At 10:56 AM 5/21/03 -0400, you wrote:
>Actually the screwdriver is a center-loaded antenna. The coil is exposed
between the base tube (the bottom half of the radiator) and the "stinger"
whip above it (the top half of the radiator). Inefficient as it is, mine
has been good for 25 countries on Top Band the past year -- including VK3
and several Europeans with just 100 watts.
Congratulations on the mobile DX.
Maybe I'm missing something, but with all commercial screwdriver antennas
out there the top (whip) section is significantly longer than the base
section. That makes the antenna more base loaded than center loaded, and
consequently that much less efficient.
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