Abstract: The radiation characteristics of helical antennas operating in the axial mode are evaluated on the basis of the theoretical current distributions and are verified by experimental work. A comparison between monofilar helix and bifilar helix antennas is made, and a helical antenna with a parasitic helix (HAP) is proposed in order to enhance the power gain. It is found that the gain of the HAP in which the parasitic helix is wound from a point diametrically opposite to that of one and one-half turns of the driven helix is about 1 dB higher than that of the monofilar helix. The ratio of the frequency band in which the HAP radiates a circularly polarized wave within an axial ratio of 3 dB is calculated to be 1:1.8.