sliced and diced.
... To say nothing of what happens to the mower and blades, and yer ol' bean if it throws pieces at you .... DUCK! ... It's radio station chunks on the fly!!
There is a small hand operated device, a wheel with a small digging tang, similar to a plow tang, but on a smaller scale. I've used one to lay garden irrigation drip systems. Maybe the local garden tool rental shop has one. I'd guess it wouldn't cost more than $5/day.
I forgot about moving the lawn.
Oops.
But the idea is to plunk it down,
point the antenna up, and string
out the radials. Run it for a while,
and then take it down.
It's just another experiment, really.
If I hadn't found this coil, and the
other pieces, it wouldn't be possible.
If I get to do it, I guess we'll see
what happens.
I appreciate the responses!
Best Wishes,
Bruce, DRS2
Micro1700 wrote: The original set-up had 16 ten and twenty foot radials. They were buried. These new radials would be just sitting on the ground in the grass but not buried. Has anybody tried using ground radials this way?
________
Yes, this has been tried, and the results are essentially the same as when the wires are buried in shallow trenches.
Some people have used lawn staples such as these to keep the wires in close contact with the earth. Reportedly after a few weeks the wires just about disappear into the turf.
I used whatever was around to keep the radials firmly sitting on the dirt, be it rocks, wood, anything non-conductive and non-inductive. And yes after a season or two, the natural build up of surface dirt will have them radials buried with no sweat or labor on your part.
RFB
I used #10 copperweld wire, a steel core copper clad wire, very stiff material.
Attached at the base of the antenna mount, I pulled the wire tight, bent the end at a 90' angle and pushed it into the dirt.
After a few weeks you couldn't even see the wire. Prior to the wire becoming embeded I did nip one but no real damage.
Well, I think I am going to try this.
The problem is rather humorous.
I had a "ferrite" rod I tore out of an
old portable radio to fine tune the coil
that had been missing for 3 years.
i had the ferrite rod for 3 years. i found
the tuning coil last week, and lost the
"ferrite" rod at bout the same time.
So I'm either going to tear another "ferrite"
rod out of another old radio or tune the
coil the way Neil did (or does) - Neil has a
coil with a movable section of windings that
slides along the coil form. Or make a variometer
section or something. I was going to make a
big square coil, but now that I found this old
coil I don't need to.
This is kind of like finding Gus Grissom's Mercury
space capsule that sunk in the ocean. Well, actually
it isn't. But I am interested in space flight, so I had
to say that.
By the way, RFB, if you are out there - as you just read
here - (if you are here) - these rods that I call "ferrite"
rods - what are they really called?
Best Wishes,
Bruce, DRS2