I want to try putting in a few radials but I don't want to tear up the lawn. So I had an idea. Would it work to drive several 8' grounding rods at a slant into the ground at the base of the tower. I would drive 4 - 6 grounding rods at a 20 degree angle to the surface of the ground and solder the ends together at the base of the antenna tower. They would be basically the same as radials except that they would be somewhat slanted down instead of being at a 90 degree angle to the tower. Has anybody tried this before?
I want to try putting in a few radials but I don't want to tear up the lawn. So I had an idea. Would it work to drive several 8' grounding rods at a slant into the ground at the base of the tower. I would drive 4 - 6 grounding rods at a 20 degree angle to the surface of the ground and solder the ends together at the base of the antenna tower. They would be basically the same as radials except that they would be somewhat slanted down instead of being at a 90 degree angle to the tower. Has anybody tried this before?
~Shawn
I have not done this but from previous discussions here it appears that radials work better. Slanting the ground rods as you describe may have merit, but it appears to me to be a lot more work than burying wires radially.
One method I have used to bury wires is to slit the soil with a gardeners shovel. Mine is 8" wide and 10" long. I usually go about 4 or 5 inches deep with it just making a cut in the soil rather than digging. I lay the wires in the cut and use a wooden dowel notched on one end and a hammer to pound the wire into the slit. A good tamping with my foot closes the slit and a week later you cannot tell I was there.
I don't recommend this but I know first hand of a ham who used an old chain saw to trench and bury wires. It was not much use for firewood after that.
Neil
I used something generically referred to as a Step Edger. It's designed to do edging around walkways, driveways, etc., but I found it makes a nice slit about 8 inches long. You push the edger into the dirt with your foot. I pushed the radials into the slit with a piece of scrap plywood and after a couple of weeks the whole thing disappears.
1620AM Copperhead Radio,
Lucama NC