"cute little wire" on light poles (bleeding induced voltage)

[K8MHZ]

I was really wondering if an antenna that is not intended to be grounded would stop working if grounded. You say yes at a reduced output.

That's correct, but with a little finesse.....I could make the antenna work just fine even if the radiator was somehow DC grounded.

The length of the wire grounding the radiating element of such an antenna is critical. At varying lengths, the wire can look like either a short, an open, or a perfect match (50 ohms for my stuff) to the antenna at radio frequencies.

If done properly, an antenna could be 'grounded' with little or almost no effect. But that's not going to happen often by accident.

 

[K8MHZ]

Bob (Iwire)

Today's radio transmitters have a feature called 'fold back' that will throttle back the output if the antenna becomes very inefficient, like if it were to be unintentionally grounded. This is done to keep the radio from self destructing trying to feed an antenna that is no longer matched properly with the transmitter.

So, in addition to an antenna with reduced efficiency, the transmitter is not putting as much power into the antenna. This would make the 'grounding' of the antenna appear to have a much more detrimental effect.

 

[iwire]

Marky, I appreciate the response but we are getting far from the topic.

I can't seem to find a way to commincate my thoughts on this so I will just shut up.

 

[K8MHZ]

Marky, I appreciate the response but we are getting far from the topic.

I can't seem to find a way to commincate my thoughts on this so I will just shut up.

Well where is my calendar???

I HAVE to jot this one down.



I do think I know what you are trying to ask as it relates to the OP's topic. The answer is kind of apples to oranges because the electrode conductors we see on poles are close to the ground and as short as possible. In the world of RF, the conductor you would be trying to mute the antenna with would be very long and as high from the ground as the antenna. That almost (sometimes does) make a 'parallel antenna' per se.

Now, if you had an antenna very close to the ground and used a very short conductor to earth the radiating element, the effect would be very pronounced.

 

[mivey]

Finally, looking at the photo in post #7, tell me what that “bleed wire” is going to accomplish that would not also have been accomplished with far greater effectiveness by the huge metal pole to which it is attached?

Assuming for a moment that Earth contact is important, can you tell how much of that metal pole is actually making good contact with Earth and how much has a protective coating preventing good Earth contact?