A Rose by any other name would smell as sweet but, if we called it something else, wouldn't we be denigrating its creator? For that matter, what do we call the creator? God, Yahweh, Vishnu, Buddha, evolution, maybe just Deity. Ah Deus, I don't know! What I am thinking though is that many folks diminish the identity of man's inventions and concepts by distorting them and brutalizing the descriptors!

One of my favorite examples is the popular distortion bestowed to a thinking man's invention, the "G5RV" antenna. This antenna is popularly reputed to be many things. If you ask the person describing it how it works though, you are virtually assured of either no answer, or the wrong one! How is this you would ask? With such a popular antenna, certainly at least a fair percentage of Hams should correctly know how it works! An answer I might first be inclined to give would reflect upon the present nature of Ham Radio! If though I were to pursue the point further I think the answer would be, folks just don't think!

The original G5RV was conceived to be a simple "balanced fed halfwavelength dipole" that could be economically fabricated. The antenna's "balun" is comprised of a half- wavelength ladder-line transmission line, that is feeding a halfwavelength dipole at its nominal 73 Ohm radiation resistance high current point. The ladder line allows all imposed currents to be "equal and opposing", in other words, balanced in their direction of travel. It also of course puts the same impedance at the bottom of the ladder-line as is seen at its top at the antenna's "feedpoint".

Now, through the course of this antenna's use in practical applications, Hams found that they could "fudge" the antenna into other wavelength band operation. Unfortunately when they describe the antenna as they are using it, they denigrate the intrinsic beauty of its inventor's design! I think this is unfortunate on the face of things but, it is also unfortunate because it sanctions these individuals in not thinking!

I hear the same sort of non-thinking going on more and more often! Another easy example might be when someone on the radio says that they are planning on putting up a "long wire" of about 250 feet for the 160 Meter band. Gee, that doesn't seem any longer to me than 125 feet on 80 Meters, or 65 feet on 40 Meters! In all these examples these wires would not be "long wires" because they are only one half wavelength long. You wouldn't call 16.5 feet long on 10 Meters would you? Now if I said I was going to put up a 5 wavelength wire on 10 Meters, that would be a "long wire"! This is true even though its about 85 feet shorter than a half-wavelength on 160 Meters!

My main and final point is that when an object carries a name, THAT MEANS SOMETHING! If it didn't we could call Ford automobiles Chevys, and we could call Caddilacs Yugos. Shoot, for that matter we could call them locomotives or New England style cottages! It is important to identify things correctly, and it is ultimately important not to besmirch or denigrate the creator of a noteworthy invention or concept, by ignorantly calling it anything that seems handy!