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#11
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On May 16, 7:45 pm, Steve Bonine wrote:
RDWeaver wrote: On May 16, 2:50 pm, Michael Coslo wrote: So I did what any other nut would have done, I bought a small electric chainsaw. for something like 39 dollars. It's what the pro's use, on a different scale. Friend of mine does fiber optic provisioning, and he's bringing on of these to my station to plant coax. See here -----http://www.ditchwitch.com/dwcom/Prod...ductView/10588 Well . . . there's a bit of difference between a ditch witch, which is made for digging ditches and offers the operator reasonable protection from flying debris, and using a chain saw that is designed for cutting wood. Some of the ideas presented represent some of the most labor intensive, dangerous methods I've run across. Cut some #12 or #14 galvanized steel wire into six or eight inch lengths. Fold them in half to form a hairpin. Lay out your radial wires along the surface of your yard. Use a steel hairpin every three or four feet to hold the wire to the earth. Within several weeks of the grass growing and cutting cycle, the radials will disappear beneath the surface of the grass, never to be seen again. I'm now up to over 6,000 feet of vinyl insulated #12 and #14 radials for my 160m inverted L using this method. There are no whirring metallic objects, no chain saws. There's no digging and very little effort. Dave K8MN |
#12
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#13
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Steve Bonine wrote
When I read what Dave had written, it struck me that it's an illustration of a trait that I have observed often in our hobby: It has to be done *exactly* the right way. A 1.2:1 SWR isn't good enough. Radials have to be *buried* since obviously they won't be as effective if they're just laid on the ground. Yeah, several hours of back breaking work and possibly risking your life might gain you 1 db that no one will be able to detect . . . or maybe not even that. We need to be a bit more forgiving of non-optimum solutions and do a bit more cost/benefit analysis on the work it takes to convert them to optimum solutions. I've a different view on several points. I didn't see Dave's message as "has to be done *exactly* right", but simply a different way of securing the radials, WITHOUT "have to be *buried*. But given the amount of copper he's laid down, obviously he's intent on getting the best performance he can muster on 160. Nothing wrong with that, and that 1 db may be just the amount needed to snag that last Z for WAZ Top Band, or break through the east coast curtain to log a multiplier in the Stu Perry Challenge. Your anecdote about the Red Cross van is well taken, but I think it illustrates a point. There are times when we readily accept "get 'er done" as "good enough", such as during a disaster like Katrina, or for a temporary setup like Field Day, or a demonstration station at the local high school. But when we engineer our home station (especially if we're serious about DXing or contesting) we go to all reasonable (and yes, even sometimes unreasonable) lengths to get the best performance we can squeeze out. A couple db better front-to-back, another microvolt to the receiver, more KC between the 2:1 spots on the VSWR curve, an easier way to reduce ground losses under a Battle Creek Special, or a better ergonomic chair for those long contests. In that regard, many of us have no "forgiveness of non-optimum". 73, RDW |
#14
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On Wed, 16 May 2007 10:50:07 EDT, Michael Coslo wrote:
I found many of the suggested ways of laying radials either painful from crouching over the work, too mind numbingly slow, or unsatisfactory in general - such as laying the radials on the ground and not burying. The XYL particularly hated the last one. Even using green wire? -- 73 de K2ASP - Phil Kane From a Clearing in the Silicon Forest Beaverton (Washington County) Oregon e-mail: k2asp [at] arrl [dot] net |
#15
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Phil Kane wrote:
On Wed, 16 May 2007 10:50:07 EDT, Michael Coslo wrote: I found many of the suggested ways of laying radials either painful from crouching over the work, too mind numbingly slow, or unsatisfactory in general - such as laying the radials on the ground and not burying. The XYL particularly hated the last one. Even using green wire? She gets very concerned that she will run over them when she mows the lawn. I used lawn staples, and they were never run over, but the fear was always there. Now everything including the coax gets buried. - 73 de Mike KB3EIA - |
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