[TowerTalk] Expected VSWR of antenna near the ground

[K7LXC at aol.com]

>  It is a waste of time checking an antenna near the ground.  About the 
only
thing you can determine is if the coax is connected. You need  to pull it
up at least 30' high.
 
    Yes, 30' high is a truer picture of the antenna  resonance (which is 
probably the number of greatest interest) but I ALWAYS put  an antenna 
analyzer on an antenna on the ground. What I'm looking for is that it  looks like 
an antenna; that is, it has a dip somewhere. No dip? Something's  wrong. 
 
    A dip shows that it acts like an antenna.  Where is resonates is 
typically below the band due to added ground capacity but  that's what you'd 
expect. So if it resonates below the band, it looks like an  antenna and 
resonates around where it should. 
 
    Actual resonance is shown when it's up in the air  but it's never an 
empty test to do it when it's on the ground. 
 
Cheers,
Steve    K7LXC
TOWER TECH