[Elecraft] Buddipoles and KX1

[Geoffrey Mackenzie-Kennedy]

David Woolley wrote:

> Craig D. Smith wrote:
>
>> Most everyone I know (including me) who uses the BuddiPole as a vertical
>> uses a single quarter wave elevated radial or counterpoise wire.  This 
>> costs
>
> That could equally be viewed as being a quarter wave, horizontal antenna 
> with a vertical counterpoise.  In free space, the longer of the two would 
> dominate.  Over a good ground, things get more complicated, and I'm not 
> sure I can give a good intuitive analysis

Seemingly a quarter wave vertical with a quarter wave elevated horizontal 
radial was a popular antenna amongst hams in the 1930s, and continued to 
appear in the ARRL Antenna Handbook during the 1940s as the "Up and Out" 
antenna. In those days the antenna was viewed as a halfwave centre fed 
dipole with a 90 degree bend at the centre, although it was also used as a 
multiband antenna I believe. But as you point out things are a bit more 
complicated when the antenna is over ground. Without running a model, which 
might not give accurate results, my instinct suggests that both the length 
and angle of the 'horizontal radial' of a real single band antenna over 
ground might have to be adjusted to obtain a non-reactive feedpoint 
impedance for coax feeder - assuming that the vertical part is an electrical 
quarter wave. During the 1930s and 1940s open wire feeders and antenna 
matching units were of course the norm, which would probably make these 
adjustments to the 'radial' unnecessary.

73,

Geoff
GM4ESD