The devil is in the details... Note that I included the words, "decent
top hat"...
For 40 it should pull the vertical close to resonance...
For 80 I would not argue with your prescription for an outboard
loading coil to help the tuner efficiency...

BTW Ed, a coil Q of 1000 is going to be very tough to hit... If you
do get it please share the details...



Well, I may have stretched the Q factor a bit.... but in looking at
the following site, I would suppose its possible....

http://www.texasbugcatcher.com/cata/tbcspec.htm#6inch

scroll down until you view the #680 coil and read his text below.
That is what I had in mind if building a center loaded vertical. I
would not use a top hat in my case.

Per other comments in this thread, I see that perhaps I may get best
performance by using a combination of center loaded for 4MHz and using a
tuner for 40... and maybe 60. I'm really not interested in any other
bands.

As for radials, remember, even though intended for fixed station
use only, this is still a mobile antenna, and my RV parking situation
in many crowded spaces will preclude the layout of radials of any
significance.


Thanks for all the "food for thought" on this.


Ed K7AAT