Gordon,

The ARRL Antenna Book at $40.00 is an excellent reference and worth the
money all by itself. However, the book includes a CD with EZ-NEC models of
the antennas, and a modified version of EZ-NEC software that allows you to
open/manipulate those models (no limit on # of elements like the "demo"
version - but you cannot save your modified files).

IMHO, this is an excellent way to begin using modeling software, using
existing models, with little or no financial risk (like I said, the book
alone is worth $40). If you decide you like the program, buy it! You can
still access all of the ARRL's models as you experiment and extend its
antennas with models of your own.

I am no expert with this stuff, but I have been using modeling software for
many years. I never begin modeling an antenna from scratch; instead I start
with an existing, similar antenna (one from the ARRL book or from the Cebic
collection) and modify it.

-larry
K8UT
"Gordon" wrote in message
...
I have seen a few antenna modeling programs mentioned here.
Is there any concensus within the group on which one is
better to use? Any that are free?

- Consider that I am pretty much a beginner when it
comes to antennas.
- I am intrested in modeling receiving antennas in the
UHF and VHF bands.
- My big point of couriosity right now is reflectors.
I want to see the effects of various wires, rods, screens,
foil, etc.

I suppose that I could pepper the group with questions.
But, at some point it's best to do my own damn research.