Screenshot from the excellent https://m0ukd.com/calculators/quarter-wave-ground-plane-antenna-calculator/

The carbon fiber mast that I'd hoist the tip of this vertical to is approximately 55' AGL. So a #MeanderLoading section near the ground only needs to eat up a half dozen feet of element length. This should be possible with hoops about a foot in diameter. A much more manageable experiment.

I’ve just started another experimental tweak on the #HamRadio #TopBand #ShortyVertical. I took up “slack” in the #MeanderLoading section by increasing the number of zigs/zags from 6 to 18 (triple), & brought the hula closer, so they’re about 6’ apart (about half what they were). I was hoping this would lower the SWR dip down into 160m band. Nope; it rose to 2.58MHz.

Counter-intuitive.

Not sure what the next tweak will be.

Maybe add element length at the base; it’ll have to slope a lot more.