This discussion is getting a bit silly. Verticals over a good ground
plane will outperform most dipoles as hams use them today with little
effort - for DXing. If you want a good antenna for talking a state or
two away, then don't worry, be happy and stick with your dipoles that are
not elevated at 1/4 wave or higher. You don't have to spend megabucks on
a commercial vertical, you can make one out of wire or of pipe. Ground
radials laid on the ground do not need to be 1/4 wave long, and the more
the merrier. I've been using a 42' vertical for 40m (and 80m, and
several other bands) now for 10 months, and it works great. It has no
traps (it's the Butternut HF2V). Since I use it mostly on 40m, I could
have just erected a 1/4 wave of wire or tubing over a similar set of
radials (only 12 of them, should be more) and would have had the same
experience. I'm just getting concerned here that some will start
believing that dipoles do a better job than a vertical. Each has its
assets and liabilities, but each is a fine antenna when built properly
and used for its advantages.
By the way, Butternut distributes a very interesting pamphlet describing
different approaches to vertical antenna design (naturally, defending
their own) that is useful for better understanding of the different
approaches. I highly recommend it.
73, Duane AC5AA
----------------
Duane A. Calvin, AC5AA
ac5aa@juno.com -or- dcalvin@austin.ibm.com
Austin, Texas
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