On Apr 14, 4:15*pm, Tony Condon
wrote:
Has anyone used a Dipole antenna on their transponder? I understand that
the dipole gives better coverage above where the "standard" antennas
usually only project down and to the sides. *Aircraft Spruce carries
dipoles, they are a little spendy, but might be worth it. *Any experience
out there?
-Tony Condon
Cherokee II N373Y

A dipole and a monopole with a proper groundplane both have
approximately the same pattern, both above and below the plane of the
groundplane. The whole idea of a 'groundplane' is to produce a
virtual mirror image of the monopole. Monopole/groudplane
combinations are particularly convenient for metal-skinned aircraft,
where the requisite groundplane is essentially free. A dipole
arrangement might be much simpler than a monopole/groundplane for a
glider.

Frank(TA)