[600MRG] Tomes of long-forgotten lore + eureka moment

[Pat Hamel]

For those contemplating better LF/MF antenna efficiency I have just
rediscovered a method of top-loading the vertical part of an antenna without
using the fiberglass and copper-tape coil I used.
In the ARRL Antenna Compendium Volume 7 pp. 3 thru 8 John S. Belrose (SK)
shows a method of inductive top loading developed by C.E. Smith (see below)
which uses an inductive sleeve with the tower as the outer conductor. The
Belrose article was not looking at 600 meters. He calculated a 9 meter tall
tower at 160 meters.
The idea, which worked for me, was to get the matching inductance at the top
so the current is maximum all the way up to the low-loss loading. I used a
fiberglass coil form wrapped with copper tape and hung on the top hat
spreaders from a tree limb, Smith's idea is for a tower, pipe, or concentric
cages. It would appear easy to drop a thick wire down the center of the
tower, attach it to the tower at the right point near the bottom and
insulate it at the top. Then attach the top hat to the wire at the top
insulated from the tower. 
The Belrose footnote 3 reference is: Smith, C.E. "Short Low Loss AM Antenna"
IEEE trans on broadcasting, 35, June 1989 pp.237-240.
Happy New Year 2014.
Pat W5THT & WD2XSH/6