David,
Actually, aluminum will hold up OK in many soil conditions - although in
highly acid soils, it will become rather brittle.
Squirrels and other rodents chewing on the aluminum wire is more of a
problem.
So my conclusion is that if you want in-ground radials that will last
for about 3 years, you can save over the cost of copper by using
aluminum - make your long term choices depending on your ham budget.
If you are using elevated radials, aluminum is great - but put them high
enough so that humans, deer and other animals can pass under them
without harm to the radials or the beast. If you are in an area where
riders on horseback could pass, use plentiful warning signs. My
criteria is 10 feet above ground, but yours may vary. I have lots of
trees (we live in a forested area) , so buried radials are not practical
due to tree roots, so I use electric fence insulators attached to the
trees to support elevated radials.
For a good source of aluminum wire, look to suppliers of electric fence
wire. I use the 17 AWG size for my radials.
73,
Don W3FPR
On 6/29/2014 5:13 PM, David Christ wrote:
I have been told that aluminum does not last very long in contact with the
ground. You might wish to verify whether burying aluminum is a good idea.
______________________________________________________________
Elecraft mailing list
Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
Post: mailto:[email protected]
This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
Message delivered to [email protected]
