Antenna assembly for subsurface meter pits

An antenna assembly for RF communication of signals representing utility meter data, the antenna assembly comprising:

• A) a capacitive element comprising:
• i) a first planar conductor forming a ground plane conductor with an aperture therein;
• ii) a dielectric material disposed over said first planar conductor;
• and
• iii) a second planar conductor disposed over said dielectric material and having an area which defines the capacitive element, which includes a portion of dielectric material being positioned below said second planar conductor and a portion of the ground plane being positioned below said second planar conductor;
• and
• B) an antenna element positioned in a plane above and generally parallel to the capacitive element and separated from said capacitor by a space;
• C) a connector having a ground portion electrically connected to the ground plane conductor;
• and
• D) an inductive element including a first, substantially rigid portion of a wire conductor that connects the capacitive element to the antenna element, said wire conductor also having a second portion extending through the aperture in the ground plane for electrical connection to the capacitive element;
• and
• wherein said capacitive element is selected to provide a capacitance in cascade with the inductance of the inductive element to provide a selected L-C circuit impedance in relation to the antenna element.