On 6/27/2026 1:41 PM, Dan Bookwalter via Topband wrote:
ok , this isn't a topband question , but , you guys will have better advice
than anywhere else..
so , I am in a very compromised situation , I live in a double , we have an
elevated wood deck, combined both sides of the deck is 45x22. what i am
thinking is a Hustler 6BTV out at the edge of the deck , the base will be about
15' above ground.
Hi Dan,
About 15 years ago, I gave a talk on Getting On 160M From a Small Lot.
It's mostly about counterpoise systems. None of it is my original work,
all is great stuff from others. It includes MANY approaches for very
limited real estate.
A connection to earth does NOT make a transmitting antenna work better,
but it's quite necessary for lightning protection. So is every part of
the ground system for our home and station. I've also done talks on that.
There are slides (as a pdf) for both on my website. k9yc.com/publish.htm
A VERY important point about short antennas -- base-loading, in the form
of a loading coil is the absolute worst way to do it. FAR better is top
loading. Something like a vertical pole, fed from the base, with wires
running horizontally from the top. The diameter of those wires doesn't
matter much. Like radials, more is better. The problem with base loading
coils is that current is maximum there, near zero at the far end.
Current through a wire is what makes EM radiation, but current in a coil
does NOT radiate, but current distribution is determined by the open end
of the antenna. So current has fallen off a lot by the time it gets to
the top of the loading coil.
There was a GREAT two-part piece in QEX about this that included the
theoretical development, extensive experimental work building antennas
with loading at various points of short antennas, and careful
measurement of the resulting field strength. One of the things it showed
is that NEC does NOT properly model what actually happens.
73, Jim K9YC
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