I'm interested in using a PA0RDT mini-whip. I know it has to be mounted above ground on a non-conductive pole but will a few stainless steel ties near the socket end affect its performance?
where did you hear about the "non conductive pole" ?
In my experience, the correct way to install a "miniwhip" is shown in the two images below
![](https://swling.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/install.jpg)
![](https://web.archive.org/web/20230722120109im_/https://mediaprocessor.websimages.com/width/562/crop/0,0,562x337/www.g8jnj.net/Antenna%20Noise%20Reduction-1.png)
in short, the antenna is installed on a metallic pole (connected at bottom to a ground stake with a very short run of fat wire or, if a stake isn't viable, to a metal grid laid on ground) as up and in the clear as possible, but using a clamp (or a piece of PVC pipe tied to the pole) so that it stands ABOVE the pole and the ground (shield) of the coax has a good electric connection to the pole (see first image), the coax then runs downward along the pole (tie it to the pole using good UV resistant "nylon" cable ties in pairs) and, at bottom we'll place at least one good choke (three spaced ones would be better), for example 15 turn of coax wound on an #43 material toroid
If possible, that is if a roof terrace or a garden is available, the antenna should be placed as far away as possible to keep it at a distance from the cloud of domestic "electrosmog", also, the bias-tee power supply should have good filtering so that it won't inject noise in the antenna preamp, so avoid using "phone chargers" or generic "brick" PSUs and pick a decent one
regarding the coax, a general rule is to stay away from RG-58/RG-174 and use a better (lower loss, better shielding) type of cable, for example RG-213
[edit]
you can find further infos regarding the "miniwhip" and other active antennas here
https://web.archive.org/web/20230722120107/https://www.g8jnj.net/activeantennas.htmsorry for the link to "web archive" but Martin's site was migrated to
https://g8jnj.net/ and is currently "under rebuild"