[Antennas] Re: Elavated Ground planes

[Mick]

Hi guys,
    As I have a small yard around my house l am looking at building a multi
band trap vertical and mounting it on the house roof (with nylon guy  wires)
and was going to use the large Iron roof as a ground plane. The roof is
rectangular in shape so would think that the radiation patton will also be
elongated. A question  I would like to ask the list is should I run wires
from the roof down to earth points around the house ,and if so how many or
can I just rely on the 4 metal down pipes ( that carry  the water from the
roof to the drainage system) to serve the same purpose.
Thanks Michael Harley,
Curator "The Radio Shack", Caboolture Historical village, Brisbane
Australia.