Quote Originally Posted by W5RB View Post
You need to bring your feedline away from a dipole at about a 90 degree angle , for a half wavelength or more , or it'll be hinky . That's sometimes impractical with a vertical dipole . The droopy ground plane , as built using a chassis mount so-239 and brazing rod , works well on 2m , and fair on 440 as well .
I think this might be the issue here. I just brought the coax down the support, right next to the "ground leg" of dipole, and when you reminded me of the 90 degree thing, I realized there's coupling involved, essentially giving me no ground leg...

Well, I think I'll try it again, this time following the 90 degree rule. And, the J-pole is the next project :)