Adding Grounding Radials to Surface Mount Antennas

The surface mount quarter wave antenna is a popular antenna used in wireless communication systems. Most surface mount antennas are variations of quarter wave monopole. Most quarter wave antennas used in wireless applications are mounted to a metallic surface such as the roof of a vehicle or the wall of a metal enclosure. The metal in the mounting surface acts as a ground plane. However, some vehicle and enclosures are made of fiberglass or other non-metallic material. In this case, a full circular metallic disc or four horizontal radials that extend out from the base of the antenna must be added for the antenna to function properly. The radials emulate a circular ground plane and can be made of the same rod shape material as the vertical antenna.