On Wed, 13 Dec 2006 07:54:54 -0500, chuck wrote:

I was thinking this particular antenna would have a lower radiation
angle

The quarter-wave ground-plane antenna's vertical radiation pattern
approaches that of a half-wave vertical as the radial droop approaches
90 degrees, while the feedpoint height remains fixed. Whether one views
that as significant is subjective, of course.

Hi Chuck,

Lifting a ground plane off the ground, so that drooping the radials
could, in fact, be drooped; this does more to raise the gain, than
drooping the radials (something like four-fold more).

Already having the antenna off the ground, and then drooping the
radials does accomplish a lowering of the angle, and increasing the
gain. However, I would propose drooping is largely practiced more to
pull the match into 50 Ohms from 35 Ohms than for any perceived
benefit in "Gain" (which is perhaps all of half a dB or slightly
more). Changing the height could easily erode that partial dB.

Moral:
Droop the radials for match;
Raise (correctly place) the antenna for gain.

73's
Richard Clark, KB7QHC