[TenTec] [OT] Metal Roof as Ground Plane

[Mark Erbaugh]

Since most of my HF equipment is TenTec, there is some tangential
relationship to this list <g>.

I have a 24 by 48 foot metal barn with a metal roof. The peak of the roof is
about 20 feet high. Is there a wait to exploit this structure as a ground
plane for an HF vertical antenna? What kind of performance improvement (if
any) could I expect over the same antenna mounted on the ground. Would I
still need radials?

Currently, I have a Butternut HF6V and a Cushcraft AV5 antenna available. I
also have a Gap Challenger, but I understand that it doesn't use a ground
plane (elevated feed point). Would it be worth trying any of these antennas
on the barn roof?

The ham shack is not in the barn and the barn would not normally be occupied
(it's just storage) when I'm on the air, but would RF exposure inside the
barn be an issue.

73,
Mark

P.S. There's 2 inches of snow on the ground and temps in the 20s and I have
good antennas up now, so this is just a though experiment for later in the
spring.