Antennas Demystified.pptVIP

Antennas Demystified Scott Honaker N7WLO Importance of Antennas Antennas are as important as the radio A $5000 TV with rabbit ears will have a lousy picture Antennas are cheaper than amplifiers Antennas are reciprocal – they hear as well as they talk Choosing Antennas Frequency – Dictates size Mounting location – Base or mobile Omni or directional – Coverage or gain Polarization – Horizontal, vertical, circular Resonant or non-resonant – Tuner required? Power available Feedline length and type Cost dBi vs. dBd dBi - Gain vs. Isotropic Resonator Isotropic Resonator is infinitely small antenna with no feedline in free space radiating equally well in all directions (spherical pattern) dBd - Gain vs. Reference Dipole Gain referenced to a “real” dipole antenna with a donut-like pattern dBd = dBi + 2.15 dB Gain/Loss Calculations ERP (Effective Radiated Power) is the real number to consider Gain uses a Log-10 scale 3dB = 2-fold improvement 6dB = 4-fold improvement 10dB = 10-fold improvement 20dB = 100-fold improvement ERP=Power x (Gain - Feedline Loss) Radiation Patterns Visual representation of gain, beamwidth, F/B ratio and F/S ratio in one plane E-Plane is cross-section that includes driven element H-Plane is perpendicular to driven element Dipole Patterns Yagi Patterns Polarization SSB/CW is generally horizontal FM is generally vertical Satellites can be circular - RHCP, LHCP Polarization loss can be significant at VHF/UHF and microwaves Bounced signals can change polarization Verticals are more susceptible to QRM Antenna Design Considerations Gain, SWR, Bandwidth, Front/Back ratio are related and optimum values are not achieved simultaneously for each Does antenna have power going in desired direction? Gain/Beamwidth SWR Power Losses All power fed into the line, minus the line attenuation, is absorbed into the load (antenna) regardless of the mismatch at the antenna terminals Line attenuation (loss) is the key factor in determining losses due to mismatched an