{"id":50414,"date":"2024-05-19T19:46:08","date_gmt":"2024-05-19T23:46:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/myantennas.com\/wp\/?page_id=50414"},"modified":"2026-06-12T10:30:28","modified_gmt":"2026-06-12T14:30:28","slug":"about-counterpoise","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/myantennas.com\/wp\/tech-info\/about-counterpoise\/","title":{"rendered":"About Counterpoise"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div style=\"background:#eaf3fb; border-left:5px solid #2E75B6; padding:18px 22px; margin:20px 0; border-radius:4px;\">\n  <h3 style=\"margin-top:0; color:#1F4E79;\"> Quick Summary<\/h3>\n  <ul style=\"margin-bottom:0;\">\n    <li><strong>\u201cCounterpoise\u201d is one of the most misused words in amateur radio.<\/strong> Even experts say it has lost any clear meaning.<\/li>\n    <li><strong>An EFHW antenna does NOT need a counterpoise.<\/strong> A short \u201cpigtail\u201d wire hanging off the transformer is not doing what most people think it\u2019s doing.<\/li>\n    <li><strong>The antenna already has a return path<\/strong> through the coax shield, back to the ground at the entrance of your home (as required by NEC-810).<\/li>\n    <li><strong>Even without that connection,<\/strong> physics handles it through <em>displacement current<\/em> \u2014 bench tests show no change in VSWR with or without a \u201ccounterpoise\u201d wire.<\/li>\n    <li><strong>Bottom line:<\/strong> install the antenna high, ground your coax properly at the house entry, and skip the pigtail.<\/li>\n  <\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<h2>About \u201cCounterpoise\u201d \u2014 What It Means, and Why You Probably Don\u2019t Need One<\/h2>\n\n<h3>First, a quick primer for newcomers<\/h3>\n\n<p>Before we tackle the word <em>counterpoise<\/em>, let\u2019s get the basics straight.<\/p>\n\n<p>An antenna is just a piece of wire (or several pieces) that radio energy flows into. To radiate that energy as radio waves, the electricity has to have somewhere to \u201cpush against.\u201d Think of it like clapping your hands: you need two hands to make the sound. One hand alone doesn\u2019t do much.<\/p>\n\n<p>In antenna terms, those \u201ctwo hands\u201d are called the <strong>two halves of the antenna<\/strong>. In a classic dipole antenna, the two halves are obvious \u2014 it\u2019s literally two equal wires sticking out from a center feed point, like a \u201cT\u201d lying on its side. The radio\u2019s energy pushes one half positive while the other goes negative, then they swap, millions of times per second. That back-and-forth is what creates radio waves.<\/p>\n\n<p>So where does the term <em>counterpoise<\/em> come in? When an antenna <strong>doesn\u2019t have an obvious second half<\/strong> \u2014 for example, a vertical whip antenna mounted on the ground \u2014 engineers in the early days of radio added a network of wires under it to serve as the \u201cmissing half.\u201d That network became known as a counterpoise: literally, something that <em>counters<\/em> and <em>balances<\/em> the main antenna.<\/p>\n\n<h3>The official definition<\/h3>\n\n<p>The ARRL Handbook (Straw, 2003) defines counterpoise as:<\/p>\n\n<blockquote style=\"border-left:4px solid #ccc; padding:8px 16px; margin:16px 0; color:#444; font-style:italic;\">\n  \u201cA wire or group of wires mounted close to the ground, but insulated from the ground, to form a low impedance, high-capacitance path to ground. Used at MF and HF to provide an RF ground for an antenna.\u201d\n<\/blockquote>\n\n<p>In plain words: a counterpoise is a set of wires sitting just above the dirt \u2014 not touching it \u2014 designed to look \u201celectrically friendly\u201d to radio energy so that the antenna has something to push against without actually being bolted to the earth.<\/p>\n\n<h3>Why the word causes so much confusion<\/h3>\n\n<p>The article <a href=\"https:\/\/myantennas.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Counterpoise-VK1OD.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u201cCounterpoise\u201d by Owen Duffy, VK2OMD (ex VK1OD)<\/a> points out that the term has drifted so far from its original meaning that it now means almost nothing specific:<\/p>\n\n<blockquote style=\"border-left:4px solid #ccc; padding:8px 16px; margin:16px 0; color:#444; font-style:italic;\">\n  \u201cCounterpoise means all things to all hams. Because of its lack of clear and unique meaning, wise authors avoid its use. Let\u2019s explore a rational meaning based on the roots of the word. It has two roots, counter and poise:\u201d\n<\/blockquote>\n\n<ul>\n  <li><strong>Counter<\/strong> \u2014 in the opposite direction<\/li>\n  <li><strong>Poise<\/strong> \u2014 in a state of balance<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<p>Put those together and \u201ccounterpoise\u201d should mean <em>something that balances the antenna by pushing in the opposite direction<\/em>. That\u2019s a useful concept \u2014 but only when the antenna actually needs that kind of help.<\/p>\n\n<h3>Where modern hams go wrong<\/h3>\n\n<p>Today, the word <em>counterpoise<\/em> gets thrown around constantly, especially in discussions about <strong>End-Fed Half-Wave (EFHW) antennas<\/strong>. A common belief is that you must add a short hanging wire \u2014 often called a \u201cpigtail\u201d \u2014 to the ground lug of the transformer for the antenna to work properly.<\/p>\n\n<p>Here\u2019s the problem: a single short wire dangling from the coax shield at the transformer is <strong>not<\/strong> what the ARRL definition describes. It is not:<\/p>\n\n<blockquote style=\"border-left:4px solid #ccc; padding:8px 16px; margin:16px 0; color:#444; font-style:italic;\">\n  \u201cpresenting low impedance, a high-capacitance path to ground.\u201d\n<\/blockquote>\n\n<p>It\u2019s just a piece of wire hanging in the air. It looks reassuring, but electrically it\u2019s doing very little of what people imagine it\u2019s doing.<\/p>\n\n<h3>So what counterpoise <em>does<\/em> an EFHW antenna need?<\/h3>\n\n<p>The honest answer: <strong>none.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n<p>Here\u2019s why. An EFHW antenna is one half-wavelength of wire fed at its end. At that feed point, the impedance is naturally very high (a few thousand ohms), which is why we use a high-ratio transformer \u2014 the 49:1, 56:1, 64:1, or 81:1 UNUNs \u2014 to step it down to the 50 ohms your radio expects.<\/p>\n\n<p>Because the antenna is <em>already<\/em> a complete half-wave radiator, the radio energy doesn\u2019t need a separate \u201csecond half\u201d hanging off the transformer. The antenna finds its own electrical path back to a low-impedance reference. In most installations, that path is:<\/p>\n\n<blockquote style=\"border-left:4px solid #2E75B6; padding:8px 16px; margin:16px 0; background:#f4f8fb;\">\n  the <strong>coaxial cable shield<\/strong>, running back to your shack, where it\u2019s bonded to the <strong>grounding system at the entrance of your home<\/strong> \u2014 as required by the National Electrical Code, Article 810 (NEC-810).\n<\/blockquote>\n\n<p>That\u2019s the real \u201creturn path.\u201d Not a little pigtail.<\/p>\n\n<h3>What if the coax shield isn\u2019t even connected?<\/h3>\n\n<p>Here\u2019s where it gets interesting \u2014 and where physics quietly does the work for you.<\/p>\n\n<p>Even if the coax shield is <strong>not<\/strong> connected to the secondary winding of the transformer, the antenna still works. The return path is established through something called <strong>displacement current<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n<p>Without getting too deep into the math, displacement current is what flows through a capacitor \u2014 and a capacitor doesn\u2019t need a wire between its plates to \u201cconduct.\u201d It conducts through the electric field in the empty space between them. The whole world around the antenna \u2014 the air, the cable, the ground beneath it \u2014 forms a giant, distributed capacitor. Radio-frequency energy happily flows through that field, even where no copper wire exists.<\/p>\n\n<p>We verified this on the bench. You can watch the test here, which shows <strong>no change in VSWR<\/strong> whether or not the coax shield is used as a so-called \u201ccounterpoise\u201d:<\/p>\n\n<p> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=7bm0c_CNtVU\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Video: VSWR test with and without coax shield \u201ccounterpoise\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n\n<h3>Even the experts say it\u2019s a misused word<\/h3>\n\n<p>The late L.B. Cebik, W4RNL \u2014 one of the most respected names in amateur antenna analysis \u2014 opens his article <a href=\"https:\/\/myantennas.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Counterpoise_-On-the-Use-and-Abuse-of-a-Word.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u201cCounterpoise: On the Use and Abuse of a Word\u201d<\/a> with this:<\/p>\n\n<blockquote style=\"border-left:4px solid #ccc; padding:8px 16px; margin:16px 0; color:#444; font-style:italic;\">\n  \u201cThe term counterpoise has a long history in antenna engineering and amateur practice. Today, it may be among the most misused terms in amateur circles. Indeed, if we examine both the history of the term, its meaning, and its misuses, we might reach an interesting conclusion: there is no such thing as a counterpoise in antenna analysis, even though the term has a long and somewhat respectable use in antenna engineering.\u201d\n<\/blockquote>\n\n<p>In other words, two of the most careful thinkers in the field \u2014 Duffy and Cebik \u2014 both arrive at the same conclusion: the word has been stretched so far that it\u2019s lost its meaning, and most of what people call a \u201ccounterpoise\u201d today isn\u2019t really doing what they think it\u2019s doing.<\/p>\n\n<h3>The bottom line<\/h3>\n\n<p>If you\u2019ve installed one of our EFHW antennas and someone tells you that you need to add a counterpoise wire to make it work \u2014 politely smile and move on. The antenna is already complete. Mount it as high as you can, ground your coax properly at the entry to your home per NEC-810, and let the physics handle the rest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/myantennas.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/counterpoise-efhw-image.png?quality=80&#038;ssl=1\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"397\" height=\"210\" data-attachment-id=\"50422\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/myantennas.com\/wp\/tech-info\/about-counterpoise\/counterpoise-efhw-image\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/myantennas.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/counterpoise-efhw-image.png?fit=397%2C210&amp;quality=80&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"397,210\" data-comments-opened=\"0\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"counterpoise-efhw-image\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/myantennas.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/counterpoise-efhw-image.png?fit=397%2C210&amp;quality=80&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/myantennas.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/counterpoise-efhw-image.png?resize=397%2C210&#038;quality=80&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-50422\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/myantennas.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/counterpoise-efhw-image.png?w=397&amp;quality=80&amp;ssl=1 397w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/myantennas.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/counterpoise-efhw-image.png?resize=300%2C159&amp;quality=80&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/myantennas.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/counterpoise-efhw-image.png?resize=324%2C171&amp;quality=80&amp;ssl=1 324w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 397px) 100vw, 397px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-black-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-9ac00cf961d1ea846fe5a532228b76c6 wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n<div id=\"floating-chatbot-default\" class=\"floating-chatbot hidden\"><div id=\"mxchat-chatbot-wrapper-default\" class=\"mxchat-chatbot-wrapper\" data-bot-id=\"default\">  <div class=\"chatbot-top-bar\" id=\"exit-chat-button-default\" style=\"background: #212121;\">      <div class=\"chatbot-title-container\">          <div class=\"chatbot-title-group\">              <p class=\"chatbot-title\" style=\"color: #fff;\">MyAntennas<\/p>          <\/div><span class=\"chat-mode-indicator\" id=\"chat-mode-indicator-default\" data-ai-text=\"AI Agent\" style=\"color: #ffffff; background-color: #767676;\">AI Agent<\/span>      <\/div>      <div class=\"mxchat-header-menu-wrap\" data-bot-id=\"default\" style=\"--mxchat-menu-bg: #212121; --mxchat-menu-fg: #fff;\">          <button class=\"mxchat-header-btn mxchat-menu-trigger\" type=\"button\" aria-haspopup=\"menu\" aria-expanded=\"false\" aria-label=\"More options\" style=\"color: #fff;\">              <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"20\" height=\"20\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"currentColor\" aria-hidden=\"true\">                  <circle cx=\"12\" cy=\"5\" r=\"2\"\/><circle cx=\"12\" cy=\"12\" r=\"2\"\/><circle cx=\"12\" cy=\"19\" r=\"2\"\/>              <\/svg>          <\/button>          <div class=\"mxchat-header-menu\" role=\"menu\" aria-hidden=\"true\" hidden><\/div>      <\/div>      <button class=\"exit-chat\" type=\"button\" aria-label=\"Close\" style=\"color: #fff;\">          <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"22\" height=\"22\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2.2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" id=\"ic-close\" aria-hidden=\"true\">              <line x1=\"6\" y1=\"6\" x2=\"18\" y2=\"18\"><\/line>              <line x1=\"18\" y1=\"6\" x2=\"6\" y2=\"18\"><\/line>          <\/svg>          <span>Close<\/span>      <\/button>  <\/div>  <div id=\"mxchat-chatbot-default\" class=\"mxchat-chatbot\" style=\"background-color: #fff;\">      <div id=\"mxchat-init-loader-default\" class=\"mxchat-init-loader\" style=\"display:none;\">          <div class=\"mxchat-init-loader-dots\">              <span class=\"dot\"><\/span><span class=\"dot\"><\/span><span class=\"dot\"><\/span>          <\/div>      <\/div>      <div id=\"chat-container-default\" class=\"chat-container\" style=\"\">          <div id=\"chat-box-default\" class=\"chat-box\">              <div class=\"bot-message\" style=\"background: #212121;\">                  <div dir=\"auto\" style=\"color: #fff;\">Hello! 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      <path d=\"M19.785 0v7.272H22.5V17.62h-2.935V24l-7.037-6.194v6.145h-1.091v-6.152L4.392 24v-6.465H1.5V7.188h2.884V0l7.053 6.494V.19h1.09v6.49L19.786 0zm-7.257 9.044v7.319l5.946 5.234V14.44l-5.946-5.397zm-1.099-.08l-5.946 5.398v7.235l5.946-5.234V8.965zm8.136 7.58h1.844V8.349H13.46l6.105 5.54v2.655zm-8.982-8.28H2.59v8.195h1.8v-2.576l6.192-5.62zM5.475 2.476v4.71h5.115l-5.115-4.71zm13.219 0l-5.115 4.71h5.115v-4.71z\"><\/path>                  <\/svg>              <\/button>              <input type=\"file\" id=\"image-upload-default\" class=\"image-upload\" accept=\"image\/*\" style=\"display: none;\" multiple>              <button id=\"image-upload-btn-default\" class=\"toolbar-btn image-upload-btn\" title=\"Upload Image for Analysis\" style=\"display: none;\">                  <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"fill: none !important;\">  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Ask me anything!<button class=\"close-pre-chat-message\" aria-label=\"Close\">&times;<\/button><\/div><div class=\"floating-chatbot-button hidden\" id=\"floating-chatbot-button-default\" role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" aria-label=\"Open chat\" aria-expanded=\"false\" aria-controls=\"floating-chatbot-default\" style=\"background: #212121; color: #212121;\"><div id=\"chat-notification-badge-default\" class=\"chat-notification-badge\" style=\"display: none; position: absolute; top: -8px; right: -8px; background-color: #ff4444; color: white; border-radius: 50%; padding: 4px 8px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; z-index: 10001;\">1<\/div><svg id=\"widget_icon_10\" style=\"height: 48px; width: 48px; fill: #fff;\" viewBox=\"0 0 1120 1120\" fill=\"none\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\">  <path fill-rule=\"evenodd\" clip-rule=\"evenodd\" d=\"M252 434C252 372.144 302.144 322 364 322H770C831.856 322 882 372.144 882 434V614.459L804.595 585.816C802.551 585.06 800.94 583.449 800.184 581.405L763.003 480.924C760.597 474.424 751.403 474.424 748.997 480.924L711.816 581.405C711.06 583.449 709.449 585.06 707.405 585.816L606.924 622.997C600.424 625.403 600.424 634.597 606.924 637.003L707.405 674.184C709.449 674.94 711.06 676.551 711.816 678.595L740.459 756H629.927C629.648 756.476 629.337 756.945 628.993 757.404L578.197 825.082C572.597 832.543 561.403 832.543 555.803 825.082L505.007 757.404C504.663 756.945 504.352 756.476 504.073 756H364C302.144 756 252 705.856 252 644V434ZM633.501 471.462C632.299 468.212 627.701 468.212 626.499 471.462L619.252 491.046C618.874 492.068 618.068 492.874 617.046 493.252L597.462 500.499C594.212 501.701 594.212 506.299 597.462 507.501L617.046 514.748C618.068 515.126 618.874 515.932 619.252 516.954L626.499 536.538C627.701 539.788 632.299 539.788 633.501 536.538L640.748 516.954C641.126 515.932 641.932 515.126 642.954 514.748L662.538 507.501C665.788 506.299 665.788 501.701 662.538 500.499L642.954 493.252C641.932 492.874 641.126 492.068 640.748 491.046L633.501 471.462Z\" ><\/path>  <path d=\"M771.545 755.99C832.175 755.17 881.17 706.175 881.99 645.545L804.595 674.184C802.551 674.94 800.94 676.551 800.184 678.595L771.545 755.99Z\" ><\/path><\/svg><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Quick Summary \u201cCounterpoise\u201d is one of the most misused words in amateur radio. Even experts say it has lost any clear meaning. An EFHW antenna does NOT need a counterpoise. A short \u201cpigtail\u201d wire hanging off the transformer is not doing what most people think it\u2019s doing. The antenna already has a return path through [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":300,"menu_order":1,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-50414","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/P9F5gO-d78","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/myantennas.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/50414","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/myantennas.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/myantennas.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myantennas.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myantennas.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=50414"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/myantennas.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/50414\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":55194,"href":"https:\/\/myantennas.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/50414\/revisions\/55194"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myantennas.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/300"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/myantennas.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50414"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}