[BC] How much of a ground system do you need?

[Craig Healy]

>The best approach I've seen so far was at a station in Monterey,
>California, back in the '80's. The tower was in the bay at the end of a
>pier off Cannery Row, and the ground was salt water, with no radials at
>all. That station ran only a kilowatt, but you could hear it 40 miles
>away.

In Providence there is a 1220 station with the tower in the upper part of Narragansett Bay.   Takes a boat to get to the base.  Over the years they did try to install radials, last time weighed down by cinder blocks.  In the winter, that part of the bay would freeze and the tide current would pull the radials away.  It's a minimal impedence change between high and low tide.  A fair amount of copper is left that grounds it to the salt water. Coverage is really quite good for a kilowatt.

Craig Healy
Providence, RI