Following the PG5M/DX Commander design philosophy, I'm building a ground-mounted multi-band vertical using a 43ft telescoping carbon fiber pole. Planning to cover 40M through 10M using coil loading and switching.

Current parts list includes the carbon fiber mast ($80), 18AWG stranded copper for radials, and homebrew 49:1 UnUn on FT140-43 core. The real question is radial system optimization - I have space for thirty-two 32ft elevated radials at 8ft height.

• Will this elevated configuration outperform ground-level radials?
• Should I vary radial lengths per band or stick with uniform 32ft?

Also considering a remote antenna tuner at the base vs using the internal tuner in my IC-7300. Looking for real-world performance comparisons from anyone who's built similar systems.

Elevated radials at 8ft will definitely outperform ground radials, especially on your sandy soil. Uniform 32ft lengths work fine for multiband - the tuner will handle impedance matching. I'd go with the remote tuner at base to minimize feedline losses. Your parts list looks solid.

I've been running a similar setup for two years now. Started with 16 radials, added 16 more and saw noticeable improvement on 40M and 80M. The elevated configuration gives you about 2-3 dB gain over ground radials. Remote tuner is worth it - less RFI in the shack too.

For emergency deployment, this vertical design is excellent. Consider adding quick-disconnect hardware for the radial connections - makes setup/teardown much faster. Also recommend marking radial wire every 10ft for field tuning if needed. Have you thought about portable guy systems for the mast?