Mike, W6MAB wrote:

> Sometime during the Vietnam war I wandered into a surplus store in Hawthorne, CA, and there hanging on the wall was a

> very realistic plastic palm tree, about 3 ft tall, with a BNC connector where the roots should have been.? What was

> that all about?? Never seen one since or heard anything about its use. Classified program????

Here's a photo of my "cactus antenna" purchased at a surplus store in Milwaukee a couple decades ago. Or maybe it is meant to look like an aloe plant.

http://www.wd8das.net/Cactus-aloe.JPG

I added the BNC connector for ease of testing and experimentation - I think the original connector was missing when I bought it.

Based on the shape, I assumed it was a ground plane but I've not confirmed that. I should put an antenna analyzer on it and see where it is resonant. I think when I originally tried it out I did not have that kind of test equipment.

Steve WD8DAS

sbjohnston@aol.com
http://www.wd8das.net/

http://af4k-crystals.com

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