I think Tom, W8JI's main concern with the K2AV was the unbalanced nature of the feedpoint, due to the short electrical length of the FCP counterpoise system. His observation was that lengthening the counterpoise to make it resonant would reduce feedpoint voltages. I think his points were that he felt the FCP was not a magic bullet, but he never said the system did not work.
All I know is that my soil is extremely poor. My K9AY loop array would NOT show any directivity until I added four ground radials with additional ground rods at the ends! Thus, I would wonder how many on ground radials would be needed to equal the performance of my FCP? Second point, any radials would require placing the vertical radiator in the middle of an area with large oak and hickory trees, increasing losses. Everyone's ground conductivity is different. I would think it would be difficult to equate the performance of a minimal radial field based on individual observations. K2AV's consistent contest scores certainly offer some validity to the effectiveness of his system. Pete W1BR _________________ Searchable Archives: http://www.contesting.com/_topband - Topband Reflector
