Earlier, wrote:

...So I guess my choice is either a fuselage mounted probe, or
no probe at all.

I recommend the fuselage probe. Ten dollars worth of parts and you're
good to go.

See Nicks and Johnson for the original idea and its refinement. This
article is pretty clear about it:

http://wcsa.org/docs/TEprobe.pdf

Also, see Sebald for an alternative installation that combines TE
probe and radio antenna:

http://www.soaridaho.com/Schreder/Co...E_ANTENNA.html

Thanks, Bob K.