Great question and I concur with the suggestions of the ARRL Antenna Book
with the software included.
If you really want to get "the most for your buck" then you have to define
what your primary interest is to get that "most". If it is domestic
contesting, for which Texas is an excellent location, then the answers are
different than DX Contesting. If its DXing in general it's a somewhat
different priority especially if the low bands are a priority.
There is no question, over flat terrain, higher is better at the end of the
day for DX work. But for domestic contests, certain heights beat others and
gain becomes an equally important factor I believe as well as multiple
direction flexibility.
For DXing on the low bands, height wins, period.
So if you really want best bang for your buck, try picking a specialty and
devote your answers to it. You can always do the rest off that answer but
you can't have the same solutions be best for your buck. The top signals
you hear on the bands have not tried to maximize best for your buck. They
have multiple antennas for many or all of the above choices and they have
spent many more bucks in order to do so.
Ed N1UR
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