Topband: Effect of Ground on a Dipole

[Roger Kennedy]

I've been reading all the technical stuff about Ground Conductivity with
interest . . .

As many of you will be aware, unlike most Topband DXers, I have always used
a Horizontal Half-wave Dipole.

Something that always amazed me was when I lived down South I did a load of
comparisons between my 160m dipole at 50ft, and my friend G3SED's dipole at
100ft.  You would think his signal would be FAR stronger with DX . . . but
reports were typically exactly the same!  (we did this on SSB, back when
conditions were better . . . so easy to get proper comparison reports -
often in a Net with several US stations in different parts of the country)

I'm thinking that if the actual Ground Conductivity is as poor as the posted
figures say, maybe the actual height of a Dipole above ground isn't as
significant as people think (as long as it's up in the clear, above all
trees and buildings, which mine was).  This would certainly explain the
results I have obtained.

Roger G3YRO