[600MRG] My Antenna is Freezing

[J Mcvey]

I remember reading in Tesla's Colorado Springs notes that Colorado has some kind of soil that is not very conducive to good grounds  .How about pouring hot saltwater at the ground rod site?  Slide a  a funnel down the rod and pour the salt water in it. You might need several gallons to make difference. You may need to go deeper, too.
Critical ground connections actually use a special kind of salt to ensure low resistance. They put salt in a funnel that gets sucked down with the rod while they are pounding it in the ground.
Ice and/or snow on the wires does affect antenna tuning slightly, but cold alone shouldn't. 

Good luck with Ice station Zebra!
 

    On Thursday, December 7, 2017 9:03 AM, Paul Signorelli <w0rw1 at msn.com> wrote:
 

 What is de-Q'ing my antenna?

Temp went down to 4F last night and my 30 foot vertical (Hung in a tree) was up to

1.7:1 SWR.

I have been retuning the antenna to keep it 'on frequency' but the SWR is going up and the antenna is broader,

(lost Q).

Normally at 40F it is 1.1:1.

I have heated the antenna coil in the past with a 20A AC supply but that didn't change anything, (the antenna coil is outside).

I wacked the vertical antenna wire but there was no frost on it and that didn't change anything.

Is my ground freezing?

Of course it is...

Could I heat my vertical wire by adding a parallel wire?

Paul  w0rw

@ Ice Station Zebra,

Colorado
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