2,580 feet.

Significance? Thats the total feet of #14 stranded that I have used to "re-make" my radials for my vertical antenna.

Couple of years ago....I purchased a ZERO FIVE 43 foot vertical antenna. Actually it has survived high winds...ice...snow...birds...you name it. Its built pretty tough. But me being the silly bunneh that I am. Didnt know crap about radials. Did a cursory search and decided that I should just cut some lenghts of wire to some different bands (one for 80, some 40m some 20 and some 10m wires) and be done with it (about 500' total). It never really was the best antenna I had...wasnt the worst. just..eh. Well. recently in QST Magazine, there was an article by a Gent named Phil Salas AD5X about matching problems with the 43ft vertical antennas and his solution to get better performance out of it on 160/80M bands. Great article!...some problems with it but lets table that for the time being. That article caused me to re-evaluate my radials. some better searches this time and yeah...I SUCK AT IT! I decided to redo the whole field with 60 43' radials. Why sixty? couple of reasons.

1. My DX engineering radial plate has sixty connection points
2. In reading an article by Al Christman K3LC sixty 43' radials is 2,580' of wire and should get me unity gain on that antenna, maybe even a smidge over unity as compared to the -1dbi gain that I was possibly seeing (or worse) with the current radial system I have. (yeah I should model it. But my NEC skillz are suck!)
3. #14 stranded aint cheep! Its oh....35 bucks at Lowes and I went thru 6 (ok about 5 1/2) spools of it!
4. Im a lazy bunneh.

So I went about cutting the radials. WHEEE!!! I took a dowel that I had in the shop, put it thru the spool and rested it on my legs. Took a 43' hank of double dacron line from the scrap bin and started measuring and cutting. After each cut, take a yellow #10 lug crimp and affix it to the end (no electrical connection. Just slide it over insulation and all and crimp it.) This is so I can take a 10d nail to hold down the end of the wire when I set up the radials. Wind each 43' cut up, a wrap of tape, into the box, pull next wire. Repeat fifty nine more times over the winter season. Now that I have all those things cut, time to fix the radial plate ends. Blue 1/4-20 post lugs, strip and crimp. Back in box. Again, repeat sixty times. Just this time be careful to pick up all the loose strip ends and copper trim bits. I have a kitteh that LOVES to eat plastic. And when he's finished eating his PVC treat, he just LOVES to HURK it all up afterwords. Super-yummy! That and stepping on a single strand of sharp copper would go over well here at chez lapin much less stepping in khat hurk! (ow and eww!) Radials now cut and crimped. Now for the final step. SOLDERING!

Soldering each connector? Are you mad?!?! Perhaps. But these puppies are going to be outside...forever...rain...snow...sleet...raccoon pee...you name it! So why just trust them with a mechanical crimp that will allow water etc. to get into it and begin to do the thing that copper was born to do...corrode. (Yep corrosion or its more popular name verdigris...That is copper's job. To protect itself by forming verdigris. Good and stylish for roofs etc. but not for electrical connectors.) For that main reason I decided to solder each and every one of them. Took a small piece of plywood for a work area, some good old fashioned 60/40 RadioShack solder (.050 chunky stuff. No sense messing around with the thin stuff!) my portable vise and a neat-o portable torch from BernzOMatic! I like it much better than the usual hand held butane torch/cigar lighter/creme brulle burner. It hooks up to a propane tank and makes a nice flame! Cant wait to use it on PL-259's. One more word on that torch kit if I may. It comes with all sorts of "neat" accessories. Hot knife, soldering tip, blower, and a torch stand. Take the torch stand and put it aside. Take everything else and toss it into the waste bin (dont forget to recycle the plastic). The soldering tip lasts like 10 hours and then its poop! the other stuff? POOP! So save the problems and disappointment and throw it all away except for the stand.


Now, here is the procedure I used for making up the connector ends.

1. Pick up a radial
2. Mount it in the vise.
3. touch the flame to the lug. Watch for the tin on the lug to "run or sag"
4. touch your solder to copper. Pull off the flame. You dont want the plastic crimp to melt/catch fire (it will...and beware your smoke alarms!) Watch for the solder to flow.
5. keep touching the solder till the lug is full. (it will fill upon the top of the crimp) and a touch more flame if needed
6. Take a VERY DAMP paper towel. Quench the lug (yeah you may not like that quenching thing but in this case, dont fear it.)
   
7. remove from vice and throw into bucket.
8. Repeat 59 more times!

If you have done it right, The insulator will not have melted (much) or flamed/smoked and the ends are nice and flow soldered. Pretty much ready for service now. Here are the completed radials just waiting to be laid out in the back lawn.




I was going to do some more work today outside. Like removing the old radials and get them recycled. But....

IMA LAZY BUNNEH!

Anyhow, I got to post this. Oh and more on the vertical antenna and AD5X's match later.

Until then...thanks for reading and Remember Dr. King today!

DE W3BNY....OUT!