Can an antenna work while laying on the ground?
The short answer is "yes." A lot depends on the conductivity of the soil, actual height above ground, and othe environmental factors. In this video, Kevin Loughin (KB9RLW) experiments with "ground-hugging" HF antennas and comes to some interesting conclusions. While on-the-ground antennas are hit or miss for transmitting, they do remarkably well on receiving. If this topic interests you, please use your search engine to find articles from Mike Toia (K3MT), whose "grasswire antenna" will give you some interesting ideas for operating in noisy and deed-restricted housing. If you can't see the video, please insert this title URL into your browser search box: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wBS-CNtY2Uk Here are some comments from Kevin (KB9RLW): Over the years, I've occasionally heard mention of 'ground antennas'. I've even seen a video or two talking about them working fine. Or even "well". Finally I have enough space around me ...