If you have several AM towers closely grouped together, that is a
directional antenna array, which does use a different grounding system,
although I don't remember how it looks.

Since KFI is a clear-channel, non-directional station, it only has a single
tower, and does have the radial system I described. Perhaps I should have
been more clear about that.

Perhaps they now allow buildings on top of the buried radials, but I know it
was not common practice when I was in the broadcast business. The radials
eventually corrode and have to be replaced, which would be an extremely
expensive process if you had to knock down a bunch of buildings before you
did it.

If you are living that close to a tower, I would take a close look at my
deed to make sure there isn't an easement for the radials, allowing them to
do whatever to your house in order to replace them.

And I would also have somebody check out your house with an RF signal
strength meter; people worry about a 5 watt (or whatever) cell phone frying
their brain, just imagine what 50,000 watts is doing to you and your
family...




"Peter Duniho" wrote in message
...
"JohnMcGrew" wrote in message
...
[...] The ground system consists of a series of wires, buried
underground, each the length of the tower, and located at 10 degree
(IIRC)
radials emanating from the tower base. [...]
with each radial the same length as the tower.

I don't know where you got this from. If you look at the arial pictures
of the
KFI tower, you'll find that it is barely 100 feet away from industrial
buildings.

I don't know where he got it either. We live right next door to several
tall AM transmitting towers (at least three, maybe four...I'm too lazy to
go
look out the window and refresh my memory), all of which are taller than
the
distance between the antennas and our house (and dozens of other houses
around them too).

Maybe some AM towers have the radiating underground wires, but clearly not
all do.