Here's another fascinating HF vertical antenna from Australian radio amateur Peter Parker (VK3YE).
In this video we see how short HF vertical antenna can get a performance boost with a bit of top loading and a decent ground plane.
In Peter's case, the ground component was enhanced by its proximity to a nearby expanse of ocean water...there's nothing quite like salt water for improving the performance of an HF vertical antenna.
If you can't see the video, please insert this title URL into your browser search box: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P7lxt8EatDw.
Thanks for joining us today.
Aloha es 73 de Russ (KH6JRM).
Here are some comments from Peter (VK3YE):
Don't have much height but have something metal underneath? If so a top loaded vertical is a great antenna to try. Just 10 metres wide and 5 metres tall it will even load up on 3.5 MHz. Especially if you're over salt water, you're unlikely to get anything better for its size.
The key items needed include wire, two poles, a simple antenna coupler (an L-match is fine), something to clip onto the counterpoise railing and a ground tuning unit. I'll probably describe a more refined version later but it comprises a variable capacitor in series with an inductor. It's also desirable to have an RF current indicator.
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Transcript
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