Mobile Antenna Help

[Glen Zook]

Actually, aluminum is virtually as good as copper when
used for this purpose.  However, aluminum is
CONSIDERABLY cheaper than copper these days.  Remember
that r.f. travels along the surface of the conductor
and not through cross sectional area.  Also, most
antennas (other than wire types) are made from
aluminum and they work very well.

You can get aluminum "flashing" in widths from like 4
inches to a couple of feet at just about any home
improvement center.  Just look in the roofing section
since "flashing" is used by roofers extensively.

Glen, K9STH


--- "Jim Bromley, K7JEB" <k7jeb at COX.NET> wrote:

Here's my $0.02 worth:  You need a low-inductance
connection from the base of the antenna (the shield of
the coax) to the car-body metal closest to "real"
ground.  In most cases, this would be the automobile
frame.  By 'low-inductance' I am talking about a piece
of copper strap 4 inches wide.  If you want to use
aluminum, I would double the width.  You would be
ahead of the game if you had several of the these
ground straps, say one on each side and one in the
back. This would reduce the inductance between the
feedpoint of your antenna and "real" ground even more.









Glen, K9STH

Website:  http://k9sth.com


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