{"id":10700,"date":"2026-02-16T02:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-02-16T01:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ik0vve.net\/?p=10700"},"modified":"2026-02-16T08:04:44","modified_gmt":"2026-02-16T07:04:44","slug":"pills-of-technique-ground-mounted-verticals-the-stealth-power","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.ik0vve.net\/?p=10700","title":{"rendered":"\u201cPills of Technique\u201d: Ground-Mounted Verticals \u2013 The Stealth Power"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>If you have a garden but want to keep a &#8220;low profile&#8221;, a <strong>Ground-Mounted Vertical<\/strong> is your best friend. It\u2019s almost invisible from a distance, but with a good radial system, it can be a DX machine!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3>1. Why mount it on the ground?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Mounting an antenna at ground level (on a short stake or tripod) has several advantages:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Stealth:<\/strong> It\u2019s easy to hide among trees or bushes.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Safety:<\/strong> Easier to install and maintain without climbing ladders or roofs.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Low Angle:<\/strong> Perfect for long-distance (DX) communication.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3>2. The Secret: The Radial System<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>When a vertical antenna is on the ground, the earth is not a good enough conductor. You need to create a <strong>Return Path<\/strong> for the RF current.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Surface Radials:<\/strong> Wires laid on the grass. You can use lawn staples to keep them down.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Buried Radials:<\/strong> Wires buried just 2-5 cm under the soil. After a few weeks, the grass grows over them and they become <strong>invisible<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.ik0vve.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/radials.jpeg\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"768\" height=\"1024\" src=\"http:\/\/www.ik0vve.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/radials-768x1024.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-10702\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.ik0vve.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/radials-768x1024.jpeg 768w, http:\/\/www.ik0vve.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/radials-225x300.jpeg 225w, http:\/\/www.ik0vve.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/radials-1152x1536.jpeg 1152w, http:\/\/www.ik0vve.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/radials-1024x1365.jpeg 1024w, http:\/\/www.ik0vve.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/radials.jpeg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Some of the radials of my vertical antenna<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3>3. How many radials?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The &#8220;magic number&#8221; doesn&#8217;t exist, but here is a rule of thumb:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li><strong>4-8 radials:<\/strong> Better than nothing, but the antenna will be inefficient.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>16-32 radials:<\/strong> The &#8220;sweet spot&#8221; for great performance.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Length:<\/strong> They don&#8217;t need to be resonant if you have many. About 1\/8 to 1\/4 of the wavelength is fine.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3>4. Deepening and Technical Resources<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li><strong><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.antennasbyn6lf.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">N6LF &#8211; Radial System Measurements<\/a>:<\/strong> Rudy Severns is the world expert on ground systems. His site is a goldmine of data.<strong>:<\/strong> Check out how to use a simple &#8220;fishing pole&#8221; as a temporary ground-mounted vertical!<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"http:\/\/i4ewh.altervista.org\/ShortWaves\/Verticale_file\/Verticale.htm\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>I4EWH Vertical antenna<\/strong><\/a>: an example of a large (not very invisible) vertical antenna mounted on the ground for 160 m band.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\">\n<p><strong>Pro Tip:<\/strong> Don&#8217;t worry about expensive wire for buried radials. Any thin, insulated copper wire will work. The soil protects it from UV rays, so it will last for years!<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Next Step:<\/strong> Now that we have covered the most common antennas, how do we protect our equipment? In the next pill, we will talk about <strong>Lightning Protection and Grounding<\/strong> \u2013 because safety comes first!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If you have a garden but want to keep a<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[211,168,210,203,194],"tags":[213,169,212,200,196],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.ik0vve.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10700"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.ik0vve.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.ik0vve.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.ik0vve.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.ik0vve.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=10700"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"http:\/\/www.ik0vve.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10700\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10726,"href":"http:\/\/www.ik0vve.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10700\/revisions\/10726"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.ik0vve.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=10700"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.ik0vve.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=10700"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.ik0vve.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=10700"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}