[TowerTalk] Temporary 160 meter antenna question

[Jim Brown]

On Fri, 04 Aug 2006 21:01:46 -0500, K4SAV wrote:

>Feeding it as a tee without a good ground will work better, but 
>you will light up all your equipment.  

Again, the word "ground" is poorly chosen and confusing. Earth, 
indeed, is not a necessary element of the antenna.  A far better 
word is "counterpoise" -- that is, some conductive 
wire/plane/body that serves as a "return" for antenna current 
and, hopefully, lowers the total loss component of the antenna's 
impedance. Depending on the geometry and dimensions of the 
counterpoise, the field that the counterpoise radiates will 
contribute positively and negatively to the total radiation of 
the antenna in various directions, and its interaction with the 
field of the main antenna wire will help determine the total 
vertical and horizontal radiation pattern. 

The bottom line is, the MORE copper (or other conductive 
material) in the counterpoise, the better, whether its more short 
radials or a few longer ones. 

73,

Jim Brown K9YC