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What do radials do? They take the place of 'ground', dirt, the other 'half' of the antenna. Radials are elevated ground/dirt. Will it hurt to insulate that elevated 'dirt' from real dirt? I very much doubt it. Can a radial be of any length? No, but they are not as length critical as some people think. Why? Because RF currents seek the path of least resistance (actually, impedance, since we're talking about an alternating current). Also why radials of several different lengths are used on multi-band verticals. Does that mean that the radiation pattern isn't as symmetrical as it could be? Yes, but that pattern isn't as skewed as you might think. If those radials are distributed in a sort of symmetrical way, the resulting radiation pattern will be too. What do you do if the skewed pattern is skewed too much? Rotate the @#$ radials a little till it's pointed correctly!
Put the silly thing together. Put it up in the air and -see- if there's anything to worry about. Then worry about it.
- 'Doc

<blockquote data-quote="W5LZ" data-source="post: 113867" data-attributes="member: 129">What do radials do?&nbsp; They take the place of &#039;ground&#039;, dirt, the other &#039;half&#039; of the antenna.&nbsp; Radials are elevated ground/dirt.&nbsp; Will it hurt to insulate that elevated &#039;dirt&#039; from real dirt?&nbsp; I very much doubt it.&nbsp; Can a radial be of any length?&nbsp; No, but they are not as length critical as some people think.&nbsp; Why?&nbsp; Because RF currents seek the path of least resistance (actually, impedance, since we&#039;re talking about an alternating current).&nbsp; Also why radials of several different lengths are used on multi-band verticals.&nbsp; Does that mean that the radiation pattern isn&#039;t as symmetrical as it could be?&nbsp; Yes, but that pattern isn&#039;t as skewed as you might think.&nbsp; If those radials are distributed in a sort of symmetrical way, the resulting radiation pattern will be too.&nbsp; What do you do if the skewed pattern is skewed too much?&nbsp; Rotate the @#$ radials a little till it&#039;s pointed correctly!Put the silly thing together.&nbsp; Put it up in the air and -see- if there&#039;s anything to worry about.&nbsp; Then worry about it.&nbsp;- &#039;Doc</blockquote>

[QUOTE="W5LZ, post: 113867, member: 129"] What do radials do? They take the place of 'ground', dirt, the other 'half' of the antenna. Radials are elevated ground/dirt. Will it hurt to insulate that elevated 'dirt' from real dirt? I very much doubt it. Can a radial be of any length? No, but they are not as length critical as some people think. Why? Because RF currents seek the path of least resistance (actually, impedance, since we're talking about an alternating current). Also why radials of several different lengths are used on multi-band verticals. Does that mean that the radiation pattern isn't as symmetrical as it could be? Yes, but that pattern isn't as skewed as you might think. If those radials are distributed in a sort of symmetrical way, the resulting radiation pattern will be too. What do you do if the skewed pattern is skewed too much? Rotate the @#$ radials a little till it's pointed correctly! Put the silly thing together. Put it up in the air and -see- if there's anything to worry about. Then worry about it. - 'Doc [/QUOTE]

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