Better Ground Radials for the Wolf River Coil  

Over/under was drilled into me when I was in school. I even roll my garden hoses that way.

Yes, however both Ham Radio Outlet and K8MRD’s channels have shown this as well.

Always used it. Makes a massive difference avoiding tangleness. 73 de M3KXZ

I've had the Over/Under technique drilled into me many years ago when I was in school. I even roll my garden hoses in that fashion.

My Over/Under video predates their's by about 7 years: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-OvCN-OOxycE.html

@@KB9VBRAntennas awesome, thanks for linking yours.

Thank you for your support. I really appreciate it.

Silicone wire is a great idea, that stuff is super flexible. I used 14ga stranded as that's what I have on hand.

Those are 10 amp clips. I know there's a shot of the package in the video if you need to see an exact part number.

That wire is 14ga stranded. I have a big spool of it, so a lot of antenna projects come out of that wire. You can use any gauge wire and get the same results.

The size of the wire really doesn't matter. I used 14ga stranded as it is readily available. But there are cheaper and thinner wires that will work just as well.

I used 14ga stranded. I have a large quantity of that wire, but you can use anything that you have available.

@@KB9VBRAntennas Thank you Sir

The gauge would be helpful. I cannot find that information in the transcript either. Does it actually matter? Thank you for doing such a great job for us.

You are correct that the SWR will be slightly higher when using more/shorter radials than fewer/longer ones. But in using the longer radials, adjusting the antenna was always more challenging on the higher bands than the lower ones. With 3-33' wires, I may spend up to 20 minutes to find the right spot and many times the SWR may not get below 1.7:1. I've found that using more/shorter radials has expedited the process in that I can do band changes in a couple of minutes. What has changed is that I'm no longer trying to adjust the radials to get a good match, I just concentrate on whip length and/or coil setting. With the shorter radial network I can get the coil pretty close to 1:1 on 40m and between 1.2-1.5:1 on 20 meters. With 17m and above, I can't get it below 1.5:1. Checking on the analyzer, I noticed that the resistance drops to about 36 Ohms (which is typical for an HF vertical antenna that doesn't rely on a transformer of some sort). But SWR isn't a true indicator of antenna performance and the improved ground network makes up for any losses.

@@KB9VBRAntennas Thanks Michael! I myself have found that while using a 9.3' whip, 4 33' radials allow me to match to a 1.08 on 20 and a 1.2 on 40. Jump up to 16 radials and I end up with a 1.5 on 20 and a 1.8 on 40. According to research done by Rudy Severns, 16 radials will improve the signal by about 3 dB over 4 radials. I think it's well worth the loss due to SWR.

no. it will disrupt radiation pattern and cancel each other creating high swr.

I crimped and soldered. I didn't use the screw at all.

I get my music from Soundstripe, a royalty free library that I subscribe to. The artist is Famous Cats and the song is Nectar. app.soundstripe.com/artists/340. It appears they are on Pandora in you are interested.

@@KB9VBRAntennas Very good.I’ll look for it.Thank you,and thank you for the great library of videos you’ve produced.I’ve been doing radio for 45 years now,but to those up and coming in the hobby,you are providing vital,honest information to help in the learning process,and there’s so much to be learned.

Being a ham for 23 years, I’m still learning too. I just like to share my enthusiasm with others.

@@KB9VBRAntennas Great..I’m hoping one day to see you work a little CW into your videos,too.Nonetheless,I’m still getting some good tips from watching your videos,especially when out in the field camping,and while comparing various antennas.Thanks again…all the best and 73

Then we'd all Save Big Money!

33 feet is roughly 1/4 wave on 40 meters (accounting for velocity factor of the wire). It would also be close to 1/8 wave on 80m and 1/2 wave on 20m. Radials on the ground don't need to be a specific length, but they should cover a large area for better ground coupling. It's my understanding that Wolf River provides three longer radials as that's what always worked well for them in their testing, and it does work. I've used that method for years. But I've also found that I'm often shortening my three radials to get a better match on the higher bands, so in experimenting with more, shorter, radials it takes less time to get a good match and performance is as good, if not better, than the longer ones on the higher bands.

That's a great idea. I bet adding more radials will increase the performance of that antenna. I'll have to give it a test.

Right now, I think the single 36x84 inch window screen works just as well as 8 16 foot ground radials. I'm still testing and making comparisons, but I do not believe you are losing any efficiency or performance by going the window screen route. As for setup and tear-down: the window screen wins hands down.

@KB9VBR Antennas Thanks just got a roll of screen...difficult to get bright aluminum in SW Florida...thanks again will let you know how all works out.. Paul K1YOU

The coated aluminum will also work. You may need to scratch off a bit of the coating to make good contact, though.

It doesn't really matter. I use 14ga stranded for a lot of my projects because it is readily available at home improvement stores, but any thickness is fine.

I used 14ga THHN stranded because I have a big roll of it. You can use just about any size wire available to you.

I haven't used this setup on 80 meters, but it works extremely well on 40. I haven't noticed a difference in distance or signal quality on that band using the shorter radials as compared to three long ones.

8 radials may slightly be overkill. I've had many WRC users tell me they split their 3 33' radials into 6 16' radials and received equivalent performance. The overall length of the radial network is the same, but with more shorter radials, you increase the network performance. Here's an article from March 2010 issue of QST that is making the rounds. It verifies some of the things I've experienced: rudys.typepad.com/files/qst-march-2010-ground-systems.pdf

@@KB9VBRAntennas Thanks for the quick response. I'm somewhat new to portable antennas which I decided to experiment with and needed some input as to radial configurations.

What gauge wire did you use?

You'll be ok. When laying radials on the ground, the length of the radial really doesn't matter as much as the amount of area that you can cover. Many 8 foot radials will have a similar effect as some 16 foot radials. You may also find that the combination of long and short radials may have an increased performance benefit on the higher bands.

@@KB9VBRAntennas good to know

In this demonstration it's 14ga stranded THHN wire.

@KB9VBRAntennas I almost purchased a roll from Lowes yesterday but found it very stiff with significant coil memory. Have you found that it relaxes after warming in the sun?

Ugh. Really? So once a year I say how you can support the channel and you go ballistic? Bye bye.

This is actually one of the FEW amateur radio youtube channels from which I have NOT unsubscribed. Why is it wrong for a content creator to ask to be paid?? A great deal of time, skill, and equipment is required to produce a video of this quality...I don't have a problem with anyone asking for money when they produce something....it's better than some of the other youtube "experts" who accept money and gifts from manufacturers and distributors, and then pretend like they are just an enthusiastic customer when they promote those products.

Thank you for your support, it's greatly appreciated. I'm also glad we made the contact. It's a pleasure to have you in the log.

Thank you for your support! I really appreciate it

Thank you for your support, it's greatly appreciated.