Here in Buenos Aires (near de Atlantic Ocean and the River Plate) it is
a very humid area, our typical old wives phrase for all the illness is
"lo que mata es la humedad" (what kills you is the humidity) ;)

(R to Adam I don't see your 2k5 answer, and R also to your doubts about
a documented quieter performance, well, I am just searching for a
documented falsehood of these extended claims, hi hi)

Another antenna very reputed here as "quieter" it is a simple
triangular loop, similar to Cecil's example, maybe the static
explanation is OK.
But... very few days at the year we have low humidity climate. (I never
have burn a FET o MOS IC by touch them in my 38 years of continuated
activity in electronics, but, yes, I kill various equipments by invert
its polarity :) )

Do you think that static precipitation it is a valid explanation in
these conditions?

cheers

Miguel