A It would seem unlikely to be of much help. The MFJ Artificial Ground (see Figure 2) does a fine job taming RF in the shack. It is also an excellent “counterpoise tuner” for hams who are using end-fed wire antennas in apartment situations without a short access path to an outdoor ground or radial system, but this isn’t your problem.
Have you considered improving your antenna system? At
3/4 wavelength on 40 meters, it is technically not a long wire but a random wire (“… the power gain of a long-wire antenna as compared to a half-wave dipole is not considerable until the antenna is really long [its length measured in wavelengths]”—ARRL Antenna Book, 18th edition). Try adding as much wire as possible to your antenna; it can run in just about any direction. Get your antenna as high in the air as possible. In addition, attach some 33-foot radial wires to your ground rod. Begin with 4 or 5 wires, either lying on top of the soil or buried underneath. My guess is that you’ll see an improvement in your antenna performance.
Figure 2—The MFJ-934 Artificial Ground
From QST September 2000
