"Bill Ogden" wrote in message
...
One ARRL stand (at Dayton) handed out small, black foam balls that are
intended to be stuck on the end of a whip antenna. Stops corona (maybe --
let us skip that discussion).

I do not normally have a transmitter in my truck, so I stuck the ball on my
standard truck radio antenna. (It is a 2003 Ford Ranger.) Since doing this
I have noticed that the antenna almost always vibrates a little -- even
after sitting stopped (engine off) in the garage for many minutes. The ball
on the top moves at least 1/8 inch; it is easily seen if I focus on it.

It appears I have a good resonant antenna to sustain this motion for long
periods, across an almost 3:1 range (the AM broadcast band) and a bonus VHF
range (the FM broadcast band). I assume that Hooke's law (if I remembered
the right name for it) applies instead of the
break-from-metal-fatigue-or-metal-work-hardening-law will apply such that
the antenna does not snap off sometime. Perhaps I should patent this
resonant antenna that is almost frequency independent!

Bill
W2WO

Isn't 'frequency independent' and 'resonant' appearing in the same sentence an
oxymoron? Just like 'sanitary sewer'? One thing's for sure, just being an
oxymoron won't stop the patent office from granting a patent. Go for it! The
examiners at the patent office won't even know whether the antenna is resonant
mechanically or electrically.

Walt, W2DU