A number of articles analyzed 160m verticals by simulation. Once the height was lambda/8 and the number of radials >= 16 (buried) or >=4 (elevated), the difference in gain was at most a few db.
I operated the 2017 Stew contest from a northern beach of St George Island, FL. The antenna was inv L about 55 ft vertical and 90 ft horizontal,. with one 70ft radial elevated 5 ft. The performance was astounding. EU was heard one hr before the sunset, in bright sun..During the contest, EU were only slightly weaker than the US. A special point was easily working a DL with 100W while a well known contester using high power 100 miles inland could not work it. So it seemed that the salt-water enhancement was like 15 db, not a few. I wonder whether simulations are inaccurate with respect to radials/soil type or is salt water special? Ignacy, NO9E _________________ Searchable Archives: http://www.contesting.com/_topband - Topband Reflector
