I’ve spent quite a bit of time reading, building and wondering about vertical antennas. I’ve raised them and I’ve lowered them. I’ve tried 1/4, 1/2 and 5/8 wave.
All things considered, it don’t matter just a whole lot really what antenna you use once you’re off the ground. On the ground or at low heights it matters but once you clear about 40ft they all start to pull in and act about the same.
I know everyone is gonna whine and claim their super penetrator or their imax is special but truth is I just don’t buy it. Each might model some little quirk at 2 degrees difference or so but that’s just number manipulation based on ground effects or some choke or some plated platinum aluminum snake oil.
Way back when I had an a99 then I bought the ground kit and then I did this and that. All because I had read in a copper catalog that it was the berries. It never did anything substantial but I thought it was better. Fast forward years and I kept reading and trying. Never really gaining any substantive gains. A little here and there. Not much.
I’ve finally settled that a simple dipole is prob the best if you can crank it up in the air. If you can’t get it up very high then snake oil it is and just keep buying into all the hype and maybe you’ll see some differences. Maybe you’ll imagine some.
All things considered, it don’t matter just a whole lot really what antenna you use once you’re off the ground. On the ground or at low heights it matters but once you clear about 40ft they all start to pull in and act about the same.
I know everyone is gonna whine and claim their super penetrator or their imax is special but truth is I just don’t buy it. Each might model some little quirk at 2 degrees difference or so but that’s just number manipulation based on ground effects or some choke or some plated platinum aluminum snake oil.
Way back when I had an a99 then I bought the ground kit and then I did this and that. All because I had read in a copper catalog that it was the berries. It never did anything substantial but I thought it was better. Fast forward years and I kept reading and trying. Never really gaining any substantive gains. A little here and there. Not much.
I’ve finally settled that a simple dipole is prob the best if you can crank it up in the air. If you can’t get it up very high then snake oil it is and just keep buying into all the hype and maybe you’ll see some differences. Maybe you’ll imagine some.
