Antennas
The antenna is probably the single most important part of a radio station's equipment. The difference in signal between using a good antenna and a poor one could mean the difference between being an active and influential part of the group, and being the guy who could only get a word in edgewise when everyone else stayed quiet.
Yet for all the importance that a good antenna system represented, many people unknowingly skimped on this very important detail. Those people spent the equivalent of a king's ransom for their radios, yet elected to put up only the cheapest antenna. On the other side of the spectrum, there were those who would only buy the antenna with the best performance data. If a new model appeared with even slightly better spec's, they'd rush out to buy one. Antenna makers understood this and often inflated their gain claims in order to attract those buyers.
The following represents the most common base antennas in use in our local area in the 1970's and somewhat later.