I first saw this antenna described on page 8-8 of  my copy of the 14th edition of the ARRL
                     Antenna book published in 1984. The article claims "the efficiency will be high on 7 MHz
                     and higher frequencies". I admit I didn't pay much attention to it. Conventional vertical
                     wisdom stressed the maximum number of radials, and making sure they are buried.

                    I never had any inclination to try this antenna until I fell in love with the desert and had no
                    success finding an antenna that was not a major operation to set up. This was also about the
                    time I became really interested in QRP. There are many QRP portable operating events,
                    and  a simple antenna would be an advantage here also.

                    Shortly after building my K1 I worked Jacky, 3B8CF, in Nov of 2002 using this antenna
                    mounted about a foot and a half off the ground. This 30 Meter QSO qualified me for the 2000
                    Miles per Watt Award, and removed any doubts I had about this antenna! 
     
                    It has been the main QRP antenna I have used backpacking and portable the past 15 years,
                    and it currently alternates with a simple home brew Mag Loop on my activations of SOTA
                    summits. At home or in the field, QRP DX is no surprise. The past 10 or so years it has been the
                    only antenna I have used for Field Day. A Jackite 31' fiberglass telescoping kite pole supports
                    the vertical element. I do not miss any meals or sleep, and run a relaxed S & P averaging about
                    250 QSOs which usually places me in the top 15 of the 1B Battery class.

                    Having a vertical to supplement a horizontal antenna, especially at DX distances, becomes
                    quickly apparent after short use of the "A/B" switch. At home I have a low 40 meter Zepp
                    and a wire vertical mounted on the roof. Using the combination of wire antennas my DXCC total
                    for QRP is at 170, and using 100watts is 298 worked with 281confirmed.                                                                                                                                                                       
                                        Being curious about my results, I eventually found the following interesting information provided
                    by Ralph Holland, VK1BRH, and John Devoldere, ON4UN".

                    Ralph concludes from his studies the "optimal height of an elevated ground plane to be typically
                    around 0.05 wavelength, but displacements as little as 0.005 wavelengths can be tolerated and
                    some curves peak around 0.01 wavelength." Also, "An interesting side-effect I noticed is that under
                    certain conditions a vertical antenna with one radial was substantially more efficient than an antenna
                    with any other number of radials."

                    John has an illustration in his second edition of "Low-Band DXing" showing the, "vertical radiation
                    pattern of a quarter-wave vertical with only one elevated radial (height 0.05 wavelength)". From the
                    text, "This vertical with a single elevated radial has the same gain (in its favored direction) as a ground
                    mounted vertical with 120 radials!" 
                                                                               Examples of the wire vertical in use.