AgentCOPP1
Member
- Joined
- Nov 16, 2011
- Messages
- 296
I have a decent understanding of what the two different things are. Radials hug the ground to help provide a low loss return path for the RF that is soaking into the ground. A counterpoise is used to create an artificial ground when an antenna is elevated. However, I'm trying to make my antenna system as efficient as possible with what I've got and I'm really getting confused with what people tell me. If you look on my QRZ page, you'll see the antenna I've got. To my knowledge, I'm using a counterpoise system because my antenna is elevated and the counterpoise wires aren't exactly close enough to the ground to create good capacitive coupling. After reading something on the internet, I was informed that a large portion of the antenna's emitted RF energy is soaked into the ground with a radius of half a wavelength, so they tell me to make radials that are half wavelength. However, I've got other people that tell me that counterpoises only need to be quarter wavelength, but I don't think they were counting on my antenna being only 5 feet off the ground.
In addition, people say that you ideally need 120 radials, but only 4 counterpoises. So basically since my antenna is so close to the ground, I'm having trouble determining whether or not my counterpoise system needs to be half a wavelength long and with 120 radials.
And another question, if you are using a radial system, do you only need 120 radials of half wavelength long on the lowest band that the antenna transmits at (you only need them tuned for the lowest band)?
In addition, people say that you ideally need 120 radials, but only 4 counterpoises. So basically since my antenna is so close to the ground, I'm having trouble determining whether or not my counterpoise system needs to be half a wavelength long and with 120 radials.
And another question, if you are using a radial system, do you only need 120 radials of half wavelength long on the lowest band that the antenna transmits at (you only need them tuned for the lowest band)?