[TowerTalk] Sherwood ground screen

[Jim Brown]

On Mon, 15 Jun 2009 09:18:26 -0400, CRAIG CLARK wrote:

>May 1977 Ham Radio Magazine

>http://www.sherweng.com/documents/GroundScreen-sm.pdf


Thanks for the link, Craig. While I agree with the author's premise 
that the ground screen provides capacitive coupling to the earth, I 
do NOT agree that the capacitive connection is what makes the 
antenna work better. Rather, the screen is simply a practical 
equivalent/alternative to ground-mounted radials and providing a lot 
of conductive metal close to the feedpoint. Indeed, the author has 
accidentally discovered what N6LF and others have long been saying 
-- radials on the ground do not need to be resonant, they simply 
need to provide a lower resistance path than the earth, and that 
copper near the antenna is far more important than at a greater 
distance from the tower. 

73,

Jim Brown K9YC