[Antennas] Half-Square Antenna - The Saga Continues

[Billy Cox]

>If this antenna is to be understood as a form of two phased verticals, 
>would one not expect the center conductor to be connected to one of the 
>verticals and the braid connected to the flat top "phasing line"?
> 
>Or does it make any difference at all?

With the proper decoupling of the feedline from the antenna <and as
I recall, several of the authors mention this IS an important piece> it
should not matter ... the 0.25w sections of wire do the radiating, the
0.5w section is more of the phasing line/transmission line which then
connects to the other 0.25w vertical.  

The caution here is that if the feedline radiates, then the pattern
and respective gain/F-B will likely suffer. 

There's the rub with the feeding of this array in the top corner ... you
need to be able to run the feedline away at 90 degrees from the vertical 
element, or as one author suggested, at least try to come away at a 
45 degree angle in respect to the vertical sections. 

Otherwise ... it may still "work" ... but the SWR/performance/etc. may 
be less than what you had hoped for. 

CQ magazine also had an article for a 17m Half Square several
years ago ... I tried that, and it worked OK until I put up the WARC
yagi here. Pretty simple design, hung between two trees, with the 
coax running away from the feedpoint and back toward the tree for 
a distance, used a simple 1:1 balun at the feedpoint as I recall ...

73 Billy AA4NU