[BC] Franklin MW Antenna Ground Unneeded?

[Cowboy]

On Monday 05 December 2011 09:41:02 am Richard Fry wrote:
>  Possibly that might related to thinking 
> that, as a 180/180 Franklin is fed across an insulator 1/2 way up the 
> structure, it must operate similar to a center-fed dipole -- and a dipole is 
> a balanced radiator not needing/using an r-f ground to produce its gain and 
> pattern.

 Even if that were true, there remains the issue of inducing RF currents
 into everything in proximity.
 Warming up the dirt, ( lossy ground ) or working against a lossless
 ( or near lossless ) ground plane, whatever it is, in addition to
 reflections from that ground plane.

 Even a horizontal true have wave doublet is mitigated by reflections
 from ground.
 Verticals are considered to be affected up to the whole thing
 being mounted 7 wavelengths or more above ground.
 I know of no Franklin mounted 7 wavelengths above ground !

 Very few antennae exist in free space.


-- 
Cowboy