[BC] Ground system

[Cowboy]

On Saturday 11 February 2012 10:27:45 am Tom Spencer wrote:
> Why not just use a larger conductor for the four radials?  For example, 
> if you were to use #6 cable, switching to #4 - or just running a second 
> length of #6 - would double the cross-section,

 Not really.

 In essence, one can think of the "ground radials" as merely taking
 the other half of the dipole, and splaying it out on the ground, into
 as many sections as you like.
 Therefore, the cross section of each spalyed section is more or
 less irrelevant.
 What is important, is how much of the field is intercepted by
 the return conductor, and how much is not.

 Theoretically, splaying into enough infinitely thin two dimensional
 sections could form a two dimensional "solid" disk,

> and at MW frequencies,
> skin effect is a lesser concern than at higher frequencies, right?

 Again, not really.
 Skin effect starts coming into play at anything above about 3 hertz,
 depending on the cross section of the conductor, and by the time
 we get to 500 kHz or so, the depth of conduction is small enough
 to be considered between a duck.


-- 
Cowboy