"Dave" wrote in message
. ..

Under that definition my 8 foot high mobile antenna has a voltage maximum
at the top and a current maximum at the base and must, therefore, be 90
degrees long. But, it is physically only 16 degrees long [8/43.5 @ 5.37
MHz]. Now it is 5 degrees long above the top of the coil and 10 degrees
long below the coil ... ad nauseum [ for another 2 months ] ...

Where is the other 74 degrees?? This is the question that started this 2
month discussion.


Dave,
your 8 ft mobile antenna is not 90 degrees long, you don't have zero
reactance at the feedpoint. You will have to insert the loading coil or
matching network to do that and that adds the missing degrees. (You might
have maximum current as far as the whip is concerned, but not maximum
current corresponding to the base of resonated whip, just fraction
corresponding what standing wave would supply for that tip o'antenna.)
Then you have drop of current along the coil, (missing degrees) and rest in
the stinger at corresponding degreed to the straight radiator. (Worst
efficiency of that length of antenna.).
As you start moving the loading coil up the antenna, you start increasing
the high current in bottom part of antenna, then drop along the coil, then
rest of the drop towards the stinger, down to zero. As you move coil higher,
you will have to add the turns in order to maintain resonance (90 degrees
overall, zero reactance at the feedpoint).
Looks like my idea about the role of impedance has some merit, Cecil is
hitting it with idea of "losing" some degrees at the impedance "bumps"
completing the picture of them mysteriously missing degrees, to dismay of
same current believers. So looks like degrees of mast, plus degrees of
impedance bump between the mast and coil, plus degrees of coil, plus degrees
of impedance bump between the coil and stinger, plus degrees of stinger
should add up to 90 degrees in resonant monopole or resonator, as some
antenna pioneers called it. Do we get it now more precisely? Or there are
still some "missing" degrees floating around?

73 Yuri, K3BU/m