Most stations just follow tradition. No station I have built has ever had any radials stolen. They are buried 3 feet down. It takes heavier equipment to do it but it is worth the effort.
On 2/10/12 2:54 PM, Herb Schoenbohm wrote: > > On 2/10/2012 1:11 PM, Milt -- N5IA wrote: >> If that is the case, WHY do the pro broadcasters install all 120 radials at >> full length; even bare wire buried a couple of inches underground? > Answer: > > Because the FCC requires it as part of your AM application. Some > stations that were required to protect a distant station on the same > channel but away from the area they wanted to cover, even applied for a > waivers with a deliberately poor ground system in the protected > direction ...but the FCC said no way Jose. Another consulting engineer > when modeling a slant wire shunt fed and running test FSM noticed some > cancellation in the opposite direction of the slant wire shunt fed > tower. This appeared a sensible solution to enhanced protection without > the addition of another tower and expensive pahser, not to mention the > cost of additional real estate. Again the boys at 1919 M Street said > no. (The Portals today) > > With the price of copper skyrocketing the amount of theft in some parts > of the country is unbelievable. AM stations are immediate targets as > thieves just pull up the systems with a winch or just hook it to the > bumper and drive off into seclusion and roll it up in the back of a > truck. Some station owners in PR have opted to plow in barbed wire as a > lower cost alternative to bare copper. So far none of the barbed wire > buried ground systems have not been touched. > > > Herb Schoenbohm, KV4FZ > _______________________________________________ > UR RST IS ... ... ..9 QSB QSB - hw? BK > _______________________________________________ UR RST IS ... ... ..9 QSB QSB - hw? BK
