Hello,
I can't help but share an interesting experience I had recently, operating my PRC-320 at a local park. I used the 2.5m whip with a counterpoise wire on the ground. Using the internal tuner I tuned for best output and got the needle on the meter at 12-O'Clock... That is a so-so match, and usually doesn't lead to a lot of contacts. A great match puts the needle at the 3-O'Clock position. Then I remembered the stream running nearby... Standing water really, home to quite a few rats and infested with mosquitoes but water nevertheless... Some connection must have been made between my remaining neurons because I threw the wire in the water... Bingo! 2:30 needle position on the dial! I got an immediate contact to Ukraine from the South on France using 25W into a short whip on 20m.
It's one thing to hear about the importance of grounding short verticals, but quite another to see the result before your eyes.
Gil.
I'll bet the rats at the stream found the results of your experiment simply shocking!