When 1/4 wave is better than 5/8 wave.

[rusty_tlc]

I was reading the ARRL Antenna book this weekend and saw something interesting.
Paraphrasing: Under conditions where the repeater is close by and located on a hill or mountain top a 1/4 wave antenna may give better performance than a 5/8 wave because its radiation pattern is more vertical.

This sounds like the conditions on many trails in the Sierras.

Any first hand knowledge out there?

 

[Mlachica]

I had a Diamond NR72 BNMO that kicked ass. Here are the reviews on eham.net

 

[Pskhaat]

A 1/4 wave will generally have a uniform/nominal radiation pattern vertically and horizontally. Stacked and special antennas are `squeezed' if you will to achieve greater performance out on the horizon at the expense of reception/transmission in more verticle arenas.