A vertically polarized traveling wave antenna is omnidirectional, bottom-mounted, and bottom-fed. A robust center coax provides a self-supporting mechanical structure. Multiple dipoles are capacitively coupled to the coax in quads, with a first two dipoles placed on opposite sides of the center coax and spaced by a quarter wavelength along the coax from the second two, which couple at right angles to the first two. This matched-layer spacing cancels the reactive components of the impedances of the dipoles. Beam tilt is readily incorporated over a wide range by adjusting layer spacing to add phase taper. All dipoles are oriented parallel to the coax axis, with opposite “hot” (center coupled) dipole elements oriented oppositely to each other. A radiated signal thus has rotating phase, when viewed from above, but is vertically polarized at each azimuth. A lightweight radome, provided for weather protection, is not needed for structural integrity.