Hi All, I'm sure that the Epsom salts trick works well, but seems to require quite a high level of maintenance. At my remote Rx site I use multiple ground rods to terminate my Beverages. I find that using 3 rods, then bringing the termination resistance back up to the 500 ohm that it should be using a fixed resistor, works very well. The total termination resistance then stays fairly constant through both wet and dry seasons.
I do also check the resistance from time to time, using a little portable 100 Hz AC source that I made. The source is connected to the opposite end of the wire from the termination, and can therefore be used to check the wire continuity as well. I have found that trying to make DC measurements is very unreliable, as the variable electrochemical effects alter the measurements quite considerably. The 100 Hz does NOT give the same results as using an RF source would, but at least it allows a stable reference to be noted, against which future measurements can be compared. 73 Greg ZL3IX On 2011-01-17 19:09, Mike Waters W0BTU wrote: > I forget how often, Mark. I think it depended on when rain washed it away. The > performance would fade, and a fresh application instantly restored it. > > _______________________________________________ UR RST IS ... ... ..9 QSB QSB - hw? BK
