I'm trying to evaluate HF antennas for low angle performance to pick from a list of designs that will fit in my limited space. I'm using 4nec2 to simulate them and compare the patterns.
When your simulated antenna has a low radiation efficiency, is the reported gain compared to an isotropic radiator with perfect radiation efficiency, or one with a radiation efficiency the same as your simulated antenna?
Here's an example to clarify because I'm not sure I'm using the right terminology. I'm comparing two antennas:
Antenna 1 reports 6dBi at 0 degrees azimuth and 10 degrees elevation, and it has a radiation efficiency of 80%.
Antenna 2 reports 6dBi at 0 degreez azimuth and 10 degrees elevation, but it has a radiation efficiency of only 40%.
Assuming everything else like ground and feed systems are the same, is the model telling me that the effective radiated power in that specific direction will be the same for both antennas, or will antenna 2 radiate half as much power in that direction because of the lower radiation efficiency?