Is it worth it to upgrade my Solarcon Antron A-99 Home Base Station
A "good" 5/8 wave only requires a minimum height of about 20'' from the ground to bottom of the antenna. Ground planes on half wave antennas do not add significant gain, like they might for some 5/8 wave antennas, but a small ground plane on a half wave can help decouple the feed line and extend the SWR frequency range.