On Sun, 30 Aug 2009 14:54:05 -0700 (PDT), Art Unwin
wrote:

Tom, W8ji apparently is an expert with antennas having lectured
at Dayton and has authored many technical articles around antennas,
states that radiators must be straight for maximum efficiency,

He might have been talking about small antennas:
http://www.w8ji.com/radiation_resistance.htm
"Small antennas require extraordinary care to obtain high efficiency."
The 2004 Dayton PowerPoint presentation is at:
http://www.w8ji.com/Dayton/Limited%20Space%20Antennas.ppt
Using Google, I couldn't find any statement resembling the "straight
radiators" claim.

Ummm... fractal antennas are anything but straight and have the best
gain for their size of any antenna.
http://www.fractenna.com

Also, efficiency isn't everything. For example, the efficiency of the
typical mobile HF antenna is fairly lousy because the antenna is a
small fraction of a wavelength long. Still, it's the best that can be
done on HF without trailing a long wire to a balloon, and dragging a
grounding plate.
http://www.k0bg.com/eff.html



--
Jeff Liebermann
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558