[TowerTalk] Fwd: Insulated elements, Yes - No?

[Jim Brown]

On 8/5/2014 11:42 AM, Stan Stockton wrote:
> Dan/Hans,
>
> I cannot imagine building another antenna with parasitic elements mounted to an aluminum plate with the elements electrically connected to the boom and haven't made one that was connected in over a decade.  FWIW,  I don't think you will find an element on any antenna at W3LPL or K3LR grounded to the boom.

The boom is NOT at ground potential, except at DC.  A better way of 
describing a connection to the boom is "bonded." Bonding to the boom is 
also beneficial for lightning protection.

>   It is certainly easier to model the antennas if they are floating.

The difficulty in modeling is estimating the effective diameter of the 
boom and the mounting plate.

BUT -- if you happen to be loading your tower on 80 or 160, you may 
appreciate the additional top loading of elements bonded to the boom. :)

I'm confident that you know all this stuff, but others may not. :)

73, Jim K9YC