[TowerTalk] snow static, Quad v. Yagi

[Tom Rauch]

> I was talking to a ham last night about this thread and he
is also an
> avid gas model airplane flyer.  He says when he was
younger that he used
> to use steel wires for control cables. Those wires were
about 60-70ft
> long. When storms were approaching he noticed that flying
the plane at
> four or five feet above the ground was no problem but when
he took the
> plane up to 50-60ft to perform loops, etc., a charge would
build up on
> the pair of wires and zapp the pilot operator's hand.  SO,
perhaps this
> is another practical proof that the gradient is real and
measurable (?)!

That's very true. My 300 ft high 160 dipole will charge
enough to knock me on my butt in a slight breeze on a dry
day!

Not so with low antennas, no matter how long they are.

Another good reason why high antennas have more corona in
bad wx than low antennas. I'm getting a taste for Mexican
beer.

73 Tom