antennas

The All-Important Countrpoise

KENT BRITAIN

The quarter-wave whip is a horrible non-functional antenna! OK, that should kick my email system into overdrive. To be more precise, a 1/4-wave antenna without a counterpoise is a horrible non-functional antenna. In Photo A, I show a small transmitter with a 1/4-wave whip (top photo). I am always amazed how people can build a transmitter about the size of a postage stamp and call that little PCB their ground plane. Nope! In reality, you need something about 1/2-by-1/2 wavelength. And bigger is better. In Photo B, you see a properly sized 2-meter ground plane. In this case, it’s the roof of my van, and things have been so hectic I still haven’t unloaded it since Dayton / Xenia! What About a Half-Wave? You would think that a 1/2-wave whip…

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CQ Amateur Radio (Digital) - 1 Issue, August 2022

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