DECEMBER 30, 2018

Phase II: Phased Verticals in Salt Marsh

 

Phasing Box & Ground Pipe

We now initiate the second phase of the saltwater marsh experiments: phased verticals! We removed the reference vertical from the deck, along with its radial system, so that both can be installed in the salt marsh 60˚ to the northeast of the experimental vertical. A pole was machined to accept the brackets used to foot the second vertical, and a PVC tube was procured to support the relay box. Branches with "Y" junctions collected from the local woods and stuck into the mud serve as an environmentally-friendly means of supporting the feedline and DC control cable above the water at high tide. The vertical base support was driven into the mud 34.4 feet away from the experimental vertical, with the remote relay post sited halfway between the two.

Phase II: Verticals in Salt Marsh
Support poles installed.

Work performed in the marsh this afternoon was prematurely curtailed because the high tide caused problems navigating in the muck underfoot, necessitating the donning of waders. Upon my return to the shack at 1:30 PM, Europeans running modest stations were booming in. I listended to them on the house speakers while dismantling the reference vertical out on the deck, and retrieving the radials I had so nonchalantly cast out a few, short weeks ago.