Dave:

I noted increased signal strength with it on, on both transmit and
receive..

The star didn't touch the "active" side at all.. it was on the shield
side of the equation..

Perhaps the star, being so close to the sheetmetal of the roof (on the
magmount), increased the capacitance, thus increasing the capacitive
grounding, providing a better RF ground. Who knows. I didn't have the
equipment to test for that 10 years ago when I had one I don't now,
either.. All I know is, it did more than look cool.

-SSB

Dave Hall wrote:

Surely you jest. Those little 3 inch "radial" kits were nothing more
than a gimmick. First of all, they were attached to the "active" side
of the antenna, and secondly they were way too small to make any
appreciable affect on signal.

To make any difference, it would have to provide a counterpoise which
was greater than the surface area of the car the antenna was attached
to.

I've known people who ran them, and other than look cool, they did
nothing for them........

Dave
"Sandbagger"