Just one more antenna question

[WSHH887]

Is there any advantage of a ground plane antenna over a non ground plane antenna.  Does either one perform better in an urban or rural area?

[BoxCar]

Other than one not needing any metal to act as a ground plane, no.

[WRUE951]

I talk 90 miles with a J-Pole for a remote portable repeater mounted on a fibergalss RV. Just as good as my Midland whip mounted on my truck roof..  Performace wise and depending on they type of no ground plane antenna, there is no difference..  Some no-ground plane antennas peerform pretty bad, just as some ground plane whip...  Do some research on your antenna choice and see if you can get some perfoamce tips  

[tcp2525]

9 hours ago, WSHH887 said:

Is there any advantage of a ground plane antenna over a non ground plane antenna.  Does either one perform better in an urban or rural area?

Other than one might look slightly better on paper, there's no real world advantage of one over the other in real world use. Too many other variables come to play such as mounting considerations, feed line, and the position of the stars on any given night. Best to install what works best for you intended use and not dwell too much over what the "experts" say.

[Lscott]

12 hours ago, WSHH887 said:

Is there any advantage of a ground plane antenna over a non ground plane antenna. 

Yes. If you don't have a flat metal surface to use as the ground plane then you need to use a non-ground plane type. Examples would be on a fiberglass boat or some people have off road Jeeps with a plastic cap or cloth cover for the cab. 

12 hours ago, WSHH887 said:

Does either one perform better in an urban or rural area?

 Generally no.