Window screen antenna ground network- I can't believe what this does!

Using a window screen instead of a conventional ground radial network for a vertical antenna is an effective small space method to improving your signal strength. Testing of the ground screen was at Council Grounds State Park, WI (POTA K-1447).
As a bonus, patrons can view the full, unedited video of my Parks on the Air activations. Visit my page on Patreon for details: / pota-unedited-k-81745426
I do return QSL, if you made a contact with me and would like a QSL, please send me one. Return postage not necessary, but always appreciated. As they say, KB9VBR is 'good in the book.'
36x84 inch Bright Aluminum Window Screen: amzn.to/3L8UhWl
Ground Screen: An Alternative to a buried ground network
Ham Radio Magazine. May, 1977
ia903006.us.archive.org/12/it...
WSPR, Weak Signal Propagation Reporter: www.wsprnet.org
Bypass your Wolf River Coil: • This little wire super...
Like what you see? You can leave me a tip:
www.paypal.me/kb9vbr
KB9VBR VHF/UHF Antennas:
www.jpole-antenna.com
Become a patron! Unlock exclusive content at: / kb9vbrantennas
Support Ham Radio Q&A by shopping at Amazon: amzn.to/2kO6LH7
Timestamp
00:00 Introduction
00:35 Mesh Ground Screen
02:39 Setting up the ground screen
03:14 SWR testing the ground screen
04:54 WSPR results on ground screen vs radials
11:20 Setting up the screen at K-1447
12:14 real world test of ground screen 15 and 20 meters
16:06 40 meter test of the ground screen
18:59 Activation recap and conclusion
My Parks on the Air setup:
Transceiver: amzn.to/3lmHoei
Battery: amzn.to/3xBGgbv
Tuner: amzn.to/2ZCNM9l
Folding Table: amzn.to/3xFIp5Z
Throw Weight: amzn.to/32QW2nB
Video Production Equipment:
Camera amzn.to/32UaXNX
Lens amzn.to/31mmDrX
Wireless Microphone: amzn.to/3xFVBb4
Microphone: amzn.to/3daoAdq
GoPro: amzn.to/3pkmP30
Music by license:
www.premiumbeats.com
www.soundstripe.com
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases
Contact Information:
Questions, comments, or business inquiries may be directed to [e-mail]. If you wish for your product to be featured on my channel, please contact me.
#Hamradio #AmateurRadio #POTA #ParksOnTheAir #PortableHamRadio #groundnetwork #groundradial #HFantenna #verticalantenna #wolfrivercoil

[@happygardener28]

While the vast majority of your viewers know you meant the metal/aluminum window screen, there will be the random person who grabs the fiberglass screen and then complains you're faking it. I will be storing this idea up for several possible applications and thank you for sharing this idea

[@Adui13]

He did specify metal, but you are right. Someone wont read the "fine print" and will cry foul

[@davewhite7679]

Anything that eliminates the need to wade into the poison ivy, ticks, snakes, and prickly bushes to deploy radial wires is a real plus! 👍 KZ9V

[@srobertweiser]

My grandpa was a ham radio operator and he had a whole bedroom dedicated as his radio room. He had an 18 foot powered antenna on his roof that needed repair, he was in the hospital dying from emphysema (after a lifetime of smoking three packs of Winston a day) and his dying words to my old man were ''Did you find somebody to fix the antenna?''. That old dude was literally 'die-hard'.

[@Blues2cool]

You guys are demonstrating the true meaning of amateur radio. This is an awesome experiment.

[@jakerazmataz852]

Amateur. I think they passed that status a long time ago. 😁

[@DevinAWhiting]

Yes indeed 5X5

[@richardross3815]

Lol. I started a local 2 meter low power simplex net to get people familiar with not using repeaters. One fairly distant contact was using mag mount on metal rail. Barely worked. Suggested some kind of piece of metal plate? for ground plain? He dragged out one of wife’s cookie sheets. Still noisy but readable. Then… suggested pointing long end of sheet in my direction. God dam. Almost 5x9. Needless to say it was a valuable lesson to all the newbies. Getting back to the fun part of hobby.

[@o2bnov0307]

UPDATE: I just bought a roll of screen. Report will be coming after this afternoon's activation! “Any antenna that will get you on the air is a good antenna.” Words to live by. Nice activation. UPDATE 2: AMAZING!! With my batch of radials the SWR never was lower than 2.4:1. With the roll of screen and a jumper wire the NanoVNA yielded 1.4:1 SWR!!! Thank you for the idea.

[@seeharvester]

Yeah, but a good antenna is so much nicer. It sucks when no one can hear you except the guy across the street.

[@Adui13]

@@seeharvester True, very true. But not everyone can afford to dump $$ into antennas that we can learn to homebrew for half or less the cost. Unfortunately, homebrew takes practice so the first few aren't as good.

[@seeharvester]

@@Adui13 I agree! Years ago I built my first antenna by following plans in the ARRL Antenna book. It was a 2 element horizontal yagi mounted at about 24 feet on a length of heavy wall pipe. Rotated it with a jerry rigged garage door opener contraption that would have made Rube Goldberg proud.

[@konayasai]

​@@seeharvesterA bad antenna in a good location often beats a good antenna in a bad location. It's one of the reasons portable operation is so attractive IMHO.

[@davewhitford5071]

If it works, it MUST be right. Right?​@@seeharvester

[@kennethherring2918]

I realize that this video is several months old, but I only recently had the opportunity to give this a try. While my SWR was 1.2:1, I did discover that if the WRC tripod is not on the screen, the SWR goes through the roof even with a jumper. But when moved back, the SWR returned to the previous reading. In light of this, using the Magic Carpet is so much easier to deploy then wire radials. Thanks once again Michael.

[@KB9VBRAntennas]

That's awesome. I'm glad its working for you.

[@harryring9597]

I don't know squat about your radios ... and antennas, but it sure is cool stuff. Thanks for sharing. God Bless America.

[@MarcJutras]

I just tested this with 2 24x84 inches screens with hamsticks on a nail in the ground. I could easilly bring SWR to 1. It was really interesting to see how the orientation (bearing) of the screens affected the SWR. They seem quite sensitive to the ground so just turning them around can help. Spacing between them too. If you're chasing SWR 1.0, these are all factors to consider. In normal operation, it's easy to get down to 1.2 quickly and be happy. I talked to a guy in the South of France from the South shore of Montreal (Canada) on 10m with a FT-818 50W amp.

[@DavidSkelhon]

I used chicken wire under a 43' vertical with great results. It was still perfectly fine after 5 years of use. Space was restricted so I had 30' in one direction and 15' at right angles. I used several ground connections (to the chicken wire) at the base of the antenna. I'll try window screen for portable - thanks for the experimental work!

[@markk7mwj37]

That's what I have plenty of. Gonna pull out 12 feet of chicken wire and see what I get.

[@usernamemykel]

Chicken wire is interwoven, not welded/connected, so you wouldn't get the best results. You're better off with welded mesh.

[@RadioJimProductions]

Former Hy-Gain engineer Charlie K0NG once quipped "The only thing chicken wire is good for is keeping chickens".

[@dennispotts2292]

Like to see pictures.

[@allenmcgee9379]

How does that tripod stay upright in the wind you had? The Wolf River coil is on my bucket list! Oh by the way Michael; I recently acquired my GMRS license. I purchased one of your J-poles for GMRS; as well a very nice elderly Ham/GMRS guy gave me a whole lot of GMRS equipment; 5 handheld radios; whip antennas for them, a mobile 25 watt GMRS radio; a slim Jim antenna and a few other accessories. He refused to take a dime from me. He knows I’m very radio active on both sides so he knew I would use the equipment given. Sadly he has been diagnosed with 3 different types of cancer and wanted to make sure the radio equipment would get used! I am both honored and moved that radio people are so great!

[@KB9VBRAntennas]

It's a weighted base for a tear drop or feather flag, commonly seen outside of businesses. amzn.to/3qn8cNj. It swivels, which can be a pain, but really does a great job of holding the antenna upright on a breezy day.

[@jamesgeorge1709]

Add some lead weights to the underside of the tripod I use reloading lead ingots each one weighs 1# so hang 4 under it.😮

[@kb9jqu]

Thanks for including our QSO in the video. Glad the screen worked!

[@TyMoore95503]

That is a really cool solution. I have limited space for radials but I can lay a metal window screen right across the lawn. Would be perfect for portability. I have seen some Stainless Steel mesh rolls for $120 that are 100 feet x 48". Cut the mesh in half, lay one at 90° to the other and you have a potential radial ground plane for 75m. 73!

[@billerfurth5247]

A friend of mine when he was having a house built, before he put in the lawn, he put down two twenty pieces of chain link fence and then put the sod on top of that. 73. Bill KZEDX

[@tpobrienjr]

Some hams in UK put chicken wire down and let the grass grow over it. If it corrodes, put another layer of chicken wire down.

[@StevenHailstone]

Great video, Michael. I love finding alternate solutions to the way of doing things. Keep it up!

[@JohnHill-qo3hb]

Back in the 70's, the college I attended formed a ham radio club. In our first few weeks we didn't have an antenna so I volunteered the use of my 14AVQ. We were not allowed to dig holes so we mounted the antenna to the chain link fence, worked great.

[@housesOTR]

I have chain link fence surrounding my house. What would you suggest?

[@JohnHill-qo3hb]

Whatever you can afford.@@housesOTR

[@Randoid97]

NEATO!!! I've been messing with EZNEC using 12" square brass screen for both a capacitive hat on top of a 25' vertical and 3 more 12" squares on the ends of three 3' ground plane radials with EXCELLENT results both calculated SWR and Launch Angle. I've yet to build a prototype, but using steelcore copper wire allows the whole thing to roll up into a 12" square only about an inch thick in a backpack. I expect to solder the screens to the steelcore diagonally to minimize the screen wire-to-wire currents so corrosion won't cause intermodulation. Let's keep chasing this and see where this goes! 73 -- NW7T

[@ronlaborde7528]

Hmm, this has me wondering if several aluminum pizza pans arranged in a circle around the antenna base at the end of short radials might work well.

[@Randoid97]

@@ronlaborde7528 I suspect it would be work great since it models similar to the screens in EZNEC. I went with brass screen to save weight.

[@Randoid97]

@@ronlaborde7528 There is the dissimilar metal corrosion issue connecting to aluminum. I use Ideal NoAlOx from Home Depot to grease up any copper-aluminum connections. The competitor Ox-Gard from Gardner-Bender works well, too!

[@MrJaylassiter]

Thank you!

[@HamRadioCrashCourse]

Impressive! Great job pulling up this old idea and making it work! Cheers!

[@mdouble100]

This is an excellet idea, thanks for the video. I am president of the Georgian Bay Amateur Radio Club (GBARC) in Owen Sound, Ontario, Canada. When doing public demonstrations there are often limits on how we can setup an antenna. Working in a parking lot of other hard surface or where space is restricted can be problematic. Using screening as you've demonstrated really does open up options for possible antenna deployments. Finding ways to solve problems by experimenting is a fun part of the hobby.

[@leathermech]

Amazing portable solution, Michael. I activated K-2991 yesterday and it worked well. I didn’t even run the little jumper. I just set WRC tripod on the on the screen and it ground through the legs. Thanks for the great idea.

[@joelaut12]

Thanks Michael, great new / old idea!

[@MrJohnBos]

Very impressive.

[@ths3900]

Good idea and demonstration

[@bgrb7777]

I also have tried this by your inspiration & is a blast in set up as well as Ground Plane. Great idea! Puts my 4 30' tape measures to shame. I thought that was a great idea till I tried this. Thanks buddy! Brian Clintonville

[@tpobrienjr]

POTA seems to be a perfect way to test this idea, glad it worked well.

[@tpobrienjr]

I now have a similar ground plane in my back yard. And it helps. I plan to order another roll of aluminum to put in my POTA kit. I think it will fit well in a section of PVC pipe with some other bits.

[@je845]

What a great video, I recall a Silent Key family member doing the same thing in our backyard in 1978, with the window screen on the ground. I was eleven years old at the time, He always use to tell me on setup, "lean towards the screen" If I recall correctly, we had an old 80-10m radio (Astro 200) and an old Yaesu FT-301D Good times!!! Again, wonderful video thanks for bringing back beautiful memories!!! Maybe will lean that way this year with POTA, cheers 73.

[@B.Murphy]

I thought about this a while back but never got around to testing it out. Great video!

[@BF-rn3oz]

I love the term Magic Carpet for this screen radial system. It seems much less annoying than deploying a bunch of individual ground plane wires.

[@douglassharafanowich8605]

Great idea! Thanks for the video.

[@freddyb2098]

Great Job! Thanks for sharing your experience of this method of a ground plane. Always looking forward to your video content. God Bless You.

[@TMihelich]

So today I tried this for the first time and all I can say is WOW!! Using the Gabil Radio Antenna with the MFJ-1979 whip and a 4'x4' square piece of screen, I was able (using the Rigexpert) to measure all of the QPR frequencies (CW ) in the 40, 30,20,17,15,12 and 10M bands and all of them fell between 1.38 and 1.95 SWR. I also wrapped the edges of the screen with duct tape which makes handling much easier and it keeps it from fraying. I did not even have to use the 40M extension to nail a 1.65 SWR on 40M. I was using the KX3 with these and really did not have to hit the tune button for these qrp frequencies. Thank you for showing us this really worth while way to go instead of all those crazy long radials. Just for everyone's information, here were my settings on the whip. These are the number of segments extended on the 1979. 10M - 3 1/2 12M - 4 1/4 15M - 5 1/4 17M - 7 20M - All the way extended. Gabil adjusted all the way closed. 30M - All the way extended. Gabil adjusted 3.1 up. 40M - All the way extended. Gabil adjusted 6.56 up.

[@KB9VBRAntennas]

Thanks for the data. It's great to see the ground network is working great for you.

[@jonthebru]

I worked at an AM radio station that built a new tower, about 3 decades ago, the tower was located on a newly constructed parking lot and the ground was a huge grid of welded wire under the parking lot concrete. It worked and still works really well. the key for a permanent situation is having all connections welded because unwelded screen breaks down and actually creates interference.

[@forgetyourlife]

Yep, all those hams putting chicken wire under there lawn won’t know what hit’em in about a year.

[@CATech1138]

chicken wire...wow.. how about 1" square grid welded galvanized with soldered connections between the side by side runs in say a 10' round form

[@feeatlastfeeatlast5283]

@@forgetyourlife And wait till they try to reuse the area, say for a flower garden.

[@danielzdanowicz6899]

Fabulous test. Great information. Thank you for the research and testing. Best 73's Dan K1YPB - on the air since 1962

[@aerofart]

I KNEW this would be a good idea! I have an old mesh-steel patio table top that has seen better days that I’ve been keeping around for just this sort of experiment. It’s heavy and won’t blow away, so I won’t need to tie stake it down, and it’s got a perfect hole in the center too. Happy days!

[@billtaylor3517]

Digging your content and approach.

[@pasjeihobby]

Fantastic idea!

[@jefffischer2984]

After seeing this I grabbed a piece of mesh chicken wire fence out of the shed; about 4x4 and have been using it ever since. I don't even use a jumper because the wolf river tripod legs make the contacts. I'm getting great SWR and making contacts with the 891. Thanks for that tip!

[@FukWit.]

That was awesome 👍

[@ChristopherG-K6CMG]

Awesome. Thanks.

[@stuartoberdeen1793]

Michael, Thanks. I made one today. I folded the two ends over about 2" and installed 1/2" grommets at the corners. Then I found the center and installed 2 large outer diameter washers and secured them with a screw and 3rd washer. An automotive ring terminal is used at each end of the ground wire. I like your spring clamp idea, and I may switch mine out.

[@jrmcdowe]

I was camping last week near Demopolis, Al. There was a ham there using one of these with great success. Think I'll try it out myself. Great video, thanks.

[@williamcoarsey5222]

Thanks for the great video.

[@RexTheDane]

I started to use 4' x 16' hog panel for radials. It has been very successful on my WRC 1000. Testing DX Commander this weekend. Great video.

[@emfremedy]

Yep. Used hog panels under a dipole for 40m years ago.

[@sphexes]

I can't wait to try this! That's for yet again, another great idea

[@gerufish]

I'm going to try this with my portable antenna. This is a GREAT! idea. GREAT! video.

[@DisVietVetUSA]

Nice presentation

[@jacobaccurso]

Excellent!

[@N2YTA]

I'm going the try that. Thanks for the video.

[@mandwkirby2116]

Good video Michael!!

[@DevinAWhiting]

You are bringing the good information out.articulatedbvery well

[@slwahl]

I gave this a try with some backyard portable. I used a WRC tripod, an MFJ-1979 expandable whip, and a 36"x 72" roll of aluminum screen. I checked the SWR on several different bands. Here are the minimums: 10-meter 1.17, 12-meter 1.02, 15-meter 1.18, 17-meter 1.2, 20-meter 1.08, 40-meter 1.7. The results were fairly flat across the bands with the exception of the 40-meter band. I'm looking forward to a field test the next time I do a POTA activation.

[@KB9VBRAntennas]

Those are great numbers and I'm sure the screen will work great for you. I'm starting to hear lots of excellent results from others using the screen in the field.

[@davewhite7679]

Those are great numbers. Keep in mind that when you are adjusting a 1/4 wave vertical, there is a slight difference between antenna resonance and a 1:1 VSWR (50 ohms). A 1/4 wave vertical is actually about 37 ohms at resonance, so the VSWR at true resonance will likely be close to 1.3:1. KZ9V

[@brianwalter7907]

I always liked your videos but this is the one that made me decide to subscribe. How interesting and fun! Now I want to try it too. Thanks for all you do.

[@KB9VBRAntennas]

Thank you for your support. It's greatly appreciated.

[@mariemccann5895]

Awesome.

[@brianbishop505]

Thanks!

[@KB9VBRAntennas]

Thank you for your support. I really appreciate it.

[@Forevertrue]

SO cool. RIghteous.

[@LA6NCA]

This is wise. I've thought about capacitive coupling to ground before, but haven't gotten around to testing it yet. Thanks for the great video on that. 73 de LA6NCA

[@AzPauly]

this is interesting and timely..I have a HF mobile (Alpha Moto) antenna mounted on a canoe rack on my fiberglass campershell of which i just mounted a wire mesh on the underneath of the shell 4x6' also grounded to vehicle frame.. haven't tested yet but feel I'm on the right track.. thanks for the video.

[@maxspears6030]

Old school USA genius. I had just asked Higher Power about this topic earlier today. Appreciate your testimony. #Subscribed

[@elkabong6429]

Pretty cool!

[@NC1F_Matt]

I activated 5 local parks yesterday using this setup, but with two window screens for a larger and more square footprint. It worked great! So quick and easy to put up and take down. 20m has been rough pretty much all week and I got slightly better results with this setup than the arrangements I used earlier in the week. I did find that different parks (different underlying ground conditions) seem to want different arrangements of chokes for best results, but I am far from an expert. I just used what seem to work best at that park, at that time. I also use one of those swooper flag bases for the weight of it. Things often get pretty windy around my neck of the woods... Or beach, as the case may be... For less than 20 bucks, it is worth trying and seeing if it is practical for you. I'm instantly a fan after yesterday.

[@KB9VBRAntennas]

That's awesome, thanks for the update. I'm hearing excellent reports from others, too. So the screen does work great in the field.

[@davewhite7679]

The same can be said for traditional wire radials lying on the ground. There are always slight impedance variations based on the underlying ground composition and moisture content.🙂 KZ9V

[@SoupyOatmeal]

That segment where you are in the park you were getting out. Some of those calling stations were stepping all over each other trying to get back to you. That was fun to hear. Once a long time ago I use to have a station that did that all the time.

[@DIT123456]

Consider using some orange cones, both as weights and to help cars avoid parking on/near your antenna. Great demonstration.

[@usernamemykel]

"Pylons"

[@JimV-gt4og]

Great video! I did this yesterday at a POTA in Connecticut and made 140 contacts on 20 meters. 2 in Italy and 1 in the Netherlands. SWR was 1.4 on my ft-891. Pict of setup is on my QRZ page. Again, great video! 73, KC1PIV

[@davewhite7679]

Since the theoretical impedence of a resonant quarter wave vertical is 37 ohms, your 1.4:1 SWR is pretty much right on the money.👍 KZ9V

[@ugsisr]

I worked with Unattended Ground Sensors that were buried for concealment. Most of these devices operated between 138 to 153 MHz, FSK Modulation @ 2 watts to deliver a 29 to 36 Bit message in 30 Millisecond pulse. The Antennas were Piano Wire Thin, 19'', Made from Beryllium Copper, also made for concealment. In certain locations dependent of the geologic makeup we had no problems with transmissions reaching either a repeater or monitor being used. However!! In areas where I did have problems with TX to RX when burying the sensor we would slide a piece 2 inch piece of insulator over the antenna and then slide an 8'' x 8 '' piece of copper screen over the Antenna before burying. It solved our transmission problems in many areas... When it comes to UGS you do not pick the area, the situation does. so you have to make it work... So I can see how your Screen works Great and I appreciate your video. I am Retired now and just passed my Technician Test this week'.. so looking around these videos.... Take care and Thank You

[@Berzdex]

I like using WSPR to test antennas too! I use it casually from my mobile phone with acoustic coupling. I set the transceiver to VOX and place the mic next to the phone. Then I trigger the app. Bingo! It's fascinating to see my 5 watts reported by stations monitoring from wherever the antenna reaches under the current conditions. Great for comparing different antennas and setups.

[@davewhite7679]

Yes, WSPR is a terrific tool for antenna tests using very low power. I used just 1 watt for this video and easily garnered 50+ signal reports from all across the U.S. KZ9V

[@timking2194]

Great video

[@softstart100]

😊 excellent video, thanks for the great info on the screen ground plane. I will differently give it a go.

[@edvac1]

Awesome!!!! Thank you. We are setting up a nearly identical system with a large wolf river coil and a telescoping 17 foot antenna. Really appreciate your efforts !!!!! 73 Dave WA7AXT

[@nealbeach4947]

I tested this years ago with a 4BTV mounted on a metal roof. Awesome.

[@lawrence3242]

I also research the article you pointed out. This may be the answer I am looking for. I had to take my antenna down I had 12 radials on my vertical that sat on top my patio roof. The HOA was not pleased. Maybe just a flat piece of screen laying on the roof as the counter poise will satisfy them. I’ll let you know. Thanks again.

[@alanslade2319]

Just wanted to say bloody brilliant stuff, I'm into ssb , but I've looking for moving to ham radio, thanks again Alan from ENGLAND 👍

[@KH6WI]

Awesome video! Thanks for putting this together and doing the WSPR tests to back it up! For 15m, it was probably just going really long and skipping over most hunters.

[@KB9VBRAntennas]

I think your right. Plus on a Thursday afternoon when I did the activation not many people were listening on that band.

[@larkasojourn4849]

You’re AWESOME 😎

[@tinynhhouse5467]

I did something similar on 11 meters. I had a 3'x4' piece of metal roofing which I put on the ground next to my 102" whip antenna. My SWR dropped to around 1.2 with the metal roofing. My previous SWR was 2.5 with one radial. The window screen is a lot easier to carry around! Great video. 73 - KB1YRF

[@soeffner6833]

I used a grommet kit to set grommets in the corners and some cheap tent stakes to deploy. Works well. Thnx for the vid

[@davewhite7679]

I like that idea.👍 KZ9V

[@bobr6555]

@@davewhite7679 I've used four small orange witches' hats so they are both corner weights and safety warnings. I've worked from VK4 into Europe and USA etc mainly on 20m and 15m, same whip, a 9:1 unun and a mAT30 tuner for my FT891, ditto mAT tuner on my IC7300.

[@KeepEvery1Guessing]

This will be fun to try. I'll be interested to hear how the screen ages. I vaguely remember an old report that with chicken wire, wire to wire conductivity goes away over time, presumably due to oxidation between the wires. That report was also for a permanent installation, so there was plenty of weather exposure to support corrosion. With the portable regularly redeployed application, the corrosion might get scrubbed off as part of the unrolling/re-rolling process. You also have way more contact points than with chicken wire. I've also got some parks with rock ledge here in New Hampshire, thus very low ground conductivity, where it would be good to repeat the screen versus radial tests.

[@KB9VBRAntennas]

Chicken wire will corrode if buried or left on the ground for an extended period of time. If you want to use a screen on a permanent install, most people recommend something with welded wire connections. For temporary and portable use, the window screen is fine. It will take a very long to oxidize to the point that it provides a poor ground connection. By then I can replace it with a new piece of screen.

[@alalan3735]

Might depend on if it's made of steel or Aluminum. Rolling it up and putting it in a tube when not in use, could help.

[@joefish6091]

In one of the Marconi magazines from,1925 maybe, they give details of one of the tropical radio relay stations and howe its antenna counterpoise is constructed, they have five miles of buried copper cable in a mesh with a one meter spacing, welded at every intersection, it also enters a nearby lake.

[@Tailfeatherz]

Just like the top of a vehicle. You get much better non directional signal reception with a mag mount in the center of the vehicle roof. I discovered this in the 80's with hf antennas.

[@larryqueipo9741]

Thanks for the video Michael. I have a Wolf River antenna that I haven't had a chance to use the field yet. One of my concerns is stretching the gound wires out in a public area. The screen idea seen like a great solution to my dilemma. W2GJF

[@markk7mwj37]

Michael, I always enjoy your videos and the sharing of fun, easy things to try. Go figure, I just bought a 500' roll of bright orange-coated wire to make radial packs. I think I'd rather try this instead spending the time laying out the 24 radials I was going to make! I also will take along a handful of ground cloth staples to keep the screen from crawling around. One thing I didn't in this video was a beer!🍺

[@KB9VBRAntennas]

Glad you found it helpful. My latest video has both the screen and a beer in it: kzbin.info/www/bejne/sILQiaeVocZsm80

[@danthemyth]

Thank you for this video and many others! They have increased my confidence and knowledge as an operator. I was super exited about this setup for small footprint POTA activation. I picked up an aluminum screen this morning and made a counterpoise jumper similar to yours. I'm using a camera tripod, the WRC tripod/antenna plate, a Shark 20M hamstick, and a 36x84" aluminum screen. I was able to get to < 1.5 SWR across 20M SSB with this setup. One interesting note: I found that my SWR went way up when my feed line, 25' RG8X coax, was laying on the screen. When the feed line contacts the ground a couple feet from the screen, the SWR goes back down. It would be interesting to know if anyone else has noted a similar phenomenon. Hopefully this helps another experimenter.

[@KB9VBRAntennas]

I think what's happening is that your coax laying on the screen is inducing common mode currents which is increasing your SWR. I haven't witnessed this yet, but I try to orient my coax so that it minimizes contact with the screen.

[@bradenglettkd8zm69]

I always wondered how a mesh would work. Thank you.

[@brazilianguy]

Excellent video! Keep them going! 73

[@david_W5QDF]

Interesting idea to use for SOTA also 📻🎧

[@mikemiles3068]

Great video Michael, and it definitely works quite well. 73 KV5P

[@K9CHP]

Nice video and idea! I like the way you tested it. My version, I use 4 cheap Harbor Freight tape measures as radials. Easy to deploy, take less packing space than wire mesh. Need to check effectiveness though. SWR numbers are good.

[@cstevenson1234]

That's hilarious and ingenious! Please shoot over a reply once you've tested effectiveness!

[@juanv305]

Can you show a pik? Curious about this

[@joseneves2822]

So no more radials, indeed a very interesting solution Thanks for sharing / 73

[@SoulStarLA]

Michael, I kept waiting for you to jump on the carpet and start flying around.

[@PeterJavea]

I tried using the silver windscreen sun blocker that many use when parking in the sun. I was using 4w CB, and the SWR was low. I then used a 6x3' piece of 1"×1" galvanised welded fence and it wasn't good I learn a lot from doing my own experiments

[@earnestmatlock9694]

That screen works, I'm going to try that with my 10 meter vertical.

[@shartne]

I like it.

[@nunyabiznez3584]

Great idea! Thanks for testing the theory in the real world. 73

[@theramblingsoflarry9290]

I had a small back yard in Ak and one year I put out chicken wife fence I got buried under the grass. It worked great

[@jvanb231]

I'm having good low swr values just using 3 tape measure radials, the wolf river coils tripod and the 17' mfj telescoping whip -- no coil needed at all for 20-10. The radials only need to be as long as what fits on my very small patio.

[@1crazynordlander]

I have always wondered about steel grain bin roofs. There are a ton of these steel bins going to the salvage yards. They are conical shaped and when disassembled then laid flat on the ground would resemble a windmill fan. I would think this would work as an excellent field of radials for a vertical antenna but of course for a permanent installation. I am going to try this someday in my farm yard. Not the best for portable as It would probably get the attention of a park ranger in a POTA setting…

[@davewhite7679]

That should work great for a permanent installation, and it will probably last forever. KZ9V

[@jpouellette695]

Ground grids are used all the time to facilitate and help dissipation. I imagine it helps with making TX not radiate locally to instead dissipate in the ground. Not necessarily help propagation. Interesting concept in helping matching the impedance. .

[@jpoconnor5744]

No one mentioned the author of the 1977 article. None other than Rob Sherwood of Sherwood Engineering and his famous receiver test list. So often, “new” ideas are old ideas. And it was an old idea even then! Great video and great idea! Thanks!

[@KB9VBRAntennas]

Yes, you are correct. A link to the magazine article can be found in the video description.

[@AmatureHAM]

Hi Mike, I watched this video about a month ago and built the same aluminum screen ground plane. I found it works very well and in fact was able to contact you 2-23-24 on this same set up from central Texas. Even though the bands sucked today it was a good trial for the “magic carpet”. I modified my set up by stapling a narrow strip of wood to the each end of the screen. It serves to hold it down and to make rolling it up easier. 73 KA5DAH David in Waco.

[@KB9VBRAntennas]

I'm glad to get you in the log on the 23rd. I was running the same setup that day: 1/4 wave vertical and the aluminum window screen ground.

[@turtlecreek4633]

Good thought Dave! Nice field demo Michael! 73 w3rrm