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AR15.COM
7/21/2013 7:24:25 PM EDT
Long story short, I have come into possession of an Outback Perth antenna (http://www.outbackerantennas.com/products.html) and one of those 3-magnet mounts. I am not impressed with the performance of it. I have a portable mast that I have used for 2m and 70cm work at special events. If I put the Outback on top of that mast, I am assuming that I would need to run some type of radial system, correct?

What if I ran a radial/guying system such as the Alpha Promaster antenna (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7QFD5_3yvbs). Assuming that I am using an antenna tuner, would this type of radial system give me noticeable improvement? I only ask because I have plenty of wire laying around that I could use to construct such a setup. Cheap is good (sometimes).

Thanks,
Mike
7/21/2013 7:27:18 PM EDT
[#1]
Watch how he does the counterpoise
7/21/2013 8:03:32 PM EDT
[#2]
Yep you can do a lot with a whip and some radials.  Elevate the radials and use an unun at the feed point of the vertical with a tuner in the shack.  A tuner at the feed point would be even better.  
7/22/2013 1:14:06 PM EDT
[#3]
Ground plane is half of the antenna, so yes a good ground plane will make a noticeable difference in antenna performance.
7/22/2013 6:32:05 PM EDT
[#4]
Perth is a pretty short antena and despite Outbacker's description I wouldn't say it is exactly "high-Q".   The mag mount probably won't work very well, it needs a super good ground for mobile use.    On a mast with elevated radials it would probably work as well as a solid mobile installation.    But it is still a small antenna.
7/22/2013 7:26:59 PM EDT
[#5]
I ran an Outbacker on a aluminum trash can filled with water.  It was only a temporary antenna but made quite a few EU DX contacts.  I tried to make sure I wet as much ground around the trash can as I could.  

Now that was a "trashy" antenna.