Wilson "Ground plane kits" beneficial or not?

[Sickpuppy22]

I was browsing ebay ealier this morning and stumble on a "Ground plane kit"
which consist's of six radials of 6" long.


Wilson 5000 or Wilson 1000 Antenna Ground Plane Kit

Now for the question, can this be beneficial in creating a better ground plane or is this just another bogus hype?

I'm currently using a wilson 1000 magnet mount as i dont want to drill any holes in a leased vehichle lol.

 

[W5LZ]

First, it's not a groundplane in any sense of the word. It gets connected to the wrong place on the antenna, so it can't be a 'ground'. So do they work? No. You can call your dog a cat, but I ain't never seen one cough up a fur-ball yet.
Wanna make that mag-mount work better? Easy, just drill the hole. Doesn't hurt a bit.
- 'Doc

 

[Sickpuppy22]

Thank you for clarifying this waste of money, just in case anyone were to be conned into buying it lol.
As for the drilling part i will have to wait till the extended warranty is up on the car only problem is that I have a sun roof, so for the moment it's in the center of what sheet metal is available.

 

[W5LZ]

Just for 'grins'...
An antenna doesn't have to be in the center of a roof to work well. If that sun-roof retracts, that certainly doesn't leave much room for antenna mounting though.
Putting an antenna on a car doesn't void a warranty. All vehicle manufacturers have recommendations of how to do it properly, good idea to follow their recommendations. I have no idea about a 'leased' vehicle, read the contract. I'd think it just depended on who it's leased from (manufacturer/independent contractor/'other'??). You'd have a better idea about that than I would.
- 'Doc


Aw... go buy a Hummer. How can you hurt one'a them things by putting an antenna on it?

 

[Stump31]

I use a ground plane kit on a wilson trucker 2000 on my conversion van. I saw a one hundred watt difference in output when I put in on.

Stump31

 

[DX-DIGGER]

I use a ground plane kit on a wilson trucker 2000 on my conversion van. I saw a one hundred watt difference in output when I put in on.

Stump31

And how big were the radials on your ground plane? were they 6 inches as in the quoted model?

If so then if I add two of them will I get 1000 Watts?
Or do I have to go out and buy an amplifier ?

Cheers Digger

 

[mackmobile43]

I use a ground plane kit on a wilson trucker 2000 on my conversion van. I saw a one hundred watt difference in output when I put in on.

Stump31

hahahah I bet you did and I bet it was 100 watts more due to the change in the antennas tuning and your swr changed also which I would wager went in the positive direction.

 

[Stump31]

Actually it was this one not the six radial one. The amp was already hooked up and before I put this on, all I could get out of the amp was 700 watts with 1.15:1 swr. The swr did not change much maybe it went to 1.13:1 now I see 800+ watts. I changed nothing else. The van Is a full sized conversion van and the roof is fiberglass. I have the antenna mounted on the back door of the van and most of the antenna sticks above the roof. This ground plane kit is below the roof line and it does work well. I tried the longer radials and my wattage dropped to 600watts. All I can say it works well for my application. I don't know if it will work for your set-up. It was the best $7.30 CB part I ever purchased. I've been purchasing CB stuff since 1972 with my first Lafayette Comtsat19 which I still have and run today in my base from time to time.

Stump31

 

[n8fgb]

What changed the watt meter ready was not the radial kit, but the change in the swr. You are getting a false reading on your watt meter. These gimmicks will do more good if mounted above the coil. They increase the effiency of the coil, requiring less windings and improveing the overall performance of the antenna. It is called a capacitiy hat, I have one on my homebrew Bugcatcher antenna.
Rich

 

[W5LZ]

What those thingys are is a capacitive hat, if that. If a capacitive hat would benefit your antenna, then that groundplane thingy will be a benefit. If not, then it's not going tobe a particular benefit to anything. You gained a 100 watss from using that thingy? All I can say is that your antenna set up wasn't done very well, well thought out. If you think a 0.02 change in SWR is going to benefit you in any practical way, well, good for you. It's still 'horse-hockey', the average SWR meter can't even make that small of a measurement accurately. The name this thingy is given is a joke. It may help in particular situations, but that's even sort of doubtful. The electrical equivalent of an "honest politician"? Nasty comparison... for the politician.
- 'Doc

 

[ron103067]

First, it's not a groundplane in any sense of the word. It gets connected to the wrong place on the antenna, so it can't be a 'ground'. So do they work? No. You can call your dog a cat, but I ain't never seen one cough up a fur-ball yet.
Wanna make that mag-mount work better? Easy, just drill the hole. Doesn't hurt a bit.
- 'Doc

I read somewhere that those wilsons are true goudplanes for the magnet mount cause that piece is the magnet mount,Ground Plane Kit For Wilson Magnet ,Roof,Mount Antennas - eBay (item 270350143415 end time Mar-27-09 15:12:10 PDT)
so this one might actually work some what not sure how much as I've never used one

 

[AD7WK]

n8fgb is right, Mounting above a coil will increase efficiency by eliminating the need for a big coil. You can also use it to match SWR to a shorter whip for clearance purposes. What happened in your situation is when the antenna is below the roof line the antenna has to be longer to achieve a good SWR match. You could have achieved the same SWR by mounting above the roof line.

Best regards
Pat
AD7WK

 

[Dink]

None of what what said is true. A ground plane has nothing to do with ground as in electrical ground. Ground plane is a metal surface that is placed below the coil causing the signal to go up to atmosphere. Causing better receive and transmit. No more power. A car roof is a great ground plane. Ground planes are ment for big truck mirror mounts and other mounts where the coil is placed up high away from a large flat surface

 

[543_Dallas]

None of what what said is true. A ground plane has nothing to do with ground as in electrical ground. Ground plane is a metal surface that is placed below the coil causing the signal to go up to atmosphere. Causing better receive and transmit. No more power. A car roof is a great ground plane. Ground planes are ment for big truck mirror mounts and other mounts where the coil is placed up high away from a large flat surface

Not exactly. Ground radials lower the angle of radiation not shoot the signal to the atmosphere warming the sky. The angle they are at has an effect on this.

Even if you were right, shooting a signal to the atmosphere on 11 meters vs the horizon is not a good thing. If it were people with beams would point them straight up.

You're right a ground plane, counterpoise or whatever you want to call it has nothing to do with an electrical ground on the vehicle. Where you're wrong is the ground plane is not just any metal surface below the antenna. It should be attached to the shield side if the coax on a 1/4 wave antenna, the wilson crap is not.

 

[midnight special]

those "ground planes" causes an antenna to put out spurious harmonics,,,,which gives false readings in swrs and power output,,, seen it many times just makes you think it is getting out better, but not really,,, check with a spectrum analyzer and can see all the harmonic spurs....