"Mikey" wrote in message
...
You're hitting a current node out at the ends of the wire. You could add
some wire to the 80M elements, but if the antenna is working properly,
your
better option would be to find better end insulators. Ceramic dog-bone
insulators are only a couple of bucks apiece...

Of course there is a current node at the end.

The end of the dipole is open circuit isn't it? Unless the laws of physics
have changed since I've been in school, electrons can not flow through an
open circuit. There will always be a 'current node' at the end of a dipole
regardless of the length. There will also be a high voltage electric field.
With high enough RF power the electric field can be strong enough to cause
arcing and corona. The strength of the field will depend on the shape of
the end of the dipole (rounded vs pointed), as I was properly chastised for
forgetting on my other post.


--
Jim
N8EE

to email directly, send to my call sign at arrl dot net