On Thursday, April 3, 2014 2:28:40 PM UTC-5, Wimpie wrote:


Again, in free space the maximum is ALWAYS at zero elevation.



Except for the 5/8 lambda, as I mentioned.

That's only because you used 1/4 WL radials, which is a very
perverted design. Try it with 3/4 WL radials. That will give you
close to your textbook gain.
And for an even better pattern use sloping 5/8 WL radials, which
will start approaching the gain of a dual 5/8 WL collinear.

I've compared 1/4 wave GP's, 1/2 wave's with decoupling, and
5/8 GP's with 3/4 and 5/8 radials on 10m to distant local
stations, which is a good test of low angle performance.

The 5/8 was always the best antenna in the real world using
low angle space wave paths 30-40 miles across town.
And the 1/2 wave was better than the 1/4 GP.
The only reason the poor 5/8's get a bad rap is because people
insist on using 1/4 WL radials under them. That's a disaster,
particularly if used on VHF/UHF where the pattern is really
critical.