On Fri,12/26/2014 1:30 PM, Bruce A. Clark wrote:
Not true. Maybe you are thinking of Dipoles, Yagi etc.
I am thinking about TX antennas in general, especially those that are end fed. The earth, in general is lossy, so it burns power. That's why we use radials or some form of counterpoise instead.
Almost anything works as well as a signal return for RX, even a ground rod. For our contest station in Bonnaire, for example, which is sort of like volcanic rock, we used a 30-ft ft piece of wire laying on the ground to terminate our Beverages. They heard quite well.
73, Jim K9YC _________________ Topband Reflector Archives - http://www.contesting.com/_topband
