I kind of glanced over this a few days ago but didn't really say anything then as my mind was elsewhere looking for information on one of the terms actually mentioned.
What you call something is irrelevant until you use the wrong terminology to try and explain something. Knowing what is happening is great, but explaining it requires also knowing the proper terminology, otherwise you are simply spreading confusing and misleading information.
I guess I could call it anything I wanted, ground plane, radials, how about Mike, I like that name for today. If I called it Mike would that really be of use to you or whoever was trying to learn?
Take counterpoise for example, do a search, and find examples where it is used. You will see wildly different uses of the term from a wire hanging from a walkie talkie antenna to wires put underground near the surface underneath a horizontally mounted antenna. With research we found there are a very specific and limited set of conditions for what is actually a counterpoise. Calling something that does not meet these conditions a counterpoise does nothing but spread misinformation and confusion.
The DB
