What is the purpose of a corona ball on an HF mobile antenna?
To narrow the operating bandwidth of the antenna
To increase the “Q” of the antenna
To reduce the chance of damage if the antenna should strike an object
To reduce RF voltage discharge from the tip of the antenna while transmitting✓Bonne réponse
Explication
The voltage at the free end of a resonant whip is at its maximum, and a sharp tip concentrates the electric field enough to ionise the surrounding air, producing corona that wastes power and generates noise. A ball increases the radius of curvature at the tip, lowering the field strength for the same voltage.