On Tue, Apr 25, 2017 at 12:54 PM, James Denneny <[email protected]> wrote: > Yes, I can raise blade cut to 3 inches. I prefer a closer cut for neatness. > However, I am contemplating pinning the wire with DXE ground staples every 5 > to 10 ft versus burying the wire an inch into the soil. I am concerned the > latter approach might defeat signal reception.
As a BOG wire gets truly close to true dirt, or notched into it, the velocity factor of BOG can undergo a very large changes, quite some number here in the NC environs went below 50% velocity factor. The loss of the RX antenna does increase, but I always tell people that BOG's need an amplifier. For RX antennas, the issue is not gain, it's pattern. A BOG a little on the long side that gets really close to dirt can become *electrically* long enough to approach zero front to back, or even reverse pattern, a confusing condition responsible for a lot of the BOGs-don't-work reports. It is a good thing to start with to get the BOG right down on true dirt, not just a pile of dead grass. It's more stable there, because the pattern/gain drift of gradually going down My blunt advice is to do the work to lay it right down on true dirt, just barely notch it into the dirt, do the work to get it to the right length, and DEAL with an RX amp if you need it. It will solve the drift problem so neatly documented by N6LF and you won't be cutting it up with your lawn mower any more. 73, Guy K2AV _________________ Topband Reflector Archives - http://www.contesting.com/_topband
