On 4/1/2021 6:40 PM, List Mail wrote:
An inverted-L should give you some better local station performance, which some like to have for Contesting, as well as useful low-angle performance.
This is one of those urban myths with a grain of truth. The greatest radiation is from the part of the antenna carrying the greatest current, which for the inv-L is at the base. The grain of truth is that if it isn't very tall (as a fraction of a quarter-wave), there will be more current in more horizontal wire, increasing the high angle radiation.
In general,for ground-mounted vertical with a low feedpoint impedance, efficiency is directly related to the ratio of the radiation resistance to the effective resistance of the counterpoise, usually radials. And radiation resistance is a function of vertical height.
The thing about antennas is that we're all limited by skyhooks, real estate, sometimes other constraints like rules of a homeowner's ass'n. I have many very tall trees and I can afford to hire climbers to rig anything I want, so I have a Tee, about 100 ft.
73, Jim K9YC _________________ Searchable Archives: http://www.contesting.com/_topband - Topband Reflector
