[Isaac Zachary]

Originally Posted by freebeard

It's been like a half-century since I studied electronics, but IIRC the antenna can be amplified by a ground plane. Like the roof of your car.

Originally Posted by freebeard

Nobody is addressing this point. The examples I gave are fixed. Here's how we dd it back in the day:


https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?....&ipo=images

If the antenna mount is at the rear of the boat tail, 8.5ft would come to where? The windshield header?

An ideal ground plane would be to put the antenna right in the middle of the roof. Putting it at the rear of the car would be a compromise as it would have less "amplification" (gain) towards the rear.

But it all depends on what is trying to be achieved here. How much of a compromise? A shorter antenna can also be a compromise.