Ray:
Well, I broke my Transponder antenna today; the little short rod-like one, with the knob on the end. Anything better I should replace it with?
Carl Foster:
Ray,the straight $50 spike (monopole) antenna will give you the best antenna radiation pattern. The blade antennas may have less drag and look spiffy, but they don’t work any better than a 3-inch monopole.
Editor’s Note:
I second Carl’s motion. The short monopole is also usually easier to keep cleaned, and to clean around without damage, as well as being less expensive and working better. At our airspeeds they also have less drag than the blade type. Replacing like with like will make the replacement easier and less expensive.