[BC] Counterpoise Ground System

[Bailey, Scott]

Basically, what you're saying is after a certain point in the ground
plane, it's useless, efficiency wise, but will help as a path for
lightning strikes?

Well could you put one of the radials, say inside the PVC Pipe for
allowing the strike to go to ground for vaporization?

Scott

-----Original Message-----
[mailto:broadcast-bounces at radiolists.net] On Behalf Of Cowboy

On Friday 22 September 2006 10:29 am, Bailey, Scott wrote:
 >WOW, back then, if your ground system was connected to the city's water
 >main, you would have a ground system all over the city!

  No, actually !

  The radials make up the ground plane.
  One way to think of it is as the other half of the vertical dipole
splayed
  out on the ground, changing the geometry and some aspects of the
radiator
  in how it launches a wave. The radials are still part of the resonant
system.
  In an elevated system, since the radials are 1/4 wave long, it becomes
easy
  to see why they have high voltages at the far ends, just like the top
of the
  tower. High voltage, low current, just like both ends of a 1/2 wave
dipole.
  Anything beyond about 1/2 wave from the feed point becomes irrelevant
  as a part of the RF radiator.

  Ground rods, and in the case sited the city water system, would help as
  a lightning ground. Someplace to dissipate the megavolts and kiloamps
  of a lightning strike, but not as a part of the RF antenna at all.

  In fact, with the gigawatt-seconds of energy involved, even PVC water
systems
  would make an OK ground for lightning. The conductivity of the water is
  sufficient, until it vaporizes of course.

 > No wonder WROZ had a good signal!

  That city water system wasn't it, whatever it was.