DIY antenna

[john_morris_uk]

That is a good question.

I bought a Metz aerial as a back-up because it was supposed to be the best. It has a large cylinder at the base which K hope has special bits in it to make it super good ... ?

The cylinder will have a coil of wire of a few turns in it. One end to the base of the vertical and the other to the outer of the coax. The inner of the coax will be soldered part way up the inductor. Nothing magical about the RF theory and practice. Nothing Metz is doing that makes them perform magically better than other 5/8 verticals. (No criticism of Metz here: just don’t believe any hype about them. )