Thanks for all the advice guys. The situation requires that the radials
be placed at least slightly below the surface. I'm always faced with
the fact that my land is surrounded by open range which means that
hundreds of head of cattle roam freely. If my new fence charger fails
then the cows will break the fence to get to the lush grass and hay
storage reserved for my horses. So, in order for the radials to not get
tangled in the legs of my 1200lb kids as well as the elk, moose and deer
that constantly move through my land, elevated radials would need to
something like 20' in the air (moose are really big). Getting them
underground enough so a horse with steel horseshoes won't inadvertently
dig one up while engaging in typical horse play ("horsing around" is a
phrase with real meaning around here).
My soil is about 10-14" of old forest loam (what we call here "duff") on
top of a rocky layer followed by a substantial layer of clay. An old
chainsaw chain on a small saw will cut a groove through it like the
proverbial knife through butter. That should make getting it down about
6" a simple task. Soil conductivity changes dramatically depending on
the season. Moisture is held in the soil for many days after a
rainstorm. But by the dry season in August, its dry as dust. Winter
here starts in October and lasts to April during which the ground is
frozen solid to several feet.
So I guess my biggest concern is that the wire will corrode rapidly as
K9HZ has suggested in a direct email. I have numerous lengths of old
aluminum lying on the ground at my antenna site. There does not appear
to be the slightest bit of visible corrosion. But perhaps being
literally under ground as opposed to lying on the ground makes a big
difference.
So thanks for the reading links and suggestions. I'll have to give this
some serious time to study before deciding what to do. I might turn it
into a very large loop antenna at about 40 to 50'. Having been attached
to plastic insulators on 5' fence posts for the last 10 years, it shows
absolutely no corrosion. So I know it can stand up to the weather just
fine.
73 and much thanks for the responses.
Doug -- K0DXV (Western slope of the Rockies at 8200+ feet)
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