JOE CARR'S

RECEIVING ANTENNA
HANDBOOK
by

Joseph J. Carr, K41PV

Solana Beach, Californ ia

 Copyright © 1993 by Converting from English to Metric
HighText Publications, Measurements
Inc. T his book was written by an American author and pub-
lished in the United States for an American readership,
All rights reserved. so most measurements are made in English units-
No part of this book which, for all practical purposes, are America-only units
may be reproduced, these days. However, you may live in a nation that has
in any form or means succumbed to insidious French hegemony in weights
whatsoever, without and measures. For the benefit of those so afflicted, here
perm1ss1on m wntmg are some conversion factors:
from the publisher.
+ To convert inch es into centimeters, multiply
the measurement in inch es by 2.54.
Printed in the United
States of America. + To convert feet into meters, multiply the
measurement in feet by 0.3048.
Cover design and
illustrations: + To convert yards into meters, m ultiply the
Brian McMurdo, measurement in yards by 0.9144.
Ventana Studio,
Valley Center, CA + To convert miles into kilometers, multiply
the measurement in miles by 1.61.
Developmental editing:
Jose Onda-Corta,
Tecate, BCN, Mexico
Production services:
Sara Patton,
Words ofWonder, ANTLERS Software
Wailuku, HI Many of the antennas in this book can be designed using
an executable BASIC program called ANT LERS . If you
would like a copy, which will run on MS-DOS IBM
ISBN: 1- 878707- 07-8 compatible machines, then write me for information
and p rice at:
Library of Congress
catalog number: Joe Carr
92-074266 PO. Box 1099
Falls C hu rch , VA 22041
High Text is a registered
trademark ofHigh Text Please enclose a large self-addressed, stamped envelope
Publications, Inc. (th ree stamps) for a free listing of the program.
 Contents
Chapter 1: 1 Chapter 3: 19
SOME PRELIMINARIES REAL-WORLD ANTENNAS
TRADE-OFFS, CONSTRUCTION,
Wavelength and Frequen cy 1 AND CONNECTIONS
Radio Wave Polarization 1
Trade-Offs and Comprom ises 19
Angle of Arrival 2
Site Survey 20
Reciprocity 3 How M uch Antenna Gain? 20
Antenna Patterns and Bandwidth 3 Noise Considerations 21
Gain and Decibels 3 Permits and Legal Stuff 22
Traveling Waves and Standing Waves 4 Installing Antenna Masts 22
D irectivity, Gain, and Aperture 5 H omebrew Wooden Mast 24
Antenna Response Patterns 8
End and Center Insulators 28
Antenna Beamwidth 11 Connecting to End and Cen ter
Impedance 11 Insulators 29
Connecting to the Receiver 31

Chapter 2 : 13 Chapter 4: 35
ANTENNA AND LIGHTNING TRANSMISSION LINES
PROTECTION GROUNDS Single-W ire "Downleads" 35
Why Ground an Antenna? 13 Transmission Lines 35
Ground W ires 14 Standing Wave Ratio (SWR) 40
Basic Antenna Ground System 14 Velocity Factor 40
Switched Ground System 16 Types of Transmission Lin e 41
Grounds for Vertical Antennas Installing Coaxial Connectors 44
and Towers 17 H andling and Installing
Conclusion 18 Transmission Linf'.s 47
iv .a. Receiving Antenna Handbook

Chapter 5 : 51 Chapter 7: 75
SIMPLE LONGWIRE ANTENNAS
"QUICK AND DIRTY" Single Wires, Vee Beams,
ANTENNAS Rhombics, and Beverages

Random Length Antenna 51 Resonant Single W ire Longwire

Antennas 76
T he "Tee" or "Top H at" Antenna 52
Longwire Length 77
Tunable Random Length or
Long Wire Antennas 53 Nonresonant Single Wire
Longwire Antennas 78
The W indow-Coupled
Random Length or Longwire Longwire Antenna
(Marconi Antenna) 54 Radiation/Reception
C haractertistics 80
Longwire Feed Systems 81
Longwire Termination Resistors 85
Chapter 6: 57
Vee Beams and Rhombic Beams 87
THE DIPOLE AND
ITS RELATIVES Beverage or "W:ave" An tennas 92

Regular Dipole 57 Feeding the Beverage Antenna 98

Dipole Radiation Patterns 58 Steerable No tch Beverage

Antennas 101
Dipole Feedpoint Impedance 60
Electrostatic D ischarge (ESD)
Dipole Erection Pointers 62 Damage Control 102
The Folded Dipole 62
Alternate Feed Using a Balun 64
Solving THE BIG PROBLEM on Chapter 8 : 105
Twin-Lead Folded Dipoles 64 OTHER WIRE ANTENNAS
Inverted-Vee Dipoles 66 G5RV D oublet 105
Loaded Short Dipoles 66 Windom Antennas 106
T he Tilted, Center-Fed, Off-Centerfed Fullwave Doublet
Terminated, Folded Dipole (OCFD) Antenna 107
(Loop Antenna) 68
Off-Centerfed Nonresonant
W ideband and M ultiband Sloper (OCFS) 108
Dipole Antennas 70
Double (Stacked) Dipole 108
Trap Dipoles 71
Double Extended Zepp
Balun Transformers 72 Antenna 109
 Contents ..- v

Collinear "Franklin" Array Chapter 7 7: 743

Antenna 110 SMALL LOOP
Lazy-H Antenna 110 RECEIVING ANTENNAS
Large W ire Loop Antennas 111 Air Core Frame Loops
'A/2 Large Loops 112 (" Box" Loops) 145

1A Large Loops 114 Transformer Loops 148

Half-Delta Sloper 116 Tuning Schemes for

Loop Antennas 148
Bi-Square Loop Antenna 117
The "Embroiderloop" 150
The Square Hobby Board Loop 152
The Picture Frame Loop 154
Chapter 9 : 17 9
VERTICAL The Sports Fan's Loop 155
ANTENNAS The FerriLoop Anten na 156
The Basic Vertical Radiator 11 9 Construction of th e FerriLoop 157
Counterpoise Grounds,
Shielded Loop Antennas 160
or "Radials" 123
Shortwave Performance
Vertical Construction 124
Enhancer Loop Antennas 161
Installing Store-Bought Trap
Testing Your Loop Antenna 164
and Non-Trap Verticals 127
Using A Loop Antenna 164
Electrical Installation 128
Loop Preamplifiers 166
PVC Pipe Verticals 129
Sharpening the Loop 169

Chapter 70: 13 7
DIRECTIONAL Chapter 12: 77 7
ANTENNAS LOW FREQUENCY
ANTENNAS
Rotatable Dipoles 131
Parasitic Beam Antennas 132 Obvious Solutions 172

Phased Vertical Arrays 135 Loaded "Plumber's Delight"

Vertical 172
Bobtail Curtains 138
Using a CB Whip on the Low
T horne Array 140 Frequen cies 173
vi "" Receiving Antenna Handbook

All Band (More or Less) Chapter 13: 179

Shortwave/Low Frequency ODDS & ENDS
Antenna 174
Preamplifiers 179
The Twin-Lead Tee Antenna Active Antennas 180
(TLTA) 175
Indoor Antennas 180
Coaxial "Tee" Antenna 176 Clandestine, Stealth, and
Disguised Antennas 181
The Dippy Discone Antenna 176
Noise Bridges 182
Helically Wound Verticals 177 An "SWL-Legal" VSWR Analyzer 183
Ground Systems for
Low Frequency Antennas 178 Bibliography and Further Reading 185
 vii

Double Dedication
This book is dedicated to two people who helped me learn to
appreciate antennas. One is the late Johnnie Harper Throne,
K4N FU/5: a dude what knew some smoke about antennas-and
had the integrity and interest to teach others. The other is the late
Hugh T. Collins, a Voice of America radio engineer, next door
neighbor, surrogate father, and man of wisdom. H e taught me a
lot about transmitter and receiver antennas, the latter derived
from showing U.S. embassy and military personnel how to re-
ceive VOA broadcasts in posts that were truly hardship locations.
Besides his technical mentoring, Hugh also changed my life by
kicking my butt into college back in 1966-67.
 ix

Read This Before Erecting Any Antenna!

(and don't forget it either!)

Erecting antennas can be a dangerous affair. is at all times. It can easily become entangled in
Every year the radio co mmunity is saddened by your feet or ladder support, and cause a serious
stories of people who were killed or seriously fall. Always work with another person so that
injured by antennas that they were erecting. The help is near at hand; if yo u're a yo ung reader,
m ost serious threat comes fro m foolish ly work with a knowledgeable adult until you are
attempting to erect a wire antenna by tossing it experienced in the antenna erection p rocess. W ire
over the AC power lines coming into the house. antennas are notoriously easy, or so it seems, to
While it may be tempting to do so, especially erect . . . but that's a fool's game from a safety
when the most convenient suppo rt structures perspecuve.
are on op posite sides of the p owe r line, this feat You also need to be careful when soldering
MUST NEVER BE ATTEMPTED! The argu- connections, particularly if yo u're using a high-
m ent that both antenna and power w ires are wattage iron. Such irons (and the molten solder)
insulated d oes not help, fo r insulation can and can cause painful burns if you're n ot careful.
does deteriorate or cu t thro ugh (and with Allow plenty of time for soldered connections to
remarkably little force). Ir is NEVER safe to do cool before touching them.
this trick, so DON'T DO IT! Please??? H ere's som e legal-type stuff High Text is
Also, keep in mind where the antenna will making me put in here:
go if it breaks and plan your installation accord-
ingly. Look aro und the yard and determin e " This book contains information that
involves electricity and requires the use
whether or not it will be capable of wind-
of tools and the possession of certain •
whipping into a power line, or if it will becom e physical abilities. Neither the publisher
a hazard on a fo ot path or sidewalk, or if it will nor the author can accept responsibility
crash into a window or vehicle (and those insu- for your use of this information or for
lators and balun coils WILL break glass when your safety. Although all information is
believed to be correct, and efforts were
wind-whipped).
made to ensure correctness, no warranty
Use properly designed factory-made insula- is made explicitly or implicitly as to its
tors, not ad hoc substitutes, for the end and completeness, correctness, or fitness for
center insulators. The rope should be sufficiently any particular application. 11
strong to h old the antenna (plus ice load if you
live in a colder climate) under all wind condi- Are you H ighText people n ow satisfied???
tions, and should be strain-relieved with a spri ng I can't possibly fo resee all possible situations,
or counterweigh t. Use good quality wire in #12 so please exercise some basic good sense when
or # 14 size. A steel core, copperclad wire-like planning, erecting, or repairing antennas. T he
that available un der the brand name of Copper- secret to successfully building and installing any
weld-intended especiall y for antennas is antenna- and having fun doing ir- is to plan
reco mmended. your efforts, take your time, watch what you're
W hen erecting the antenna, especially if doing, and double-check your work. Try it and
standing on a ladder, be aware of where the wire see for yourseln
- Joe Carr, Falls Church, VA
 CHAPTER 1

Some Preliminaries
efore we can get into the nuts and bolts of using the VHF and UHF frequencies, the an-
B antenna design and construction, we need
to review some important points about radio
tenna polarization is important for maximizing
the received signal. The principal length of the
waves and signal propagation you'll need to receiver antenna is ideally oriented to match the
know to understand the material in the rest of polarization of the incoming radio wave. Cross-
this book. Some of the following may be a re- polarization-a horizontal antenna picking up a
view for you, so please feel free to skip ahead as vertically polarized wave (or vice versa)-causes
appropriate ... I won't be offended (I promise). a reduction of signal strength on the order of
about 3 dB . Since we're interested in antennas
Wavelength and Frequency for frequencies below 30 MHz, however, we
Sure, we're all fami liar with the relationship have less need to consider polarization issues
between the frequency and wavelength of a radio than VHF/UHF listeners. This is because sky
signal. But just in case you've forgotten ... wave signals below 30 MHz have scrambled
polarization due to refraction off the ionosphere.
Although there are general guidelines concern-
wavelength = 300 J ing "best" polarizations for given VHF/UHF
( frequency in MHz
frequencies, the situation over long, international
... gives the wavelength in meters for a signal of shortwave paths is not so easily defined because
a given frequency. By the way, wavelength is
often denoted by the symbol A in various radio
Antenna Rad iator
books and articles. We'll also use it in this book. Element ~
C:: : : ================
Radio Wave Polarization
Earth
T he polarization of a radio wave is defined as
the direction of the electric field (E-field). The
E-field vector has a positive and negative end,
which is measured by the effect the field has on
®
any electrons that are within the E-field. The
polarization of a wave sent from a transmitting
antenna can be deduced by looking at the con-
struction of the antenna. If the principal length
Antenna Rad iator
of the antenna is horizontal (Figure 1- l A), as it Element ~
is with many wire antennas, then the wave is
horizontally polarized. Similarly, if the principal
Earth
length is vertical (Figure 1-lB), as it is on AM
broadcasting antenna rowers, then the emitted
electromagnetic wave is vertically polarized.
®
For some receiver owners, especially those Figure 1 - 1
2 • Receiving Antenna Handbook

there are polarity shifts over the transm1ss1on Earth. Since the Earth is round, a great circle
path. Indeed, there may be multiple transmis- path is a curved line instead of a true straight
sion paths between a transmitter and receiver, line. To determine the great circle bearing from
and the two waves may arrive out of phase with your location to another, sit down with a globe
each other. . . and with differing polarities. and some string. The results can be surprising.
For example, th e shortest path from much of
Angle of Arrival the United States to Asia is not to the west; it's
A critical concept for antenna d esigners is to the north, over the North Pole.)
the angle ofarrival (AOA) of the desired signals. Figure 1-2 shows two ways that angle of
Gro und wave sign als are of little concern in this arrival can change. In Figure l-2A, we see that
respect because the only angle of arrival that the angles of arrival of three signals, from three
we must consider is the azimuth-from which different locations, are different just by virtue of
direction does ir come. Point the antenna in rhe the respective skip distances. In Figure l -2B, a
right direction, or use an azimuthal omnidirec- different situation is seen. H ere the ionosphere
tional antenna, and the signal is received. But will change during reception of a signal, and the
sky wave signals refracted back to Earth in the effective height will vary so the angle of arrival
ionosphere are different. They have nor only an at the receiver also changes. When this occurs
azimuthal angle of arrival, which is the "great fast enough, a flutter is heard. It is com mon for
circle" bearing between receiver and transmitter, ionospheric changes to occur over a period of
but also an elevation angle of arrival. (A great several minutes, especially as the band fades for
circle is the shortest path between two points on the evening.

Figure 1-2A

'
'

'
'
'
'

Figure 1-28
 Some Preliminaries ... 3

For some antennas, the mechanical position Antenna Patterns and

of the antenna can be used to compensate for Bandwidth
the angle of arrival. Some small loops work well An antenna pattern is a graph of the antenna
in this respect, as we'll see later in this book. response as a function of the angle of arrival of
Other antennas, however, either can't be moved the radio signal. Two patterns are generally taken.
or the angle of m aximum response (called "angle We've already met the first: a horizontal, or bird's
of radiation" elsewhere) is insensitive to changes eye view, called the azimuth pattern. The other
in mechanical position. It would waste a lot of is a vertical, or side view, called the elevation
time or money tilting a Yagi beam, for example, pattern. Keep in mind, however, that these
in order to compensate for angle of arrival prob- patterns are just two dimensional slices taken at
lems. Only the design of the antenna and its certain locations. The en tire pattern is a three
installation height above ground can change the dimensional form of azimuth and elevation pat-
angle of maximum response. terns at all angles.
T he gain of the antenna refers to the fact
Reciprocity that some antennas seem to boost rhe signal
Most descriptions of radio antennas are strength compared to oth er antennas. When
written from the transmitting point of view. looking at gain , it's necessary to use a reference
This approach is usually also sufficient for source for making a comparison. The usual
receiver owners because there is a law of recipro- p ractice is to com pare an antenna to eith er a
city in effect for all known antennas. That is, an theo retical construct called an isotropic source
antenna functions in exactly the same manner (we'll look at this later; for now, just think of it
on both transmit and receive. D escribing an as an antenna offerin g no gain or loss) or a
antenna for transmitting essentially describes it standard reference antenna such as a half-wave-
also for receiving. While technically true, the length di pole.
transmitter point of view loses something for
receiver owners. I decided , therefore, to write Gain and Decibels
this chapter on basic antenna theory fro m the Gain is typically measured usin g a system
receiver point of view. called decibels (abbreviated "dB") . T he use of
One reason for adopting a receiver point of decibels for electrical measurements originated
view is that reciprocity does not m ean that you with the telephone industry, and was named
would wisely ch oose the same style of antenna after telephone inventor Alexander Graham Bell.
for both receiving and transmittin g at the same The original unit was the "bel." T he prefix "deci''
site. While practical matters often force such means 1110, so the "decibel" is one-tenth of a
arrangements to be the case, the goals of receiving bel. T he bel is too large fo r most common appli-
and transmitting are different, so rely on differ- cations, so it is rarely, if ever, used.
ent ch aracteristics of the antenna for optimum T h e decibel is nothing more than a means of
performance. Also, when selecting an antenna expressing a ratio between two signal levels, such
for a sire that is purely for receiving, you wo uld as the relative strength of a received radio signal
select th e antenna based on those features that from two different antennas being compared.
are optimal for reception. For example, a deep Because the decibel is only a ratio, it is also
null migh t be more important to a receiver than dimensionless; that is, it's not a fixed unit like
the raw gain that appeals to transmitter operators. the centimeter or inch. It doesn't make any sense
4 • Receiving Antenna Handbook

to talk about a value like "6 dB " unless we know 3 dB = gain or loss of 2
the signal levels being compared. The decibel 6 dB = gain or loss of 4
can be used to express gains or losses berween 10 dB= gain or loss of 10
signal levels. 20 dB = gain or loss of 100
The decibel is based on the response of the 30 dB = gain or loss of 1000
h uman ear to changes in the loudness of a sound. 40 dB = gain or loss of 10,000
T his m eans it is a logarith mic rather than linear 50 dB =gain or loss of 100,000
term. For example, suppose the power of a trans- 60 dB =gain or loss of 1,000,000
mitter was increased from 100 watts to 200
watts. How much louder would the signal from Thus, if an antenna is said to have a 20 dB
th e transmitter sound? Common sense (and gain over another, it means that the antenna
"linear" thinking) might suggest that the signal makes the transmitted (or received) signal sound
would so und twice as loud. But that's wrong- 100 times more powerful than the antenna it is
in fact, there would be only a slight, barely being compared to.
noticeable increase in the loudness of the signal. Decibel measurements can be extremely mis-
The transmitter power would have to be in- leading if the reference antenna or p ower level
creased ten times-from 100 watts to 1000 that is being used for comparison is not clearly
watts-before the signal would so und rwice as stated. Some manufactu rers often misstate the
loud. This is how a logarithmic response works. gain claims for their antenna by using a non-
One decibel is abo ut equal to the smallest isocrop ic (or non-existent???) antenna for com-
audible change in signal level-in other wo rds, parison. T hat's why any claims fo r antenna gain
a difference that's just enough to be noticed. in an advertisement should be taken with large
Since decibels are logarithmic, seemingly minor grains of salt unless the referen ce antenna is
ch anges in the n umber of decibels used to m eas- clearly stated.
ure gain or loss can express big differences in
power levels. For example, a 10 dB gain in a Traveling Waves and Standing
signal is equivalent to increasing the power ten Waves
times. A 60 dB gain in a signal is not equal to Let's consider what happens when a wave is
increasing the power 60 times; instead, it is applied to an antenna. It doesn't matter much
equal to increasing the power 1,000,000 times! whether the antenna current is excited by a radio
You can calculate the difference between rwo transmitter or a passing electromagnetic wave;
power levels in decibels by using the following the result is pretty much the same. Take a look
fo rmula: at Figure 1-3. In Figure 1-3A, a wave is launched
onto the antenna wi re. It travels from the source
towards the other end . T his wave, called the
incident wave or fo rward wave, is an example of
a traveling wave. That is, th e wave travels from
one point to another on rhe antenna wire. When
However, m ost people just memorize some the wave hits the open opposite end of the con-
commonly used decibel levels and their equiva- ductor, it cannot go anywhere so it reverses
lent gain or loss in power. H ere are some of the direction (turning upside down, or "reversing
most com1non ones: polarity," in the process) and travels back towards
 Some Prelimin aries ... 5

the source (Figure 1-3 B). This reflected wave is "standing wave" designs. A standing wave antenna
also a traveling wave but is traveling in the is n ot terminated at the far ends, away from the
opposite direction of the incident wave. receiver, so has incident and reflected compo-
The incident and reflected waves interfere n ents. A traveling wave antenna is terminated in
with each other, as do all waves that try ro a res istance so that the forward wave is absorbed
occupy the same space. The signal level at any rather than reflected. These con cepts will be
given point on the wire is the algebraic sum dealt with further later.
(added taking into consideration the polarities
of the waves) of the incident and reflected waves. Directivity, Gain,
When the waves add constructively, they reinforce and Aperture
each other, producing a maxima. Conversely, A directional antenna is one that prefers
when they add destructively they produce a min- signals from a specified direction while exclud-
ima (Figure l -3C). The location of the minima ing or severely attenuating th ose from oth er
("nodes") and maxima ("aminodes" or "loops") directions. For omnidirectional (all direction)
tends to be stationary, so the envelope of the transmitting antennas, an analogy is a spherical
combined traveling waves forms a standing wave. light bulb (Figure l-4A) that emits light in all
In the other chapters of this book, you will directions; the illumination envelope p rovided
find antennas described as "traveling wave" or is a large sphere radiating in all directions. Such
a source is called omnidirectional because it radi-
ates all directions . Bur when th e spherical lamp

_ ___~
Q_,_ _/\ __,__I_n_c_id_e_
nt_W_av~e is placed at the focal point of a parabolic reflec-

\::J . v A I
tor mirror, its rays are redirected in a single
direction (Figure l-4B) . Such a source is direc-
tional, in this case unidirectional.
A receiving antenna analogy might be a
ph otocell-an electrical component that
responds to light levels-at the focal p oint of a
Reflected parabol ic mi rror. By itself, the photoce ll
Wave ~[\ responds to light from many directions, and as a
8~========~\J==i==-
' ~·========~ result may nor have rh e sensitivity or dynamic
range to detect weak light sources in specific
B directions. But if the photocell is placed at the
focal point of a parabolic mirror, then its direc-
tion of maximum response will be as shown in
Figure l -4C.
For any given antenna the law of reciprocity
tells us that the performan ce of the antenna on
transmit and receive is the same. In our mirror
analogy, lamps and photocells placed at the focal
~ --
point of the parabolic mirror work opposite
each other as "transmitter" and "receiver,"
Figure 1-3 respectively. A transmit antenna that directs all
6 • Receiving Antenna Handbook

of irs en ergy to rhe south (for example), will

only receive stations to the south, and rejects
signals arriving from the north, easr, and west.
Anrennas possess three interrelated prop-
erties: direcrivity, gain, and aperture. We can
ger a handle on these concepts by considering
rhe basic reference for antenna measurements:
rhe isotropic source. This theorerical consrruct
assumes a spherical point source radiating
signal into the air. As the signal travels out-
wards, the sphere increases in size until it has
® a diameter R (see Figure 1-5). All of rhe RF
power thar was pan of rhar tiny spherical
,('lo radiator ar rhe center (C) is now distribured
' -'?.f',r\Sc over rhe entire surface of the enlarged sphere.
Sj_ In making comparisons wirh various anten-
nas, rhe surface of the sphere is said to have
Redirected Wave an area of unity (1), and the isotropic radiator
is said to have a "gain" of unity. All anten na
Direct Wave gains are measured against the unity gain iso-
rropic source. An iso tropic radiator is rruly
omnidirectional because ir radiares power in
all directions equally.
Redirected Wave Directivity means that the RF powe r
radiared by the antenna is not radiated or
received in all directions equally, but rather

Preferred
Direction

© Figure 1 -4
 Some Preliminaries ... 7

area and has a higher power density (watts per

' unit area) . The ratio of the power density (watts
''
'I per square meter, W/m2 ) in the cone to the
-- ....,\
i''
power density distributed over the entire sphere
/
/
I ' is the antenna's gain. If a receiver antenna is
I
c- - --R -B
'
placed at the distance R from the point source C
first on the isotropic source and on the direc-
Point
tional antenna, it will receive a louder signal on
Source
the directional antenna.
The concepts of gain and directivity are
/
/
applicable t0 both receiver and transmitter
Figure 1 - 5 antennas. Directivity is measured as the angle
between -3 dB points. Gain is measured by
comparison of the antenna tO the isotropic
there are preferred directions. Let's assume, for source. A half-wavelength dipole is an antenna
the sake of argument, that the antenna is uni- that is bidirectional; it radiates a doughnut
directional. This antenna, placed at the center of shaped pattern that looks like a "figure-8 " when
the sphere (C in Figure 1-5) will radiate power viewed from above. The gain of the dipole is
towards the surface of the sphere. Bur because ir + 1.64 dB compared to the isotropic source.
is directional, it makes a "footprint" on the sphere Receiving antennas also possess a property
that is much smaller th an the entire spherical called apermre, or capture area. This concept
surface (Figure 1-6). The radiation pattern is relates the amount of power that is delivered to a
basically a solid with a horizontal angle ehand marched receiver ro the power density (watts per
an elevation angle ex. These angles are defined square meter). The aperture is often larger than
as the points in azimuth and elevation where the the physical area of the antenna, as in the case of
power (on a transmit antenna) , or sensmvny the half-wavelength dipole (where the wire fronts
response (on a receive antenna) ,
falls off by -3 dB from the cen-
ter of the pattern. C
Now we have two situa-
tions: the entire sphere with
unity surface area, and a conical
section from a directional an-
tenna with a surface area less
than unity. Directivity is the
measure of the extent of the
cone of radiation.
If all of the power that had
been radiated by the isotropic
Surface
source is now radiated by the of Sphere
direction al antenna, then it is
concentrated into a much smaller Figure 1 - 6
8 • Receiving Antenna Handbook

a very small physical area), or less as in the case Antenna Response Patterns
of a parabolic reflector used in microwave recep- One way to characterize the performance of
tion. Figure 1-7 shows the capture area of a half- an antenna is to plot its response pattern. We
wavelength (0.5 A) dipole. It consists of an ellipse can use either of two systems to plot the antenna
with major axes of0.51A and 0.34A.. pattern: polar plot or rectangular plot. Let's
consider a flashlight analogy. In Figure 1-8, a
A B unidirectional light beam emerges from the flash-
~
1 !,~-----------~
-- -------- ---- - light in a reference direction (which we label
zero degrees) . The light is brightest at 0°, and
falls off in intensity at angles greater than zero
051' Di ole
0.3'-tf-1========"'==== ====1 until total darkness is reached. This same data,

L__ _ _ _ _ _ -~-_
D_ _ __ __
- ____________ , c
----=-=-=
0.511------~
plotted in polar method in Figure 1-8, can be
plotted using rectangular coordinates as in Figure
1-9. Light intensity is plotted along the vertical
axis, while the angle is plotted along the hori-
zontal axis.
Figure 1-7
The next few figures show some representa-
tive antenna polar plots. These plots represent
the horizontal extent-that is, an azimuthal
pattern as viewed from above. (Don't forget that
each antenna also has a vertical extent, an
elevation pattern.) An omnidirectional antenna
pattern is shown in Figure 1- 10. Such an
0
- 900 _ ,.. ..-+90 antenna receives equally well from all directions.
Signals arriving with equal strength from any
point on the compass will evoke equal responses
in the receiver. An advantage of the omnidirec-
tional pattern is that stations from many loca-
t tions can be accomm odated without manually
2:1 80°
Figure 1-8
turning the antenna. A disadvantage is that
interfering signals cannot be discriminated if
they share the same operating frequen cy. Omni-
directional patterns are commonly associated
Brightest with single radiator vertical antennas.
A figure-8 antenna polar pattern in shown in
Figure 1- 11. This pattern is the type of pattern
expected from half-wavelength dipoles, certain
other horizontal antennas, some loops, and cer-
Dark Dark tain multiple radiator vertical antennas. This
- 90° +90° type of antenna has two preferred directions in
which reception is maximized. T here are also
Figure 1-9 two rej ection or "null" directions in which little
 Some Preliminaries ... 9

signal strength is received. If equal strength

stations are located at points "A" and "B" in
Figure 1- 11, the station at point A will be received
with considerably less strength than the station
A at point B. If the two
stations are operating
on th e same fre-
quency, then the
(/)
x station at "A" is dis-
<(
0
c
criminated against, in
(Top View ) c
favor of "B." Thus, a
i<( directional ante nna
provides the ability to
solve the co-channel
interference problem.
A cardioid pattern
Figure 1 - 10
is shown in Figure
'
t 1-12. This pattern is a
modified omnidirec-
tional pattern because
® it allows nearly equal reception in all directions
Ma ximum except one despised direction (the null). There
Reception are two uses fo r cardioid antennas. The first is to

j solve the co-channel interference problem

(stations in the null direction are rejected) and
the other is to allow unambiguous antenna
direction finding. By placing the null on the
station of interest, we can tell from which direc-
tion it arrived.

®Nu l l -- - Null Di rection

j
A
•
1
Ma ximum
Direction

Figure 1 - 11 Figure 1-12

10 _.. Receiving Antenna Handbook

A unidirectional beam antenna pattern is We can also use the pattern to recognize
shown in Figure 1- 13. This pattern is the opposite another facet of antenna design . Note that there
of the cardioid because it has only one maxima is a main lobe in the direction of maximum
direction and all other directions are nulls. T his reception, but there are also other minor lobes
type of pattern is common ly associated with (bacl<lobe and sidelobes) . These lobes are natural
m ulti-element Yagi or quad beam anten nas, as responses of th e antenna and represent direc-
well as certain m ulti-radiator vertical antennas . tions fro m which atten uated (but non-zero)
response is possible. All antennas have these
lobes, and the job of the antenna design er is to
Direction of reduce them as far as theoretically possible.
Maximum Reception An elevation antenna pattern is shown in
Figure 1- 14; this one most nearly matches the
1 beam antenna pattern of Figure 1-13 in that it
receives in only one direction. The pattern does
not lay parallel to the ground, but rather is
elevated by an angle of radiation (a) . The angle
Main of radiation is often important wh en designing
Lobe an antenna for reception fro m particular areas of
the world, although in some cases it m ight not
be practical for receiver owners to accomplish
such a goal (it is n ot impossible, h owever) . The
reason for taking care with the elevation pattern
is that shortwave signals arrive at the receiver
site from the ionosphere at some angle. Ideally,
the response pattern of the an tenna is oriented
A co place its high est gain section dead center on
Figure 1 - 13 L Backlobe the incoming radio signal. For receiver anten-
nas, it might be prudent to call angle of radia-
tion the angle ofmaximum response (AMR).

Ground or Reference Plane

Figure 1 - 14
 Some Preliminaries ,,. 77

Antenna Beamwidth maximum reception; A is also the peak signal

The antenna beamwidth refers to the rela- strength, as rep resented by the voltage level of
tive size of the direction of maximum reception, the signal. Arc BCD is the line along which the
and is described in units of angle, known as voltage level is 0.707 times the peak voltage.
degrees. Figure 1-15 shows how the beamwidth The points where arc BCD intersect the antenna
is usually determined. The pattern is a bi- pattern ("B" and " D ") are lmown either as the
directional figure-8, similar to that of the dipole half-power points or the -3 dB points. These
antenna. Line OA defines the direction of points are relatively easy to measure in practical
terms, so are used to define the antenna beam-
width. Thus, the beamwidth is the angle repre-
sented by arc BCD and lines OB and OD; for
the particular case shown here it is 90 degrees.
E
=:::;
c
0
Note that the response outside the arc region
E c;_ (arc OB and arc OD) is not zero, but is reduced
x CD compared to the resp onse inside the region.
0 u
2~
Impedance
A Impedance is the opposition to the flow of
c current in an antenna or other circuit. It is the
combined effects of ordinary resistance, capaci-
tive reactance, and inductive reactance; like resis-
tance, it is measured in ohms (Q). The maximum
power is transferred between two circuits (like
an antenna and a receiver) when their imped-
ances are equal. In a practical antenna system ,
this means that the antenna, the transmission
line between the receiver and antenna, and the
receiver antenna input(s) should all have the
same impedan ce so that the radio energy inter-
cepted by the antenna is most effectively trans-
ferred to yo ur receiver. T he impedances of
antennas vary by type and whether or not the
antenna is resonant at the frequency the receiver
is tuned to. Most contemporary receivers have a
50 Q antenna input, and several also include a
high impedance ("hi-Z") antenna input with an
impedance of several hundred ohms. We'll dis-
cuss the impedances of different antennas in the
Figure 1-15
pages ahead.
 CHAPTER 2

Antenna and Lightning

Protection Grounds
topic of almost perennial discussion among down a grid of copper wire for hundreds of
A shortwave listeners is the antenna ground
connection. A lot of silly things are done in the
square meters around the tower. Each row and
column of the grid consisted of # 10 bare copper
name of antenna grounding. Some of them work, wire, and the crossover points between rows and
some of them don't, and some of them are just columns were soldered with low resistance silver
plain dangerous. solder. The entire grid was connected to the
Perhaps the dumbest, most dangerous thing antenna tower's ground point. Then the sod
is to not provide a ground. co mpany was called in to cover the Earth. When
Several examples of dumb things pop to mind the power company came out, they found that
from my own 30+ years of experience. First, I Dave's ground system had a lower AC resistance
recall a chap-a Novice class ham operator- than the ground they'd installed!
who lived on the second story of a two-sto ry Only a few of us are rich enough co build
frame house. H e grounded his transmitter and "D ave's Ground Grid, " and few of us own
receiver through an 18-foot piece of #22 solid antique copper bathtubs that we are willing to
"hook-up" wire. Besides the wire being too small sacrifice. But it's also true that many people do
and too long, the "lower end" was ridiculous: it not understand what is a good ground. In this
was soldered to a fork stuck into the ground to a chapter we will look at some aspects of antenna
depth of about two inches! sys tem grounds.
Another ch ap go t a top flight electrical
ground- but it was ridiculous. In my area, we Why Ground an Antenna?
call this particular gro und "Abe's bathtub" There are two basic reasons to build a ground
because the fellow grounded his ham rig to a into the antenna system: lightning and electrical
massive antique copp er bathtub buried six feet pro tection and to make the radio system work
underground. Besides wasting a perfectly good better. Lightning protection is necessary because
(and expensive) antique bathtub, it must've been antennas sometimes get struck by lightning, and
terribly hard to dig a hole large enough to bury that can set a house on fire or ruin your radio
it!!! (in a rather spectacular way, incidentally).
Still an other guy grounded the receiver to a Lightning is not "attracted" to the antenna
pipe in the basem ent of his house- the natural just because it's an antenna, but because it is
gas pip e! That kind of ground is n ot only n ot higher than other objects around (if a n earby
very good from a radio point of view, but is tree is higher, then it has a higher probability
potentially very dangerous and illegal! than the antenna of a strike). A ground does not
My friend D ave was the chief engineer at a provide absolute protection against lightning,
small AM radio station chat was erecting a new but it can h elp tremendously. For some types
transmitter site and antenna rower. Noting chat of antennas, local electrical and building codes
there was no sod on the Earth as yet, h e laid require an appropriate ground fo r lightning
 74 • Receiving Antenna Handbook

protection. Also, your homeowners insurance (RG-8/U or RG- 11 /U) . The outer insulation,
may require such protection in order to keep the inner insulation, and center conductor are
policy in effect, especially if local codes require stripped away from the shield. Whatever type of
it. You should use a lightning protection ground wire is used it should a) be legal under local
even if your local codes and insurance regula- electrical codes and b) be a large, heavy duty
tions are silent on the matter. size.
Electrical protection is necessary because ra-
dio receivers sometimes short out internally, and Basic Antenna Ground System
that can put 110 volt AC on the chassis. If that Figure 2-1 shows the basic (and most
happens, then the radio chassis becomes electri- common) antenna ground system for lightning
cally "hot, " and very dangerous (perhaps fatally protection. A lightning arrestor is connected into
so). A good ground carries the current to Earth, the antenna downlead (or transmission line) at
blowing the fuse. some point outside of the building. A h eavy
A "good ground" also makes radios work ground wire is connected from the "ground"
better under the right circumstances, especially (GND or G) terminal on the lightning arrestor
with long wire or random length wire antennas to a ground rod driven into the ground.
(in fact, all so-called "Marconi" style antennas). T he "innards" of a typical lightning arrestor
Antenna and radio performance is improved if are shown in Figure 2-2A. The antenna lead is
the antenna system is provided with a good RF represented by a center conductor (''A") that is
ground. separated from a pointed ground lug by a small
Lightning grounds, electrical safety grounds, air gap. The air gap is an insulator at low voltages,
and RF grounds are not n ecessarily the same but when a high voltage lightning strike comes
thing. For example, a lightning ground that along, the air in the gap ionizes and creates a low
works through a lightning arresto r may be a resistance path to ground (Figure 2-2B).
reasonably good protector for lightning, but is
totally ineffective for RF or electrical protection
purposes. The idea is to design a ground system
W indow
that will work for all three functions. / ...__ Antenna downleod

Ground Wires '---Lig htning Arrestor

The ground wire, whether from the receiver \---- Heavy Ground Wire
or a lightning arrestor, should be made of either
aluminum or copper, and be as large as possible. Copper or Copper Clod
Aluminum clothesline is sometimes used, as is Y- St ee I Ground Rod ( >6' l Ground
:-.::·
aluminum TV antenna ground wire. Another ..........
popular form of ground wire is to use multiple ......
sections of# 12 or # 14 house wiring connected
in parallel at both ends. A lot of people use
heavy copper flat braided wire, while others buy
........
a roll of automotive battery ground wire. Still
others recycle the outer braided shield of the
larger size coaxial cable for the ground wire Figure 2-1
 Antenna and Lightning Protection Grounds ~ 15

Ground rods are available in four-foot, six-

foot and eight-foot lengths. Although some are
copper, most are copperclad steel. For lightning ®
protection purposes, the four-foot and six-foot
lengths are not the best choice. In fact, most
local electrical codes require eight-foot lengths.
For RF purposes, however, two or three four-
foot rods separated by a few inches and shorted
together above the surface with heavy wire will
suffice. Keep in mind that such an arrangement
may not be either legal or smart for lightning
protection ... if you want multiple ground rods,
then drive several eight-footers into the ground.
A somewhat better system is shown in Figure
@
2-3. On the rear panel of most modern short-
wave receivers are two connectors: a coaxial
connecto r for the antenna (ANT ), and a ground
connectio n (G N D ). T he latter is usually a
machine screw and nut th at is attach ed tO the Figure 2 - 2

metal chassis of the receiver.

On some receivers, especially older designs,
there will be a small phenolic or ceramic strip
(see inset to Figure 2-3) with either two or three
screw terminal connections. If there are
A G
two screws, then one is for the single-
wire antenna lead and the other is
I§ §I
for the ground connection. On
Receiver Unbalanced
three-wire types, there are two for GND Al A2 G
antennas (A l and A2) and one for 1§ § e I
ground (G) . If an unbalanced Balanced
antenna is used with the three-
wire type, a shorting wire is con-
nected between A2 and G .
T he ground system in Figure
2-3 uses two ground wires. One ~ Ground W ires
goes from the ground connection
on the back of the receiver to the
ground rod, while the other goes
from the ground connection on y-- Ground Rod
the ligh tnin g arres tor to the
ground rod. Again , make all wires
as heavy as possible. Figure 2 - 3
76 .... Receiving Antenna Handbook

Switched carry the switches.

Ground System The position sh own (''A"), the knife switch
At one time, all ground systems for wire connects the antenna downlead to the receiver
antennas used a large knife switch to connect lead; normal signal reception occurs. But if the
the antenna to either the receiver or the ground switch is flipped to "B," then the antenna down-
wire, as needed . T he idea was to switch the lead is connected to the ground rod through a
antenna to the ground side wh enever a light- heavy gro und wire.
ning storm approach ed, or whenever the radio A lightning arresto r is used in the line. Just
was not attended fo r a p eriod of time. because the switch can connect the antenna wire
Figure 2-4 sh ows such a set-up. The nice to the ground side does not mean that no arres-
thing is that these old-fashioned switches are tor is needed. Besides the fact that the switch
still available in some electrical or radio supply can fail, there is always the possibility that a
stores ... I've seen them on sale recently. Mail surprise sto rm or a lapse of memory will occur,
order electrical and scientific supply sources also and the switch will be in the w rong position.

Antenna

Downleod

B
Grourd Rod

To Receive r
/
Old -Fashioned
Knife Switch

Earth

Figure 2 -4
 Antenna a nd Lig htning Prot ection Grounds ..- 17

Grounds for Vertical Antennas

and Towers
The ground systems shown so fa r are used
Antenna ~
fo r h orizontal wire antennas. T he transmission
line or downlead lightning arrestor can be used
fo r any type of antenna, and indeed sh ould
always be used. Vertical antennas can be addi-
tionally protected, however.
Figure 2-5 shows a m ethod fo r providing a
subsidiary lightning arrestor for vertical anten -
nas. A stiff heavy duty wire, or strip of sh eet
copper, is placed in close proximity (~- inch) to
the base of the antenna, forming a spark gap fo r
a ligh tning arrestor. T his "arrestor" is connected
to the ground rod via heavy wire. This system
can be used on either gro und mounted or mast
m ounted vertical antennas . In fac t, man y
Figure 2 -5
commercial vertical antennas have some similar
system in place.
Ano ther method is shown in Figure 2-6.
T his meth od p rovides both an RF
ground an d a lightning pro tection
ground. On vertical antennas, Antenna~
the outer shield of the coaxial
cable transmission line fo rms
the gro und connection to
the receiver. T h is sh ield
sh o uld b e gro unded via
h eavy w ire tO an 8-foot
copperclad gro und rod that
is legal under local codes. Oua rter Wavelength Radial
A secondary ground in
Figure 2-6 is the q uarter- I I
wavelength radial; this is an ~ Grourd Rod
RF ground. Radials are # 14
or # 12 (o r larger) wire, cut
to a quarter-wavelength at a
frequen cy in the center of
the band of interes t. O f
course, fo r a wide frequen cy
range, such as the high fre-
quen cy shortwave bands, Figure 2 -6
18 ..t.. Receiving Antenna Handbook

proper operation requires a multiple radial sysrem

for different frequencies a couple megaH en z Lfeer = ( -246)
- = 25. 23 feet
(MH z) apart. A general rule is to use ar least two 9. 75
radials on each frequen cy, bur rhe real siruarion
is: the more the merrier. AM broadcast stations Radials can be installed either above ground,
install upwards of 120 radials for a single fre- or buried undergro und a few inches. For the
quency, bur the engineering literamre shows sake of safety, keep the above ground radials for
decreasing effectiveness above 15 or 16 per fre- mast mounted verticals only ... bury all others
quency. For most SWL purposes, two radials (you don't want anyone tripping over the radial
will work well. that is installed only a few centimeters above the
The physical length of radials is fou nd from: ground or buried in the grass).

246 ) Conclusion
Lfeec = ( F For an antenna to work properly and yet still
MHz
provide at least reasonable protection against
W here: L is rhe length of the radial in feet, and lightnin g strikes and electrical failures in the
Fis the frequency of resonance in megaH en z. receiver, a proper ground system is needed. No
H ere's an example: what is rhe length of a form of protection is totally foolproof, or gives
radial cut fo r a frequency of 9750 kHz (9.75 absolu te protection, but a good ground is better
MHz)? than no protection- by a long shot!
 CHAPTER 3

Real World Antennas

Trade-Offs, Construction, and Connections
n the surface, it might appear that con- of reception. Radio antennas have differenr
0 structing and installing a receiver antenna
is a relatively simple chore. But when yo u actu-
elevation angle ch aracteristics, and these must
be accounted fo r in the design if reception of the
ally try to do it, the task becomes a bit more desired type is to be achieved. In some cases, the
daunting! There are a number of factors to con- height of the antenna off the ground will control
sider and th ings you need to keep in mind when the angle of reception. For example, a half-wave-
deciding on the best antenna for you, construct- length dipole that is around a quarter-wave-
ing it, and erecting it. If you don't, you might length high will have a main elevation Lobe (the
wind up with an antenna that doesn't perform direction of maximum reception in that plane)
the way you want or that violates local laws . nearly straight up, hardly conducive to receiving
And there's no one "right" antenna for every DX stations that arrive at low angles of 15 °
application or situation. In this chapter, we will elevation.
take a look at the various factors that go into an In general, the DX listener wants to achieve
antenna decision, including looking at some of an antenna with a low angle of maximum recep-
the trade-offs (like gain vs. size and cost) that tion (AMR), while the listener who is after targets
usually must be made. We' ll also look at the in the next state or region needs one with a
righ t way to construct an antenna and make all higher AMR. You have to decide whether you're
the necessary conn ections to get the signal from a DXer or SWL!
your antenna to your receiver. Some general guidelines are appropriate if
you don't own 43 acres of Texas or any other
Trade-Offs and Compromises state. Let's consider a typical suburban or urban
Antenna selection should take into consider- single family detach ed h ouse. Typically seated
ation a number of factors, many of which you on a fifth to a third of an acre lot, these homes
can probably think of without me helping you. represent those of a large number of people. A
Often overlooked, however, is th e skill of the quarter-acre lot has an area of 10,890 square
opera tor (that's you!). For receiver operators, the feet, or a square that's about 100+ feet on the
ab ility to know the receiver, how to rune it, how side. D epending on where th e house and power
to man ipulate the selectivity controls, and how lines (!!!) are situated, some can accommodate
or when to listen, is somewhat more important full size horizontal, half-wavelength , antennas
than any antenna that you can buy or build. down to frequencies of 5 MHz or so. Below that
While the skilled operator can get more out of a frequency, on e needs to consider some form of
quality antenna than a dud dude, the truth is compen sated antenna, such as a coil-loaded
that she can also trade-off a little antenna capa- dipole. Vertical antennas can be accommodated
bility for other factors if that is appropriate. down to frequen cies about 7 MHz in some
O ne of the m ost important factors fo r the locations (33 feet high) or higher. Local ordi-
SWL/DXer is the angle of arrival typical for nances and codes may have something to say
signals from the target area at the time and place abou t h ow high the vertical can ge t before
20 • Receivin g An tenna Handbook

mechanical licensing and inspection is required. Others I know (both listeners and ham operators)
People who live in townhouses have a d iffer- live in either suburban townhouses or urban
ent situation. Besides having lots that are too row houses, and for both classes their op tions
small fo r any fo rm of full size antenna in the are tighter than mine. Your own personal situa-
lower shortwave ban ds, many of these people tion will have to be assessed before any antenna
have to contend with homeowners' association selection is possible.
rules. Generally regarded as a legally binding If you own your home, then you should
covenant- th us nearly unbreakable-most such have received a copy of th e surveyor's plan e
rule books have a provision against any form of when you settled, or sho rtly thereafter. You can
outdoor anten na. Unless you can make the make a copy of the actual plane (you don't really
antenna nearly invisible to the prying eyes of the want to d raw on the original) for purposes of
homeowners' association toads, then opt for one making antenna plans fo r the sire. A ruler and a
of the indoor designs even though they are less bit of knowledge will help you plan an antenna
effective than other designs. installation that makes sense for you.
Generally speaking, the possibility of outdoor
antennas fo r apartment dwellers or o ther rental How Much Antenna Gain?
property residents is limited to nearly, but not Gain is a highly desirable attribute of any
exactly, zero. Most of these people will wan t to antenna. Gain makes the signal seem stronger
op t fo r an indoor antenna of some sort. However, th an it really is. And it's not by magic, either, fo r
all is not lost fo r many people who live in apart- a higher gain antenna will actually deliver to the
m ents. It is not unusual fo r apartment owners or receiver antenna inpu t more RF power picked
managers t0 grant permission tO erect a random up from th e airwaves than a lower gain antenna.
length wi re t0 a tree, or a dipole or oth er antenna But the matter of gain needs some consider-
on the roof. If you are on good terms with the ation, for gain costs m oney.
manager, an d can give that person reasonable O n the positive sid e: gain m eans more signal
assurances that they will not assum e any un- pick- up an d less noise (or unwanted signal) pick-
reasonable liability for grantin g you permission , up, so a better sign al-to-noise ratio is achieved .
then they might just grant it. Can't h urt t0 ask! Dollar fo r dollar, up to some unspecified but
We'll cover some approaches for apartment and flexible limit, a dollar spent on the antenna
con do dwellers later in this book. system provides better results than a dollar spent
on p reselectors and fancy receiver features. For
Site Survey ham operators, a $3000 antenna does a lot more
In the sections above we talked a bit about overall good than a $3000 linear amplifier. Thus,
the d ifferent choices for an antenna based on it might seem that antenna gain is everything.
the lot size. For the vast majority of readers, the But consider gain in another light. A gain of
installation site is a primary decision d river, and +3 dB means doubling the received power level.
cannot be overlooked. A friend of mine owned a Sounds like a lot of increase, huh? Nah , not
43 acre farmette in Texas, and was able to erect really-remember our discussion of d ecibels
just about anything he wanted (includ ing a 1250 back in C hapter 1? On some receivers 3 dB is a
foo t longwire) . My own lot is a 10,000+ square single S-unit on the S-meter, while on o ther
foot suburban mortgage trap, so my cho ices are receivers 6 dB (quadrupling the power level) is
considerably more constrained than my fri end's. required to regis ter a 1 S- un it increase. Ir's also
 Real World Antennas ~ 21

true that human operators h ave difficulty distin- motors produce a "whirring" sound wh en they
guishing two reasonably strong signals that are a run. A "frying eggs" hash-like noise is produced
single S-unit apart. For example, the difference by those infernal light dimmer controls used to
in perception of two signals, one S-6 and the replace switches in houses. Some of those
other S-7, is in the decimal dust category. The dimmers are so noisy that replacing them with
3 dB, a fa 1 S-unit, difference only makes a real regular switches is the best solution. A scratchy
difference when you are searching for the really arcing noise is sometimes produced by the local
weak ones, where a signal that is 1 S-unit (3 dB) power lines if th ey are not in good repair.
above the noise floor is hearable and a weaker Perhaps th e worst offenders in the neighbor-
one is not. For listeners chasing weak DX, the hood are television receivers and video cassette
difference may be worth it, but for others it is a recorders. There are three basic problems seen.
marginal ben efit in the trade-off equation. Ir is First, if you have cable, then there is a wideband
generally held (that is, people I agree with say) coaxial cable entering your home carrying sco res
that a 20 dB difference (about 6 S-units) is of signals that raise intermodulation possibilities
required for comfortable listening if two signals to new heights of glory (or ignominy) . The cable
are present at the same time. must become "leaky" to RF befo re the problem
can occur in any large degree. You might want
Noise Considerations to get the cable company to repair the cable as a
One of the factors that can make you wonder solution. Second, th e 15734 Hz mis-shapened
why you p aid so much money for such a poorly squarish wave used in the TV horizontal deflec-
performing radio is local noise pick-up. One of tion system produces "birdies" that appear every
the most important controlling factors in radio 15.734 kHz up through the spectrum . . . even
reception is signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), the rela- into the low-band VHF region. Finally, there is
tive strength of the signal versus the "noise floor. " th e 3.58 MHz co lor oscillator used on color
Some noise is inherent in the receiver, while televisions.
other noise is inherent in the atmosphere. The Listen at that frequency on a good TV night
on-board noise created by the receiver cannot be and you may hear severe birdies at 3.58 MHz
h elped, while atmospheric noise is attenuated at and they splash a few dozen kiloHertz either
least somewhat by using a direcrional antenna side of 3.58 MHz .. .which wouldn't be so bad
with gain. T he noise problem can be quite were it not for th e fact that they appear on
complex, and is beyond the scope of this book harmonics of 3.58 MHz as well. In my neigh-
(especially since many noise problems are not borhood, I can tell from the 15.734 kHz and
helped by antenna design). But what is a matter 3.58 MHz noise in my receiver when a popular
of concern, and what you can do something TV show is on ... and if lots of p eople are taping
about, is man-made interference. That type of a movie then some freq uencies in the lower
noise can be helped by proper design and instal- shortwave bands become almost useless to me.
lation of the antenna. Antenna design and installation can make a
Man-made noise comes in a lot of different difference in suppressing these n oise sources,
forms. Sparking electrical contacts, which are especially if the antenna is directional. The null
foun d in switches and motors, will produce a in the directional antenna pattern can be aimed
static-like noise or an abrupt "pop!" (if a single at the offending noise source, reducing its over-
operation type of device, like a switch). Some all amplitude at the input of the receiver. While
22 & Receiving Antenna H andbook

that position may also attenuate desired signals received against every homeowner in the area.
from that direction, it may be a reasonable rrade- T he county board repealed the law during the
off for a specific SNR problem. next meenng.
W here you locate your antenna is a factor in Fortunately, yo u won't have to worry about
noise pick-up. For example, power line noise building permits or other legalities for most wire
tends to fall off dramatically with distance, so anten nas unless you are erecting masts or towers
placing an antenna as far away as possible will to support them. H owever, you should ch eck on
help tremendously. Keep in mind that a "safe" any local regulations pertaining to antennas just
distance from a hazards point of view might be in case. Ifyour property is covered by any restric-
too close for the SNR point of view. Avoid tive covenants dealing with antennas, these can
locating any antenna near either power lines o r usually be found in the prospectus, sales contract,
cable television wires even when hazards are not or deed for the property.
the primary concern. Save all paperwork regarding any building
permit or other written authorization you m ight
Permits and Legal Stuff need, including inspection decals or papers, and
One necessary reminder is that your local the original drawings (with the local building
government might have so m e inrerest ing inspector's stamps) . If a casualty occurs, then
ideas-legal requirements, actually-concerning your insurance company may elect to not pay
your antenn a installation. Their electrical, off if you have violated an electrical, mechanical,
mechanical, and zoning codes must be observed. building, or zon ing code. T hat clause may be
There is a great deal of similarity between local overlooked by an enthusiastic antenna builder,
codes because most of them are adaptations from but it could prove to be a costly oversight if
certain n ation al standards. Bur there are enough something happens.
differences that one needs to cons ult local
authorities. Indeed, you may need a license or Installing Antenna Masts
building permit to install the antenna in the In the absence of the side of a building, or a
first place, and it may be illegal for you to install natural antenna support such as a tree, it becomes
any antenna! Before you decide on a final design necessary to provide a support. There are three
or purchase the materials for it, make sure that ways this can be done: grow a tree; erect a tower;
you are p ermitted to install it. or erect a mast. The first alternative isn't terribly
Abou t thirty years ago, a fri end of mine in a p ractical because one would have to wait for a
radio club fo und out that his county had an decade or two before the tree was tall enough to
ordinance that said an outdoor antenna must be do you any good. T he second alternative is so
double its own height plus SO feet from the costly that only a few can afford it. T h e third
nearest property line. He received a summons alternative is wh at this section is all about.
after a complaint from a neighbor. In a county Mas ts are typically shorter than towers.
full of quarter-acre home lots, however, that was Although SO-foot telescoping masts are avail-
a ridiculous law. Very few outdoor TV antennas able, they are also a bit rare. For purposes of this
met that strict requirement! So H al went to the discussion, we will assume a maximum height
court house and asked for S0,000 complaint ofless than 30 feet. Such masts can be bought or
forms . Using a local county directory, he pro- built from a number of different m aterials.
ceeded to fill out the sam e complaint as he'd One source of metal masts is stores that sell
 Real World Antennas .,.. 23

television receiver antenna parts, such as home mast sections for this type of mast, avoid the
supply d ealers and many local electronic parts cheap thin wall steel or aluminum varieties, and
distributors. Although getting rarer in this age opt instead for the thick walled steel versions.
of nearly universal cable TV wiring, TV antenna Even thin wall steel will collapse when loaded
parts are still sold in electronics catalogs. Masts too much.
and hardware are also sold by ham radio equip- Wooden masts can be built, and in the follow-
ment dealers. ing sections one such design will be discussed .
There are two basic forms of TV antenna These masts can be made to 25 or 30 feet with
mast. The most elegant (and costly) are the tele- good stability, especially if a good grade of pres-
scoping slip-up masts. T hese masts consist of sure treated lumber is used.
two, th ree, or four sections, each smaller diameter Figure 3-1 shows one method fo r installing
than the next, so that they fit inside one another. shorter masts, say up to about 15 feet high. The
When the assembly is collapsed, they will be no mast is fastened to a chain link fence post by
more than six to eight feet long, depending on U-bolts buffered wi th short pieces of "2x4"
the d esign and the final erected height. To in- lumber. The bottom end ofthe mast is anchored
stall, each mast section is raised to a certain in a concrete filled cinder block (large size pre-
heigh t, wh ere some alignment holes line up, and ferred). You can buy repair or patching cement
a steel pin is placed thro ugh both diameters to in small bags at Harry and Harriet H omeowner
help stabilize the assembly. If the mast is more hardware stores, in case you don't want to buy
than 15 to 18 feet high, then it is common an entire seven cubic yard truckful.
practice to use guy wires,
which means a guy ring
is needed to hold the
W ireS. -<~--- Woo den Mast
A less expensive TV
mast consists of several
five or ten foo t sections ~--- 2X LJ- Block
that can be joined end
to end. These mast sec-
tions are built with one French Post----'>-
end tapere d and the
other flared so that sec-
tions can be joined to-
gether. If a guy ring and
wires are used, these
'---- - - 2 XLJ- Block
masts are successful to
about 30 feet high, al-
.. ,. •'
though I am not happy :.-: .-. . .-. . .-. -<~- Co n cr ete Fil led
with them over 20 feet :': · ::::::/:::/:: Cinder BIo ck
because they tend to :'.: -.......-............

get unstable above that

height. When selecting Figure 3-1
24 • Receiving Antenna Handbook

Homebrew Wooden Mast

4
< Mast Figure 3-3 shows a beefy 25-foot mast that
\·:::::: ·........... will work for a lot of sites that lack a natural
\:>.:· :·.__: .-: :.-. means for mounting an antenna. The lumber to
.....·..:·.....
·... ·. use for this antenna is pressure treated 2x4s, th e
·._..·.·.. ·."·.-::-:·
kind normally recommended for outdoor use
1·:::.-::: _::.
·-._:............
on decks and other structures. This type of lum-
:-:·:.-\ ::}:}~ Conc rete
. . ........ ber typically comes in 8-foot, 10-foot, 12-foot,
:::::28
11 ·... ·... ·.
-::.-::·.::. .·.:.·.
.:.·_.::_..·.:.·
and 16-foot lengths, with some stores offering
·..-·......
..
·.: ·.
·, ·.: ·.
·.: ·. 20-footers. The idea is to stack the lengths three
·. .. ·-..·.:·..
.. '• ... . deep (except at the top) to provide strength .
·.·;.-~.'; ,·;.;,·:
~···· In the scheme shown in Figure 3-3, the bottom
:~~~ ;~~'. _ ~Gro vel
''

.:·;.·; ":;.'.~ section consists of two 12-foot 2x4s, with two

.":::.'r!' .":;."
.............
.:.-.·.-...-::.-::.~
.............
.............
8-footers, stacked on top of each other, sand-
wiched between them. Additional 8-footers on
Figure 3-2 top of the bottom section, properly sandwiched
together, form the upper section.
The lumber elements are fastened together
If the fence post is firmly anchored with eith er 3/a-inch or 5/16-inch bolts, fitted
in a concrete plug, and is in good with flat washers, lock washers, and hex nuts as
shape, then this form of mast mount-
ing works well. You would not want
to mount a beam and rotor on top of
l~~===!r::o--:::- Wire
it, but for wire antennas and reason-
2XLJ. X8 ' - -•-
ably short verticals it is sufficient.
Lacking a fence post is not fatal, ""' \ l End Insu lator
but requires a little digging (Figure
3-2). Obtain a posthole digger at the ~Knot
hardware store, and grub out enough
dirt to mount a post, or the mast itself.
Be aware of local ordinance require- -4, _ - Rope Tied in
ments for the depth. In my area, such Endless Loop
mountings are to be at least 28 inches 2 XLJ.X 12'
deep in order to get below the frost
line. Fill the bottom of the hole with
four inches of gravel, and then mount
the post or mast. W h en it is plumb
(straight up and down) , then put in
another four inches of gravel to stabi- Bolts ----1•~
lize the mast. Next, fill the hole with
concrete to a point about four inches
below the surface. Figure 3-3
 Real World Antennas .,. 25

n eeded. Some p eople like to use two hex nuts on

top of each oth er such that the outer provides
additional holding for the inner. Figure 3-4
shows the details on how to do this. Flot Wosher ~
Flot Wosher
Masts tend to be fixed, and not easily low-
ered. But you will want to install, change, or 31a· Hex Bolt______...
repair the antenna from time to time, so you
will want some means for getting to the antenna
wire. T he traditional way is to install a pulley at
the top of the mast so that an endless loop rope
can be used to raise and lower the wire like a flag Figure 3-4
on a flag pole. I don't like that system. Pulleys
can rust and jam or break. I used a pulley on a
mast in the late 1950s, but one time the rope
slipped out of the pulley's wheel race, and
jammed in between the wheel and the housing.
After that, my mentor and tormentor, Mac Parker
(W4II), showed me a neat li ttle trick to get
around that problem: screw-eye bolts. The mast
of Figure 3-3 has a screw-eye bolt mounted at
the top (see detail in Figure 3-5). The rope is
passed through the eye of the screw-eye, and
Figure 3-5
tied off to form th e endless loop.
A boater's "deck d ea r" at the base of
the mast, about waist level, is used to
secure the rope at the bottom end.
This system has worked great fo r m e
over the years, and I never had a repeat
of the pulley disaster.
Another form of ground mounted
mast is shown in Figure 3-6. The
actual mast can be a telescop ing mast,
a 2x4 mast, a wooden handrail (if
sturdy enough). T his mount is de- Wall
signed for installation against the side
of a h ouse or other building. The
- Mast
im-
base of the mast is anchored in a MaW J
cem ent footer such as those used for LU-Bolt
supporting porches and outdoor
decks. The bottom of the 2x4 is fas- Base Footer
tened to the footer using a U-channel,
of the sort used for anchoring stud- Figure 3 -6
26 .&. Receiving Antenna Handbook

ding in h ouses, or the supports in car ports. The

o-Sc rew Eye mast is supported at two points from braces
attached to the house outer wall. These braces
should be long enough to clear the roof over-
hang and gutter by an inch or two, but not
much longer. D erail in the inset of Figure 3-6
shows typical construction for the b races. Actual
_s-- Meta I or Wood Mast dimensions will depend on th e offset n eeded. A
U-bolr holds the mast to the brace. At least two
h eavy duty wing bolts, or other thro ugh wall
fasteners, are used to hold the brace against the
wall. Figure 3-7 shows a wall mount that uses
television anten na hardware to hold an anten na
Stand - off Mounts mast. This type of installation can be made close
(TV-Type)
to the roof line of the house. T he actual mast
can be wooden handrail stock (if sturdy and
robust), or metal television antenna m asts. The
standard TV masts come in ten foo t lengths,
..S-- House Outside Wa 11 and the best are made of steel. Place a screw-eye
bolt at the upper end in the same manner as
Figure 3 - 7 other masts.
T he m ast is held to the
o--Screw Eye Bolt wall with stand-off mounts.
These com e in 4-inch , 6-
inch, 8-inch, 12-inch, and
24- inch sizes. For a ten foot
mast, use the smallest size
that will clear any obstacles.
_s-- TV Mast For larger, heavier, or longer
masts, use a heavier grade.
For particularly long antennas, the wind weight
D
of the wire may be substantial. If you design one
Strop of these antennas, use a heavier grade of mount.
Mounts The mounts are held to the wall with wing
bolts.
D
A chimney (or, in my part of the country,
"chim-blee") mount is shown in Figure 3-8.
These television antenna mounts are easily avail-
able and consist of a pair of stainless steel straps,
the antenna m ast clamps, and the bolts/hard-
ware needed to secure the straps. To install,
Figure 3-8
follow the manufacturer's directions. T hey will
 Real World Anten nas T 27

the peal<is the most common

location. Follow the manu-
facturer's directions in in-
+-z___ Tripod Leg stalling a tripod. Typical
detail of how the legs are
installed on the roof is shown
in Figure 3-9. A typical tract
J.---~ Sealant
h ouse (and many custom
house) roofs consist of a layer
of plywood, %- to %-inch
thick, covered with tar paper
and shingles. The bolts that
h old the legs must pass
through the roof, and that
opens two issues: strength
and waterproofing.
The strength issue is ad-
dressed by backing the roof,
inside the attic or loft, with
Figure 3 -9
a 12- inch len gth of l x6
lumber and a similar length
call for you to wrap the straps around the chim- of 2x4. Some people also use a 6-inch l x6 lumber
n ey, and then cinch them tight. It is best prac- on the outside under the tripod leg's mounting
tice to make sure the straps are h orizontal to the tab.
ground, or it will look like the dickens and may The waterproofing issue is extremely impor-
lose some strength. Don't kink the straps while tant. If rain water or snow infiltrates around the
spritzing with them , or they will n ever go on bolt, then it will rot the roof, causing a tremen-
right. As with other T V mast antennas, a screw- dous repair bill. A sealant is placed between the
eye bolt at the top will make it easy to use a rope mounting tab and th e shingle (or outside l x6, if
to raise and lower the antenna wire for installa- used). Use proper roofing sealants. Traditionally
tion and servicing. that meant roofer's tar, but today h ardware stores
A safety note is in order here. T hose straps sell several different forms (select a good one),
are easily installed, but it should be a two person although all share a specific characteristic: they're
job. The reason is that the act of putting them gooey and messy. After all is correctly m ounted,
into place will get a single installer into som e dab lots of sealant all over the assembly, com-
silly looking and very awkward (hence danger- pletely covering it. Some installers use a rubber
ous) positions. I've done it, but consider it dumb gasket inside the attic/loft th at prevents any wa-
to attempt without assistance. ter that gets in from migrating further. Periodi-
Another approach is to use a tripod roof mount cally (like annually) inspect the mount both
such as those used to support TV antennas. inside the roof and outside on the roof, for
These tripods can be mounted at any po int on evidence of water infiltration ... or pick another
the roof, even on the slope, although straddling mounting method.
28 ..to. Receiving Antenna Handbook

End and Center Insulators Insulators may be made of glass, glazed

When constructing a wire antenna, you will ceramic, or synthetic materials such as nylon or
need end insulators to electrically isolate the Teflon.™ Most of those sold in stores today are
copper wire antenna radiator element from the of synthetic material, al rho ugh used ceramic and
support rope. Most wire antennas also require a glass insulators are frequently seen at hamfests.
center insulator. Insulators also provide a certain Figure 3- 10 shows two typical insulators. The
amount of mechanical strength in the connec- larger type can be used for high power ham
tion between the radiator wire and the rop e radio transmitter antennas as well as general
supports. receiver antenna use. It provides
a much larger degree of isola-
tion between the wire and the
supports (which pres umedly
reduces end effects) and is mech-
anically stronger. The smaller
unit is used for smaller trans-
mitter antennas and general
shortwave receiver antennas.
A popular type of center in-
sulator is shown in Figure 3-1 1.
This type uses an 50-239
"UHF" coaxial connector, so it
will mate directly with the PL-
Figure 3-10
259 coaxial connectors used on
many antennas. The wire radia-
tor elements are connected to heavy duty solid
copper wire "pigtails" protruding out each end
of the center insulator. A different form of cen-
ter insulator consists of a hollow body of PVC-
like plastic material with connections for the
antenna wire made to, and supported by, a pair
of screw-eye terminals on either side.
Some center insulators similar to Figure 3- 11
contain balun transformers. "Balun" stands for
"balanced to unbalanced," and is used to march
a "balanced" antenna (such as a dipole) to an
unbalanced feedline (such as coaxial cable) .
Some baluns also do impedance transforma-
tions. For example, ordinary dipoles use 1: 1
balun transformers since the center impedance
of ordinary dipoles is approximately 75 Q . How-
ever, folded dipoles use 4: 1 baluns since their
Figure 3-11 center impedance is closer to 300 Q.
 Real World Antennas ... 29

Connecting to End and Center

Insulators
There are two goals to keep in mind when
making the connections to either end insulators
or center insulators. First, you wan t a strong,
reliable mechanical connection that won't come
loose under the buffeting the antenna will
receive. Winds and weather can take a terrible
toll on wire antennas, so a good, reliable mechan-
ical connection is mandatory. The second goal is
Figure 3 - 12
to make a good electrical connection. After all is
said and done, the antenna is still an electrical
device connected into an electrical circuit. The first step in connecting the antenna
Let's d eal with end insulators first. This wire to the insulator is to pass the wire through
method works no matter what type of end insu- one of the holes in the insulator (Figure 3-12) .
lator you use. The radiator wire is # 14 stranded Leave six to eight inches of "free" wire. Next,
antenna wire, which means it is either hard double the free end of the wire back on itself,
drawn copper wire, or copper-clad steel wire, and then wrap the end around the main body of
such as that sold under the trade name of Copper- the wire; leave about 0.75- to 1-inch of loop to
weld. When working with antenna wire, be permit the insulator to move freely. Wrap the
aware that it kinks up very easily. In fact, experi- free end around the main body of the wire with
enced antenna erectors claim that gremlins or six to eight wraps.
RF demons exist whose main function in the If a downlead is installed , as it will be on one
universe is to put permanent kinks in your wire. end of Marconi style antennas, then strip away
When the wire kinks, it is nearly impossible to about two inch es of its insulation, and then
get the kink out of th e wire so that it looks good wrap the bare downlead wire around the main
again. The antenna will perform as well, but the antenna wire four to eight times, as shown in
spot where the kink occurred always exists ro tell Figure 3-1 3.
the world: you're kinky
Down lead Splice

Support Splice Antenna RadiatorW ire

Figure 3 - 13
30 • Receiving Antenna H andbook

The final step is to solder the connections. 3-14 is not recommended because it is m echan-
The purpose of the solder is not to add mechan- ically weak and open to the weather. It is
ical strength, but to ensure the electrical connec- common to find water infiltration inro the co-
tion in the face of potential corrosion and axial cable, which deteriorates its performance.
oxidation. Use either 50/50 or 60/40 lead/tin It is better to use a regular center insulator or
resin core solder. balun transformer.
Connecting to the center insulator depends Figures 3-15 and 3-16 show both forms of
on the type of center insulator that is used. center insulators; Figure 3- 16 also represents
Figure 3- 14 shows the use of an ordinary end typical balun transformer connections. In both
insulator as a center insulator for a dipole or forms, the antenna transmission line to the
other balanced antenna. The two wire radiato rs receiver is made through th e S0-239 on the
are spliced onto the insulator in the normal center insulator, and its mating PL-259 coaxial
manner for end insulators. The coaxial cable is connector on the coax cable.
stripped such that its center insulator and con- The type of center insulato r shown in Figure
ductor are routed t0 one of the antenna radia- 3-15 uses a heavy, solid copper wire pigtails
rors, while the braid (outer conductor) is routed protruding from inside the insularor. Before be-
tO the other. Both are spliced to their respective ginning the splice, "tin" the pigtail. T hat is, heat
radiator elements. One popular method is to it with the soldering iron and spread a thin
use the pigtails left over from making the two coating of 50/50 or 60/40 lead/tin resin core
support splices as electrical connections for the solder all over each pigtail. It should look "silver
coaxial cable. plated" after it is tinned wi thout lumps of solder
In some cases, the body of the coaxial cable on the wire.
is wrapped around the center insularor and tied The antenna wire is laid alongside the copper
off with string, cord, or fishing line in order t0 pigtail, in contact with it, and is then passed
provide m echanical support for the connections. through the hole in the insulator, doubled back
If you use the "split coax" m ethod, then strain on itself, and finally wrapped around both the
relief is essential. pigtail and its own main body six to eight times.
The method of connection sh own in Figure It thus resembles an ordinary end insularor sup-

Figure 3 - 14
 Real W orld Antennas T 31

from the body of the insulator

(use long-nose pliers) in order to
facilitate the use of tools and to
prevent melting the plastic when
heat is applied to solder the con-
nection. Pass the end of the wire
all the way into the terminal, pass
both sets of flanges, and then
crimp the flanges over the wire
Figure 3 - 15 with longnose p liers in order to
form a good mechanical joint. Next, solder the
terminal and wire together.

Connecting to the Receiver

There are a number of different methods fo r
connecting the antenna downlead or trans-
mission line to the radio receiver or transmitter.
Figure 3-17 shows a collection of connectors
that are sometimes used for radio receiver and
transmitter connections to the antenna. The left-
most is the PL-259 "UHF" coaxial connector.
This type of connector is used extensively on
transm itters, transceivers and, increasingly,
modern radio receivers. Next to it is the smaller
Figure 3 - 16
BNC coaxial connector. This connector has
replaced the PL-259 on radio test equipment,
port splice, excep t for the pigtail in the core. but is not used very often on receivers or their
Using the soldering iron or gun, solder the splice antennas except for portables. I've seen only one
thoroughly in the same manner as fo r support receiver that is not a hand-held portable that
splices. uses BNC connectors. The single pin connector
The method for connecting the other type to the right of the BNC is an ordinary banana
of center insulator, as well as balun transform- plug. It is used with single wire banana jacks or
ers, is shown in Figure 3- 16. Pass the antenna "five-way binding posts" on the receiver. It is
wire through the eyelet, and "support splice" it used today only on receivers, and has not been
in the manner similar to the end insulator; leave used for transmitters since the World War II era.
about eight to ten inches of wire free when you Finally, there is an old-fashioned alligator clip. It
pass it through the eyelet (the goal is to have is not used at all on transmitter antenna leads,
about five inches after the support splice is made). but is sometimes used temporarily, for test pur-
The end left over from making the support poses only, on receivers. Figure 3-18 shows how
splice is connected to the terminal lugs fastened the alligator clip is connected to a coaxial con-
to the eyelet. It is prudent to pull the lug away necto r.
32 ...._ Receiving An tenn a Handbook

There are two basic methods for con-

necting single wire antennas to non-
coaxial antennas. Some receivers are
equipped with two terminal antenna
blocks (Figure 3- l 9A), in which one is
for the antenna ("ANT " or "A") and the
oth er is for the ground co nnection
("GND", "GRND " or "G") . Other re-
ceivers are equipped with three terminal
antenna blocks, labeled ''Al'', "A2 " and
"G" (Figure 3-19B). These receivers can
use a balanced transmission line, such as
twin-lead, parallel line, or twisted pair
line), but are most often connected to a
single wire line. When single line is used,
it can be converted into the unbalanced
form similar to Figure 3-19A by con-
necting a wire jumper between terminal
Figure 3 - 17
''A2" and "G"; that is, by strapping one
side of the antenna connector to ground.
In the foreground in Figure 3-17 are two The method of choice for connecting the
adapters. T he device on the left side is a right- wires is through the use of cable ends, or "spade
angle PL259-to-S0239 adapter. It is used to lugs," as shown in Figure 3-19A. However, if
reroute the coaxial cable 90 degrees. The seco nd you must use just the exposed wire, then do it
adapter is one that allows an S0-239 UHF like Figure 3-l 9C. Strip the end of the insulated
connector to mate with a piece of coaxial cable downlead wire about 3.h-inch and then form it
that uses a BNC connector on the end. into a loop that h as a diameter slightly larger
than the body of the screw terminal. If the wire
is stranded, then tin the stripped end to prevent
it from fraying and shorting to the adjacent
terminal. Place the loop under the screw in the
direction of tightening for the screw ("clock-
wise"). The idea is to cause the loop to close on
itself under the screw when the screw is tight-
ened. If you place the loop under the screw in
the counterclockwise manner, then it will open
when the screw is tigh tened .. .and come loose.
A means for connecting the single wire an-
tenna to a portable shortwave radio is shown in
Figure 3-20. Of course, the direct way is to use
an alligato r clip on the end of the downlead and
Figure 3 - 18 conn ect it directly to the telescoping whip
 Real World Antennas "' 33

Antenna
Down lead
®
Jumper

~ W ire End Formed

~ f Into Loop
000
@ Al AZ G ~
Figure 3-19

antenna of the radio. But that may cause damage

to the radio if static electricity charges build up
on the antenna. T he method of Figure 3-20 is
indirect because it relies on inductive coupling
through a toroidal inductor coil.
The coil is wound on a toroidal core that has
Telescoping "- " an inside diameter that will just fit loosely over
Whip "~
then bottom portion of the whip an-
tenna when the wire windin gs are in
place on the core. T hat usually means
a T37 or T50 core. For low bands
Antenno Lead (< 7 MHz), use about 20 turns of #26
enameled wire over the core; for higher
Ground Lead bands (> 7 MHz) use eight to ten
turns of #26 enameled wire. Connect
Portable
Receiver~
one end of the coil to the d ownlead,
and the other to the groun d lead. An
equivalent circuit is shown in the inset
16125 KHz to Figure 3-20.
SW3 Be a bit careful when adding an
external antenna to a portable short-
000 DTID wave radio. Some of them are quite sensitive,
and already provide compensation for the small
telescoping whip anten nas. If an external anten-
na is used, then signa l levels may prove excessive
Figure 3 - 20 and the radio will overload badly.
 CHAPTER 4

Transmission
Lines
T he subject of transmission lines can be easy
or hard, depending on how we wam to
make it. The reason is that a transmission line
Transmission Lines
Perhaps the simplest true transmission line
that we'll consider is the parallel line. Several of
can be a very complex circuit. Indeed, it is a lot the types of transmission line that are discussed
more than a simple electrical conductor to con- below are basically parallel conductor lines.
nect a load (antenna) to a source (receiver or Figure 4-1 shows the basic transmission line
transmitter). In this chapter, we will cake a prac- circuit based on a parallel conductor line. This
tical descriptive approach. If you wam a slightly type of transmission line consists of two identi-
m ore technical (read "mathematical") approach, cal conductors, parallel to each other, separated
see my other antenna book, Practical Antenna by a "dielectric" ("insulator" to us comm oners)
Handbook publish ed by TAB Books/McGraw- between the signal source and the load. In a
Hill. In this book, you will find the various transmitter, the "source" is the transmitter, while
types of transmission line described, along with the "load" is the antenna.
some inform ation on connecting th em to There are three impedances in the circuit of
receivers. Figure 4-1. First, th ere is always an internal
impedance on any device, and this is repre-
Single-Wire "Downleads" sented by resistance R5 in Figure 4-1. Second,
Certain types of antennas (Marcon i, ran- there is the load impedance, represented by RL'
dom wire, Tee, Windom, etc.) require a single which is the impedance of the antenna. Finally,
conductor "downlead" from the antenna feed- th ere is a characteristic impedance (Z0 ), also
point to the receiver. T hese antennas are the sometimes called surge impedan ce, that is an
simplest, and on some the "downlead" is not a attribute of the transmission line itself. For prac-
true transmission line. Even so, the installation tical purposes, we n eed only know a few things
advice given here also applies to those simple about characteristic impedance. First of all, we
downleads.

Transmission Line
Rs
~·c======~========~~
Signal
Source

Figure 4 - 1
36 ..t. Receiving Antenna Handbook

can rely on the so-called "naive" (because it's (see Figures 4-2D and 4-2E) .
non-mathematical) definition. T his definition is T he reflected signal is a loss to th e system. In
based on the fact that in all electrical circuits, receiver systems, the signal "source" is the anten-
antennas and transmission lines included, the na, which is excited by a passing electromagnetic
maximum power transfer between a source and wave. The signal set up in the antenna acts as if
a load occurs when the impedances are marched. it were a signal gen erator with an internal im-
That is, Z 0 is that impedance that, when the pedance equal to th e antenna's feedpoint imped-
transmission line is terminated in it, will allow ance. The load is the receiver input impedance
the maximum power transfer between the line seen across the antenna terminals. If the anten-
and the load. A proper transmission line is one na impedance, transmission line impedance, and
that has a characteristic impedance, Z 0 , that is receiver inpu t impedance are mismatched, then
equal to both the source and load impedances. there will be a loss situation where less signal
Remember: characteristic impedan ce, which is than is possible reaches the receiver.
used to o rder or make transmission line, is mere- The situation actually found in radio receiver
ly an attribute of the line. Nothing at all mysti- and transmitter antennas is shown by th e rope
cal about it! analogy in Figure 4-3. Real signals, except in
In the discussion above, I alluded to a situa- esoteric applications like radar, are continuous
tion where not all of the power is transferred to sine waves, which can be simulated by connect-
the load. Where does it go? After all, the Law of ing a rope to a hard, immovable wall, and then
Conservation of Energy is inviolable in any moving the free end up and down in an oscilla-
frame of reference no t created by a sick mind. tory manner. T h e sinusoidal incident (or for-
Figure 4-2 sh ows what happens by a li ttle gedan- ward)wave thus imparted to the rope propagates
kenexperiment (mind experiment). Figure 4-2A towards the wall, where it reflects and propa-
shows the same sort of circuit as in Figure 4-1 , gates in the opposite direction (reflected wave) .
although fo r simplicity's sake only the load end If the oscillation continues, when the forward
is shown in derail. and reflected waves combine they form a system
Suppose that the signal generator at the left of standing waves, with nodes (minima) and
end of Figure 4-2A blurts out a single pulse of anrin odes (maxima) . (You remem ber these
electrical signal energy (Figure 4-2B). Ir will be terms, don't you?) T he nodes are spaced a half-
launched onto the transm ission line and travel wavelength apart, as are the antinodes; the dis-
from the source end to the load end. W h en it tan ce b etween a node an d eith er adjacent
comes to load, different things happen under antinode is a quarter-wavelength.
different circumstances. If the load impedance, But antenna systems are not ropes on walls,
Ru happens to equal the characteristic imped- so we have to transform the analogy to the real
ance Z 0 of the line, then all of the signal is wo rld. In the case of the antenna system, the
absorbed by the load (Figure 4-2C) . In the case "rope" is the transmission line, while the oscilla-
where the load is an antenna, some of it is tion is in the form of a sine wave electrical
radiated into space as a radio signal, while some signal. Figure 4-4 shows the voltage situation as
of it is used ro make heat. But if there is an a fun ction of line length (expressed in wave-
impedance mismatch , such that ZL =F Z 0 , then lengths) for several situations. T h e current wave-
only some of the signal is absorbed by the load; form could just as easily been measured, and the
the rest of it is reflected back towards the source results would be the same. In this scheme, the
 Trans mission
. L.mes • 37

Incident
Signal

Absorbed
(or radiated}

Reflected port ion

\=J L: I
portion

, - ------,)____- :I
I
I
I
I
Figure 4-2 I

Reflected
Wave

, Immovab le
5Surface
"
Node
Figure 4-3
38 ...,. Receiving Antenna Handbook

zero point of measurement is the load end of the along the line; no matter where you m easure it
transmission line. The length along the line is the value is the same. Such a line is said to be
measured in wavelengths, so the physical length "fl at. ))
will vary with frequency. Figures 4-4B and 4-4C show the situations
The situation in Figure 4-4A is fo r a perfect- where the line is sh orted at the load end (ZL = 0,
ly matched system in which the load and trans- Figure 4-4B) and open-circuited (ZL = 00 , Figure
mission line impedances are equal to each other 4-4C) . In both cases, the voltage varies along the
(ZL = Z 0 ) . All of th e energy senc down th e line line from zero to a maximum value, V max' but
from the generator is absorbed by the load, so th e nodes are displaced in the two cases. In the
there is no reflected wave to interfere with the case of the shorted load (Figure 4-4B) , the first
forward wave. The voltage (Vma.·) is the sam e all node is found at the 'A.J2 point, and others at

® ZL= Zo

0
0
I
Load
End Wavelength Along Line

Vmax

Z=O
(Shorted)

0
0
I
Load
End Wavelength Along Line
Figure 4-4
 Transmission Lines "' 39

integer multiples of /.../2 (N/.../2) thereafter. In voltage along the line will vary from an antinode
the case where the line is open-circuited (Figure maxima (VmaJ tO a node minima (Vmin) at
4-4C), the first node occurs at the /.../4 point, half-wavelength intervals along the line. The
and others are spaced half-wavelength apart first minima occurs at the load end, while the
down the line from there. T he location of the subsequem minima (nodes) are spaced half-
nodes is often used in troubleshooting faulty wavelength apart from there. The first thing to
antenna transmission lines to determine whether note is that the minima voltages are not zero,
they are open or shorted. but have som e non-zero value. This situation
In most healthy antennas, if the line isn't flat indicates a line that is mismatched, but is n either
it will resemble Figure 4-4D. In this case, the open nor shorted.

Ymax

© z =00
L
(open)
0 1--~~~~--+~~~~~+-~~~~~-1--~~~~-t-~

0
I
Load
End Wavelength Along Line

v
Ymox - - --- - .....
-:::.;-,...___- -:....::- - - - -- -- - --- -- -- -_;.
-~~:....::- -- ---- - - -- - --.

Vm in - - - -- - -------- --- - - -- -,- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - --- - - -- -

ZL'f Zo ,
( neither s horted
nor open)

0
I
Load
End Wavelength Along Line
Figure 4 -4
40 • Receiving A ntenna H a ndbook

Standing Wave m in ers with solid-state final power amplifiers

Ratio (SWR) tend to start shutting down the power level as
T he ratio of the m axima and minima vol- VSWR gets larger than 1.4: 1 or so, and are
tages is called the voltage standing wave ratio essentially shut off at 3: 1. On receivers, a high
(VSWR), or simply standing wave ratio (SWR). SWR just means crummy performance.
Both terms are equally valid, and yield the same There are only two legitimate ways to get
numb er, so tak e th em as syn onyms. The VSWR to 1:1. First, the antenna can be adj ust-
"VSWR" term merely refers to th e fact that the ed to resonance (anten na element length or th e
measurement was made using voltage, rather value of inductance or capacitan ce in series with
than current ("ISWR"). T he VSWR is the ratio th e antenna element). If th e impedance is not
of minimum and m aximum voltages, or: equal to the feedline impedance, then either an
antenna tuning unit or broadband matching
transformer needs to be used between the two.

VSWR =(Vm~)
vmm
The o ther legitimate way is to use an antenna
tuning unit, or matching network, that trans-
forms a complex impedance to a resis tive
impedance equal to the feedline impedance.
The VSWR (or SWR) can also be deter-
Some people- who don't know any better but
mined by looking at the ratio of load and char-
acteristic impedances, a rranging th em to should-erroneously th ink that you can adjust
produce a positive n umber of one or greater the SWR by adj us ting the transmission line
length. This error derives from two false pre-
(1 .2: 1 is valid, 0.8: 1 is no t):
mises: fi rst, the fact that it appears so because of
faults in the simplest forms of VSWR meter

VSWR =(~:) and, second, there is some impedance transfor-

mation occurring in transmission lines. (We can,
or, after all, use a transmission line as a quarter-
wavelength impedance transformer.) Don't fall
VSWR =U~) victim to this error- adjust the antenna, not the
transmission line, unless (and only unless) you
know how to make a matching section .
which ever produces a number of 1: 1 or greater.
The SWR represents a loss in the system. Velocity Factor
Wherever possible, it should be reduced to I: 1 T he velocity facto r (V or VF) of transmis-
or as close as possible to 1: 1 if the ideal cannot sion line is the percentage of the speed of light at
be achieved. In practical terms, however, a which a signal propagates in the line, exp ressed
VSWR of 2: 1 is not a terribly bad antenna as a d ec imal. If c is the spee d of ligh t
system, and on receivers up to 3: 1 can be toler- (300,000,000 meters per second), and v is the
ated if absolutely necessary. Transmitters, on the velocity of the signal in the transmission line,
other hand, have to absorb their own large power then vi c is the velocity factor (V) . Typical values
level when the signal is reflected from a mis- of V range from 0.66 for certain types of coaxial
match ed load and will malfunction at lowe r cable to very nearly 1.0 for parallel open con-
SWR figures than a receiver. Most ham trans- ducto r line.
 Transmission Lines .... 41

Types of Transmission Line under your control should yo u elect to make

Now let's take a look at some of the most your own parallel line (which is often the case).
popular forms of transmission line used with The equations for coaxial cable and twin-lead
radio receivers. We won't discuss every type; are n ot given because these factors are not under
some are too esoteric or specialized (like for yo ur control. .. you typically buy the stuff al-
microwave applications) to have much relevance ready made (I've met only one guy in 3 5 years of
to SWL needs. The three basic types of trans- playing with radios who built his own coaxial
mission line that we will discuss are: parallel cable, and it was a nitrogen gas-filled experi-
conductor line, twin-lead (of which there are mental type-the guy fancied himself an inven-
two subtypes), and coaxial cable. tor). The formula is:

+ Parallel Conductor
Transmission Line
Z 0 = 276 log (2:J
Parallel conductor transmission lines consist Where:
of two wires, run parallel to each other, and Z 0 is the characteristic imp edance in ohms
separated by air (which serves as the dielectric) Sis the center-to-center spacing between
as in Figure 4-5. As a result of having an air conductors
dielectric, the velocity factor of the parallel line d is the diameter of th e conductors (assum-
is typically close enough to 1.0 that it is rated at ing both conductors are identical)
0 .999 or 1.0. Wire sizes typically used are # 12 [Both Sand d are in th e same units.]
down to #22, and much of the time the
wire is uninsulated (however, enamel or
formvar insulation is probably a goo d
idea). In practice, the wires are held ap art a
constant distance S by plastic, ceramic or
Spacer
other insulators; these insulators are often (Insulator)
called spacers in honor of the fact that their
main function is to maintain a cons tant
separation between the two wires.
The characteristic impedan ce of the
parallel wire transmission line is set by the
center-to-center spacing between the con-
ductors (S), and the diameter of the wire
used for the conductors. Typical values of
impedance for parallel line run from about
250 Q to 1200 Q , with 400 , 450, 500,
600, and 800 Q being the most commonly
encountered (you can match these values
with antenna feed requirements). I am
going to give you the equation for figuring
out the impedance because it's a facto r Figure 4 -5
42 • Receiving Antenna Handbook

T he diameters of common AWG wire sizes, this type of spacer is to maintain the center-to-
n eeded for "d " in the equation above, are as center spacing while increasing the electrical
follows: pathway taken by leakage currents that flow on
Wire Size d the surface of the spacer. Both conraminants
10 0.101 9 and rain water can seriously reduce the normally
12 0.0808 very high electrical resistance, and this effect is
14 0.06408 lessened by using the U-shaped spacer design.
16 0.05082
18 0.04030 + Twin-Lead Transmission Line
20 0.03196 Twin-lead transm ission line (Figure 4-6) is a
22 0.02535 special variety of parallel line that uses a plastic
material as the dielectric separating the conduc-
Parallel line is typically made using solid tors rather than air. Because the plastic is dielec-
wire conductors, although som e is seen using trically different from air, the velocity factor
stranded wires. Care must always be taken in of twin-lead is lower than for parallel line.
handling parallel line to avoid kinking it, for the Typically, twin-lead has a velocity factor around
kinks become permanent immediately on occur- 0.82.
rence. The problem is that these discontinuities Twin-lead comes in two main varieties. The
mess up the impedance and create a glitch in the 300 .Q twin-lead (Figure 4-6A) is designed for
SWR exhibited by the line. televisio n antenna installations. Early TV anten-
In some cases, yo u may build yo ur own par- nas used folded dipole driven elements and re-
allel line from a spool of wire and a collection of quired an impedance close to 300 .Q for proper
spacer insulators. While the store-bought vari- matching. As a result, the low cost transmission
ety has spacers molded onto the
wire, the homebrew variety typi-
cally uses spacers that are a slip fit @
at bes t. In order to secure the spac-
er along the line, a jumper arrange- 300.n TV -Type
m ent as show n in inset "A" to
Figure 4-5 is used . The two main
conductors are passed through the
holes in th e spacer, and a short @
piece of wire is spliced such that it
mechanically bridges the spacer.
The purpose is not electrical con- Lf-50.n
n ection , but rath er mechanical
stren gth.
T he spacers used in parallel line

~Hollow
will be either straight, as in the
main illustration of Figure 4-5, or ©
will be U-shaped as shown in insert
"B" to Figure 4-5. The purpose of Figure 4-6
 Transmission Lines ...,. 43

line designed for TV use had that impedance. It

is also used for several different forms of short-
wave antenna, FM broadcast band folded di-
poles, and VHF/UHF monitor antennas. The
other type of twin-lead is the 450 Q type (Figure
4-6B), which is about twice the width of the TV
type line. This twin-lead is intended for trans-
mitting antennas, although certain receive an-
tennas also can use it. Most commercial 450 Q
Insulator
line has rectangular h oles cut into the insula-
tion, which improves the loss of the line and Figure 4-7

increases the velocity factor a small amount.

Like parallel line, twin-lead should never be lem is that the foil is aluminum, which doesn't
kinked or tied in a knot. In addition, neither take solder. The coaxial connectors used for
type of line (parallel or twin-lead) should be those antennas are generally Type-F "crimp-on"
twisted on itself wh en installed or subjected to connectors, and have too high a casualty rate for
any sharp angle turns. other uses.
A special type of 300 Q twin-lead with a The inner insulator separating the two con-
hollow air core (Figure 4-6C) is sometimes seen. ductors is the dielectric, of which there are sev-
It consists of a fatter dielectric element that is eral types: polyethylene, p olyfoam, and Teflon
hollow in the center. This special lead is intended are common (although the latter is used prima-
for UHF television installations. rily at high UHF and microwave frequencies).
The velocity factor (V) of the coax is a function
-+ Coaxial Cable Transmission Line of which dielectric is used, and is:
("Coax")
Perhaps the most common form of trans- Dielectric Type Velocity Factor
mission line for shortwave receivers is coaxial Polyerhylene 0.66
cable (Figure 4-7) . "Coax" consists of two con- Polyfoam 0.80

ductors arranged concentric to each other, and Teflon 0.70

is called "coaxial" because the two conductors
share the same center axis. The inner conductor Coaxial cable is available in a number of
will be a solid or stranded wire, while the other characteristic impedances from about 35 Q to
conductor forms a shield. For the coax types 125 Q , but the vast majority of types are either
used on receivers the shield will be a braided 52 Q or 75 Q impedances. Several types that are
conductor, although some multi-stranded types popular with receiving antenna constructors in-
are also sometimes seen. Coaxial cable intended clude:
for television antenna systems has a 75 Q char-
acteristic impedan ce, and uses metal foil for the RG-8/U or RG-8/AU 52 .Q Large diameter
outer conductor. That type of outer conductor RG-5 8/U or RG-58/AU 52 .Q Small diameter
results in a low-loss cable over a wide frequency RG-1 74/U or RG-1 74/AU 52 .Q T iny d iameter
range, but does not work too well for most RG-11/U or RG- 11/AU 75 Q Large diameter
applications outside of the TV wo rld. The p rob- RG-59/U or RG-59/AU 75 .Q Small diameter
44 .a. Receiving Antenna Handbook

Alchough che large diameter types are some- connector is another matter- it is relacively easy
whac lower loss cables than the small diameters, to install besides not being readily available al-
the principal advantage of the larger cable is in ready mounted.
power handling capability. While this is an Figure 4-9 shows the PL-259 coaxial con-
important factor for ham radio operators, it is nector disassembled. Also shown in Figure 4-9
totally unimportant to SWLs. Unless there is a is the diameter reducing adapter that makes the
long run (well over 100 feet) where cumulative connector suitable for use with smaller cables.
losses become important, then it is usually more Without the adapter, the PL-259 connector is
practical on receiver antennas to opt for the used for RG-8/U and RG-11 /U coaxial cable.
small di amece r (RG-58/U and RG -59/U ) With the correct adapter, it will be used with
cables-they are a lot easier to handle. The tiny smaller RG-58/U or RG-59/ U cables (different
diameter RG- 17 4 is sometimes used on receiver adapters are needed for each type).
antennas, buc its principal use seems to be con- The first step is to slip the adapter and
n eccion becween devices (such as the receiver threaded outer sh ell of the PL-259 over the end
and either a preselector or antenna tuning unic),
in balun and coaxial phase shifcers, and in instru-
mentacion applications.

Installing Coaxial Connectors

One of the mysteries faced by newcomers to
the radio hobbies is the little matter of installing
coaxial connectors. These connectors are used to
electrically and mechanically fasten the coaxial
cable transmission line from the antenna to the
receiver. There are cwo basic forms of coaxial
connector, both of which are shown in Figure
4-8 (along with a United States cent for size
comparison). The larger (all silver colored) co n-
necto r is called the PL-25.9 UHF connector, and
is probably the most common form used on
radios (don't take the "UHF" too seriously) . The Figure 4 - 8
PL-259 is a male connector, and it mates with
the S0-233 female coaxial connector.
The smaller conn ecto r in Figure 4-8 (par-
tially black) is called a ENC connector. It is used
mostly on electronic instrumentation, although
some receiver antenna uses are seen (especially
in hand-held radios).
The BNC connector is a bit difficult, and
very tedious, to correctly install, so I recom-
mend that you do as I do: buy transmission line
with them already mounted. But the PL-259 Figure 4 -9
 Transmission Lines "" 45

of the cable. (You will be surprised at how many terribly cost effective for anyone wh o doesn't do
times the connector is installed, only to find this stuff for a living. You can do just as effective
that one of these components is still sitting on a job with a scalpel or hobby knife (like the kind
the workbench ... requiring the whole job to be sold under the "X-acto" name), either of which
redone.) If the cable is short enough that these can be bought at hobby stores and some elec-
components are likely to fall off the other end, tronics parts stores. Follow these steps in prepar-
or if the cable is dangling particularly long dis- ing the cable:
tance, then it might be wise to trap the adapter
and outer shell in a knotted loop of wire (note: 1. Make a circumscribed cut around the
the knot should not be so tight as to kink the body of th e cable %-inch from the end,
cable) . and then make a longitudinal cut from
The second step is to prepare the coaxial the first cut to the end (Figure 4-1 OA).
cable. There are a number of tools for stripping
coaxial cable, but they are expensive and not 2. Now strip the outer insulation from th e
coax, exposing the shield-
ed outer conductor, as
shown in Figure 4-lOB.
S---- X- acto knife or scalpel 3. Using a small pointed
tool, carefully unbraid
th e shield. Be sure to
separate th e strands
making up the shield.
®
r- f----1"--
Lay it back over the out-
er insulation, out of th e
circumscr ibed cul way.

4. Finally, u sing a wire

stripper, side cutters, or
the scalpel, strip 5/s-inch

® of the inner insulation

away, exposing the in-
ner conductor (Figu re
4-1 OC) . You should now
have 5Js-inch of inner

r- s5"
I ~
I conductor and 3/s-inch
of inner insulation ex-
posed, and the outer
© shield "de-stranded" and
laid back over th e outer
insulation.
Figure 4-10
46 .&. Receiving Antenna Handbook

Next, slide the adap ter up to the edge of

the outer insulato r. Lay the unbraided outer
conductor over the adapter (Figure 4-11 ).
Make sure that the shield strands are n eatly
arranged, and then-using side cutters-
neatly trimmed to avoid in terfering with
the threads. Once the shield is laid onto the
adapter, slip the connector over the adapter
and righten the threads (Figure 4- 12) . Some
of the threads should be visible in th e solder
Figure 4 - 11 holes that are found in th e groove ahead of
the threads. It might be a good idea to use
an ohmmeter or continuity connector to
make sure that there is n o electrical connec-
tion between the shield and inner conduc-
tor (which would indicate a sho rt circuit).
Soldering involves using a hot soldering
iron. The connector will become dangerously
hot to the touch. Handle the conn ector with
a tool or cloth covering.

+ Solder the inner conductor to

the center pin of the PL-259.
Use a 100-watt or greater sol-
Figure 4-12
derin g gun, not a low-heat sol-
derin g pencil.

+ Solder th e shield to the connec-

to r through the holes in the
groove.

+ T hread the outer shell of the

con nector over the body of the
con nector (Figure 4- 13).

After yo u make a final test to make sure

there is no sh ort circuit, the conn ector is
ready for use.
Figure 4 - 13
 Transmission Lines T 47

Handling and Installing the roof (use overhanging portions). Getting the
Transmission Lines transmission line inside the house is a bit of a
Transmission lines are relatively simple to trick. If you have brick or masonry walls, then a
use, but do require some care in handling. Some hole can be drilled in th e wall at an appropriate
general rules or guidelines are: place. A h amm er and star bit can be used (for
those who like hard manual labor). Most people
1. For all types of transmission line, you would prefer to use a tungsten carbide masonry
want to avo id extremely sharp bends and kinks. bit on a slow-speed electric drill to make the
Those kinks will inevitably cause a VSWR dis- hole. Be sure to wear goggles when doing this
continuity, and reduce the performance of the job, for dust and chips fly about and are danger-
antenna. ous to your eyes.
On brick walls, make th e entrance hole in
2. If it is necessary to route the mortar line between bricks, for it's a
transmission line around a corner, lot easier than drilling through brick.
then make the turn over a gentle arc Note that old brick and mortar
with about one foot radius or more. which has been weathered for
:·:> many years becomes extremely
3. Avoid, wherever possible, .-::·1'---11--- Wa 11 hard-so hard, in fact, that
running transmission lines close to ~-::- you might wan t to consider
m etallic objects such as gutter an alternate route into the
1 ~..111(--- Cable
downspouts. Of course, don't even building. I've worn out

~Standoff
THINK of running them close to several carbide mason-
power lines! ......
ry bits on a single in-
:.'· Insu lators st allation whe re
4. Run the rransm1ss1on line
along a wall, floor, or roof using
stand-off insulators (Figure 4- 14).
These insulators consist of a screw-
eye end with a plastic center insula-
tor plug. There are several types, all
originally made for the TV antenna
and cable TV industries, and they
differ in the manner of fastening:
machine screw, wood screw, and
case hardened masonry nail types
are all readily available. Most peo-
ple will use the wood screw or ma-
sonry nail types for outside walls or
roofs. Care should be taken on roof
installations to not penetrate inside
the roof; otherwise, a water wicking
situation will exist and it could rot Figure 4-14
48 .... Receiving Antenna Handbook

100-year old reused brick was used to build the block. Once the center line is marked, split the
house, and the mortar line was too th in to cut distance to either edge and drill at that point (it
into effectively. should be right in the center of the block, if the
Cinder block walls are used on a lot of houses, block was built normally). Keep in mind that an
and even brick houses frequently have cinder extra long bit is needed for drillin g through
blocks in the basement and for a few feet above most cinder blocks (eight to 14 inches thick,
the surface. Cinder block is usually built with depending on the block) .
two hollow chambers (see Figure 4-15), one on There is a right way and a wrong way to
either side of the center line. The best place to install cable at the wall entrance site. Figure
drill the hole is in these chambers. To find an 4-15 shows both ways. The wrong way is to
appropriate spot, first find the center line of the bring the cable in from above, and then pass it

._
o. · .· .· . ·. . o·
. · . ·. ·. ·. :.· through the wall. T he problem is that water
runs down the cable and into the hole .
Even if the hole was waterproofed

f:. . .·. . .·. i . .·

Top View
·.··.···.·.·;c
with caulk or RTV sili-
co n e seal, the
material will even-
tually deteriorate
and allow water to
w ick rnto th e
house. There are
two ste ps to
Oblique View avoidi n g wate r
Side View damage. First, use
a drip loop of 12
to 24 inches of ca-
Right ble looped gently
below the point
of entrance, and
then brought in
from below. Sec-
ond, fill the excess
diameter of the
hole with a gener-
ous glob of caulk
Wrong
or silic on e seal.
Inspect t he seal
every so often (six
to 12 month s)
co guard against
deterioration or
Clamp
Figure 4 - 15 trauma damage.
 Transmission Lines ... 49

Wood frame and siding houses (like mine) "I rent my house, and the landlady is a real
are even easier to install a transmission line in. {expletive deleted} and won't let me drill a %-inch
My h ouse is like millions of other h ouses built hole in the side of h er {expletive deleted} house."
in the post-war period (that's World War II, for There is a way our, other than just doing and
you kids who don't remember it). It has a cinder paying the consequences. Figure 4- 17 shows a
block basement that extends about two feet method that I used on several occasions. You
above grade. A 2x4 heel plate supports the sys- can fashion a flat piece of wood planking (l x6
tem of 2x4 studs that frames the house. The works nicely, as do narrower widths) to fit under
inside of rhe frame is covered with dry wall, rhe moving part of rhe window. Ar least one
while the outside is covered with plywood friend of mine used a 4-inch high metal panel
sheathing and aluminum siding (some houses intended for a rack mount for this purpose.
use vinyl siding). This method of construction is Coaxial barrel connectors, stand-off feedrhrough
shown in cross section in Figure 4-16. insulators and other connectors can be mounted
In some houses, like mine, there is a ten inch on the wood panel to pass antenna wires into
space between the top of the cinder block, which the house. The connectors and the top, bo ttom
is two fee t above grade, and the heel plate, and and side edges of the panel should be caulked
this space is occupied by the floor joists fo r the against the weather. In addition, some means
first floor above the basem ent. I am able to drill must be found to secure the window to prevent
holes in this sp ace to the outside, and that is DSBGs (dirty, sm elly, bad guys) from burglariz-
where my antenna transmission lines pass into ing the place via an open window (besides steal-
the h ouse. Alternatively, as shown in Figure ing the family silver, your pistol, hunting rifle
4- 16, a fist sized (or smaller) square hole can be and yo ur kilobuck radio , they will likely also
cut in th e dry wall in an unobtrusive spot to damage the antenna wire).
accommodate locating the cable. In either
case, you can either pass the cable
directly into the h ouse, or use ..... ... ..... . .
...
...... ··::.(
a double ended female co- .
. . ..
)

.. . .
axial "barrel" connecto r, as .... ..... ·.
.. ,• :. :::.,...· r----Plywood Sheathing
shown. These connecto rs ) ·.:·
are threaded over their en-
) ....
tire cylindrical body so ' ·.·..
:• ..:·
that a pair of h ex nuts can Hole in
~ Coax Barrel
be used to secure the con- Wall~ Connector
n ector to the wall. I've
) ·.'·
found ir wise to caulk or ) ....
...... ........ ) -.: . ,
silicone seal the hex nut . . .. .
. .. .. ~ Siding
against water wicking. Of .·-.....·...... ) ·"
course, a drip loop is es- Drywa l1 - ---- : :. : : :_.: : ;.' .:·.
:· .·.
sential. . .. .. ·.'·
.. .. . ..
)

"But," laments rhe dear ...:·>··:·>·

reader ("dear reader" is a
Figure 4 - 16
fancy way of saying "you"),
50 A. Receiving Antenna Hand book

An alternative char can be used on both

casement and sash windows is to break out a
pane of glass, and replace it with either m etal,
wood or plastic of about the same thickness. A
lirde glass purry, and the p anel is secured in
·: ..~{/._---Wood Panel place.
.. W hichever method you select, don't forger
· ~ Coax Barrel the darn drip loop! It'll save yo u a lot of poten-
· Connector tial water damage. Besides, every radio or TV
pro who sees your installation will know one
thing for sure: no drip loop indicates an enthu-
siastic amateur who doesn't know {expletive de-
leted} from Shinola did rhe job. They will shake
their heads in pity, amazement, and despair at
your embarrassed expense . . . which might just
be worse than water damage if that pro is your
Figure 4- 17
mo ther-in-law.
 CHAPTER 5

Simple "Quick and Dirty"

Antennas
T he antennas d iscussed in this chap ter repre-
sent what are probably the most commonly
used "antlers" in the shortwave radio listening
untuned, and consists of a h ealthy length of
wire strung up between two supports.
The antenn a wire should be #1 4 h ard drawn
co mmunity. They are not necessarily optimum stranded copp er wire, or (p referably) # 14
from a technical point of view; indeed; they are stranded steel wire that is copperclad to lower
probably NOT optimum, bur are often the best the resistance to radio frequency signals. The
choice for nontechnical SWLs because of practical ends of the wire are supported by end insulators
considerations. D espite not being technically the (EI in Figure 5- 1) and a rop e to the support
best antennas, they will return as much perfor- structure. The rope ought to be a good grade of
mance as many listeners can use, so they may synthetic material, rather than co tton clothes-
well be your best choice. line or other cheap type, in order to withstan d
the rigors of outdoor living.
Random Length Antenna The supports for the random length antenna
Perhaps the most common shortwave antenna can be the house, a nearby tree, or a wooden or
in the entire world is the random length wire metal mast erected especially for the purpose.
antenna shown in Figure 5-1. It is the antenna DO NOT USE power p oles, telephone poles,
most likely to be fo und in the owner's manual of cable TV poles, or other utility poles for an
even some of the most sophisticated shortwave antenna support. It migh t be convenient, bur it
radio receivers. The random length antenna is could also be dangerous ... and is illegal in nearly

Antenna Wire (30 to 150 feet) J

EI \..--~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~----'~~~
t EI R

Insulated
Down lead ~
Lightning
EI= End Insulator Arrestor
R=Rope Support Ground /
Wire
Receiver
Ground ~
Connection
Figure 5 - 1
52 • Receiving Antenna Handbook

all localities. The antenna wire should be well Nature does what it must so no guarantees) .
clear of the support structure, so use at least five Even if the house does catch fire, your insurance
feet of rope an d more if needed. For well filled- is m ore likely to pay off if an app roved lightning
out trees, the antenna wire should be entirely arrestor is used in the circuit. Another factor is
clear of the leafy crown of the tree so that no that local electrical codes migh t require a ligh t-
physical interference (and therefore potential ning arrestor, so use it!
damage) or signal loss occurs. T he ground con nection is n ecessary fo r the
The signal is carried to the radio receiver by antenna to reach its bes t performance. Som e
a downlead. T he downlead consists of a length shortwave receiver manuals recommend a cold
of insulated wire of # 14 to #22 size. It must be water pipe as the ground . I don't think th ey
insulated, even though the antenna wire need make very good gro unds today now that cold
not be insulated, fo r both safety reasons and to water pipes are typically made of polyvinylchlo-
prevent signal loss by accidental grounding. Make ride (PVC) or som e other plastic m aterial. Even
sure that the downlead doesn't touch anything if you have metal pipes, it is usually p referable to
metallic or the gro und even if it is insulated. use an eigh t-foo t copperclad steel ground rod
The rando m length antenna can be erected driven into the Earth so that only a few inches
at alm ost any angle, from sloping downward to show. T he ground wire from the receiver and
straight up in the air (in which case it is a the lightning arrestor should be as heavy as
vertical). The best perfo rmance will be seen if possible (but for different reasons).
the antenna wire is horizontal to the ground and T he random length antenna is a good basic
is as high as practical. 20 to 30 feet seems to be a antenn a, but doesn't perform as well as some of
p ractical height for many SWLs, and it works the other antennas foun d in this book. Use it if
just fine . .. 100 feet is better, but isn't terribly you please, but realize that other alternatives
practical. After all, if you can afford a 100-foo t exist.
tower, you can afford a better antenna!
The random length antenna wo rks best if The "Tee" or
the wire is run in a single direction so there are "Top Hat" Antenna
no bends in the wire as it runs fro m one support T he Tee antenna shown in Figure 5-2 is a
to another. If you m ust bend the wire, however, reason ably pop ular version that is related to the
this can be don e with minimum violence to its random length antenna of Figure 5- 1. Like the
performance. Don't overdo it, however. Keep at random length anten na, it is untuned and non-
least 50% of the length in one direction and reson ant. It differs from the random length
have no more than two bends. antenna in that a portion of the downlead is
Many people simply run the downlead into used as a vertical antenna section. T he vertical
the house, directly to the radio receiver, without section should be ten to 30 feet long, and runs
going through a lightning arrestor. T hat may be at a right angle dow n from the antenna wire.
quick 'n' dirty, but it's also dumb. Lightning The rest of the downlead can be routed as con-
strikes are not very likely, but if they com e the venient for your particular case.
arrestor will divert a large portion of it to One popular way to make a Tee antenna is
groun d. The lightning arrestor may save the to place the downlead connection directly over
receiver (no guarantees, however), and is likely the point on the house where the receiver is
to prevent the house from catching fire (again, located (or where the wire goes in to the h ouse) .
 Simple "Q uick and Dirty" Antennas .... 53

The supports are at ei- Antenna Wire I30 to 150 feet {

ther end of the struc-
ture, or at some angle. EI
The idea, however, is
to bring the downlead
off at as close to a right Downlead--._- Ve rtical Section
angle as possible.
In my own exp eriments, the Tee antenna Lightning
Arrestor
doesn't seem to have any advantage over the .------~

random length antenna of Figure 5-1, but Receiver

doesn't seem any worse either. It will make a
convenient antenna for those readers who have
supports (like trees) that would take the antenna
wire directly over the building. As in the case of =
the random length antenna, use a lightning Figure 5-2

arrestor and ground connection with the Tee

antenna. over a large range of possible values. The non-
resonant random length and Tee antennas are
Tunable Random Length or poor impedance matches at most frequencies,
Long Wire Antenna but that situation can be rectified by using an
(Marconi Antenna) antenna tuning unit (ATU) at the feed end of
The random length antenna of Figure 5-1 is the antenna, as sh own in Figure 5-3.
not usually resonant at a wide range of frequen- If an inductor (Ll) is inserted into the cir-
cies (it is resonant at a few frequen cies) . That cuit in series, i.e., by connecting terminals
means that the impedance of the antenna varies B-to-E and A-ro-F, then the antenna will act as
with frequency and can show wide excursions if it were longer than the actual length (for any
given frequency). Alternatively, if a capaci-
tor (C 1) is inserted in series with
!+LI the wire, as by connecting
A~B D-ro-E and C-to-F,
then the antenna will
Cl act as if it were shorter
C~D than the actual length
on any given frequency.
Conve rse ly, we can
build a simple L-section
a n te nna coup ler by
connecting A-ro-F, B-
ro- D-to-E, and C-ro-
Ground
Rod ground.
There are actually
Figure 5 - 3 three cases in which
54 .... Receiving Antenna Handbook

this tuned random length antenna might be The Window-Coupled

used. If the antenna wire is less than a quarter- Random Length or Longwire
wavelength long at the operating frequency, then (Marconi Antenna)
the inductor is inserted into th e line with the Random length and longwire antennas (the
antenna w ire. For use with the L-secrion coupler two are sometimes confused with each other)
shown in rhe inset, rhe antenna element needs are easily built Marconi-style antennas. They
to be grea ter than a quarter-wavelength. consist of a radiator element consisting of a
For rh e upp er end of th e HF reg ion length of wire (Figure 5-1), supported by end
(> 14 MHz) use a variable or tapped inductor of insulators (EI) and ropes (R). An insulated wire
18 µH (or so) and a capacitor of 140 pF. For the downlead is routed through a window or wall to
entire range of the 3 to 30 MHz HF band, then the receiver. If the antenna has an unknown
use a 365 pF capacitor and a 28 µH inductor. length, then it is a random length and may or
For less than 3 MHz, try up to 1100 pF of may not offer directivity (depending on fre-
capacitance, which can be built using a two or quency). The long wire has a length that is at
three section "broadcas t variable" capacitor. least two wavelengths long (2A), and offers direc-
There are several antenna tuning units which tivity on the lowest operating frequency (2A),
are commercially available and suitable for tuning and higher frequencies.
random wire or Tee antennas. These are dis- But what if you can't pass the lead through
cussed in C hapter 13. the window; for example, when it's too cold to
Any wire antenna is enhanced by usin g a have the window open 1I16-inch for the window
series of quarter-wavelength radials connected sill strap used by SWLs for this purpose? There
to the ground point. T he ground rod is also is a solution: use a window capacitor. That's right,
used (for lightning protection), bur the radials a window capacitor. The glass of the window
improve the performance on the bands for pane is a reasonably good dielectric for a capaci-
which the radials are cut. The length of each ror, and has sufficient area to make a parallel
radial (in feet) is 246/FMHz or (in meters) plate capacitor. Cement copper foil on both
75/FMHz· Use at least two radials for each band sides of the window pane (Figure 5-4), so that
of interest (although, up to 120, the "more the the two pieces register with each other without
better" . .. bur two to fo ur is a practical limit). overlap. Solder the downlead to rhe outside piece
For the sake of pedestrian safety in your yard, of copper, and the lead to rhe receiver to the
bury the radials a few inches underground. inside piece of copper. Because the copp er and
A spade or shovel blade can be used to "slit" a glass forms a capacitor, the antenna is electrically
trench rhar is wide enough to press a wire into shorter than its physical length would oth etwise
it, without the need fo r digging holes. suggest, so add abo ut 15% of the length that
The random length antenna can sometimes you might ordinarily use fo r any given frequency.
be tuned by watching rhe S-merer on the re- A lightning arrestor is absolutely essential on
ceiver, but the effect is sometimes small (so tune any antenna, so don't overlook it on this type of
slowly and watch carefully). You can also tune it antenna! The ground terminal on the arrestor
"by ear" on many signals. Once the dials con- should be connected to an eight-foot ground
nected to the rotary inductor and rhe capacitor rod that is driven into the Earth, through a
are marked for band and frequency, they can be short length of heavy wire (consult local electri-
retuned without the need for the instrument. cal codes) .
 Simple " Quick and Dirty " Antennas "Y 55

EI Radiator Element

W indow
Down lead

. . _ _ _. D
0[]
Solder
Copper
Foil
To
RCVR
Figure 5-4

A problem sometimes seen on longwire sistor across the lightning arrestor because the
antennas is static electricity build-up. The arrestor makes a decent mounting support for
electricity comes from local fields, including the resistor. Use a value of resistance between
distant lightning, and other physical phenom- 200 kilohms and 2 megohms. However, in
enon. It can reach scores of dozens of kilo- consuucting the resistor use at least ten 2-watt
volts, and can seriously damage the input resisto rs in series; i.e., for a 1 megohm resistor
circuitry of the receiver (even though not use ten 100 kilohm, 2-watt resistors conn ected
generally harmful to humans, unless you're in series. The reason for this is to prevent the
startled by the shock and fall off your ladder). static electricity from arcing over the resis-
The solution to this problem is to place a tor ... we want to drain it off, not zap it to
resistor (Rl in Figure 5-4) between the ground ground (Yes, Virginia, resistors have voltage
and the downlead. Many people place the re- ratings).
56 .... Receiving Antenna Handbook

A more conventional means of passing a The window doesn't quite close all the way
single wire downlead through the window is when the flat strap is used (despite what the
shown in Figure 5-5. The conductor through installation instructions say) . If you live in a
the window is an insulated flat strap (available cold region of the country, then you might
where antenna supplies are sold) that fits be- want to either use a different approach or be
neath the movable part of the window and the sure to seal the window. I found that the adhe-
window sill. Ir will mold into the channel that sive-backed foam weather strippin g sold at Har-
receives the moving part. T he window is then ry and Harriet Homeowner do-it-yourself
dropped down onto th e flat strap. stores works well. One type is round, and will
mold directly to the window sill and sash (see
inset in Figure 5-5) .

Downleod ~

Si11 ____... ...___ _,,

Wo ll
Ground Wire ~

Adhesive Bocked
/ Weather Strip

Figure 5 - 5
 CHAPTER 6

The Dipole and

Its Relatives
ipoles have long been favo rite antennas Regular Dipole
D with receiver owners, and there are several
reasons for this popularity. One of them is that
Figure 6-2 shows the simple dipole. The
radiator elements (A) are each quarter-wave-
the dipole has a bit less than 2 dB gain over length long, and are made of copper wire. Use
an isotropic radiator because it is bidirectional # 12 or # 14 wire size; smaller sizes tend to break
instead of omnidirectional (Figure 6-1). For a too easily.
transmitter, antenna gain provides increased The overall length of the wire element ("L"
effective radiated power in the transmission in Figure 6-2) is one half-wavelength, and is
direction. There is no real increase in actual found from the equation
power, but because the total power is directed
468
into limited directivity it acts as if there were Lfeer = F
more power being generated. For receiving, an- MHz
tenna gain m eans that any given station in that where: Lfeer is the length in feet, and FMHz is the
direction can be heard louder even if only the operating frequency in megaHertz. Because the
smallest amount- 2 dB isn't even one S-unit on dipole usually must work over a wide range, it is
the receiver S- meter. normally cut for a frequency close to the center
The dipole also provides two deep nulls of its of the desired band of operation. This equation
ends, which is possibly the dipole's best advan- is used close to the Earth's surface, and contains
tage for SWLs. You can reduce loud inter- a 5% reduction in length because of "end
ference by strategically placing an
antenna null in that direction.
I
T he final reason ,z
IC
dipoles are pop- '=
I
I

ular rece1v1ng I

antennas is their
utter simplicity.
Just take a bit of
Maximum
Reception
'
. . Direction
wu e, some insu-
lators, a 1:1 balun
coil (if you want
to do it right),
a nd you' re in I

business! ' Z
I C
'=
Fi gure 6 - 1
58 .-. Receiving Antenna Handbook

effects." In free space (that is, many wavelengths T he radiator element is broken into two
above the Earth's surface) the factor "468" be- portions, each of which are half the length found
comes 492. by the equation above, or a quarter-wavelength
Let's look at a real-world example. Suppose long. The ends of the wires are tied off to a rope
we want a dipole cut to a frequency of 11 750 mechanical support via ceramic, glass, or plastic
kHz with an overall length of L and the length end insulators (EI in Figure 6-2) . The feedpoint,
of each element A. The solution is found by: where the line to the receiver is connected, is the
center of the antenna where the two quarter-
468 wavelength radiator elements are supported by a
Lfeet = = 39. 83 feet center insulator or 1: 1 balun transformer.
11. 750

Dipole
Length "A" is one-half of Lfeer or
Radiation Patterns
39 83 Figure 6-1 shows the conventional "figure-8"
· = 19.92 feet pattern normally associated with dipole anten-
2
nas. This pattern is azimuthal- that is, as viewed
from above. It consists of two main lobes along
The fac tor ".92" feet can be converted to the same maxima axis, with low-reception nulls
inches by multiplying it by 12, that is: 0.92 inch along an axis at right angles to the main lobes.
x 12 = 11.04 inches "" 11 inches. Thus, the The main lobes represent the directions of maxi-
antenna is made of two wire elements, each mum reception signal stren gth (when pointed at
being 19 feet and 11 inches long. a transmitting station), while the nulls represent

L
1-- 1: 1 --1
BALUN

1--. .-- -A--- --- A-----~11

75ohm
Coaxial
Cable 2.
EI= End Insu lat or
Coax To R= Rope Support
RCVR L FT =Lj. 68 I FMHZ
Figure 6-2
A=~LFT
 The Dipole and Its Relatives ..,. 59

points of minimum signal strength. the pattern from the ideal of Figure 6-3C is
The pattern of Figure 6- 1 is actually only a due to reflections from the Earth's surface
partial view. It represents only the horizontal immediately below the antenna combining
cut. Real antenn as have a three dimensional with the radiated signal.
radiation p attern with both vertical and hori-
zontal extents. Figure 6-3 shows the three di-
mensional pattern (Figure 6-3A) relative to the Azimuthal Pattern
antenna axis. The horizontal figure-8 pattern is (seen from above)
shown at Figure 6-3B, while the vertical
extent for a perfect dipole in free space is
shown in Figure 6-3C.
The vertical extent radiation pattern
is a function of the distance of the anten- Antenna
Axis
na above ground. The version shown in
Figure 6-3C is for a perfect, free space
dipole. If th e antenna is less than a quar-
ter-wavelength above groun d, the pattern
will be highly distorted. The variation of

~-,--~~
----- --- - --------~-----
I
I @

Vert ical
Elevation Antenna Axis
Pattern
(Side View)

Many
Wave lengths

© ®
Ground Su rfoce
Figure 6 - 3
60 .... Receiving Antenna Handbook

By the Law of Reciprocity, the same

problem occurs in receiving antennas.
Figure 6-4A shows the approximate
pattern from a dipole located a quarter-
wavelength above the Earth's surface, while
Figure 6-4B shows the pattern existing
Earth when the dipole is a half-wavelength above
ground.
® The angle a in Figure 6-4B is the
radiation angle. T his angle is critical when
determining where signals will be received
from at any given rime and frequency.

Dipole
Feedpoint Impedance
Earth Dipole
When a dipole is electrically excited,
either by a transmitter at the feedpoint or
by an intercepted radio wave, an electricai
current flows in th e radiator. This current
oscillates back and forth at the transmitted
Figure 6 -4
frequency. Neither the current (I) nor the
voltage (V) are constant over
th e entire length of the radi-
ator element. Figure 6-5
- 2500ohms shows the distribution of
(end)
voltage (dotted line) and
current (thin so lid line)
along the len gth of the half-
wavelengrh radiator. These
Feed point two elements (V an d I) are
related to the impedance by
v - - --- the ratio V/I. Note that the
voltage crosses a minimum
and current rises to a maxi-
~_._=---~~~~~---=""-=-- 75ohms
(cente r ) mum at the feedpoint. Be-
ca use the feedpoi n t is
located in the middle of the
half-wavelength dipole, we
can conclude that the dipole
is a current fed, rather than
Figure 6-5 voltage fed, antenna.
 The D ip ole and Its Relatives T 61

110
100
90
[jJ 80
E
....c
_Q
CJ
70
u
c
.s 60
(/)
-i]j
CJ
er: 50
c
0
+:3
0
'+0
-0
0
er: 30
20
10
0
0
Height of Dipole Above Ground
Figure 6-6 (Wavelengths)

We can also note that the impedance drops ter operators, they are also important for you if
to a minimum at the feedpoint, and rises to you want to maximize the effectiveness of your
about 2500 Q at the ends. In an ideal dipole in antenna system.
free space-or so far above the ground and away Coaxial cable is used as the transmission line
from other objects as to simulate free space- between the dipole and the receiver; one end of
the feedpoint impedance is close to 73 Q. As a the antenna is connected to the center conduc-
result, such a dipole makes a good match to 75 tor of the coax, while the other end of the anten-
Q coaxial cable. Unfortunately, the situation is na is connected to the outer shield of the coax.
not so simple in real life. Figure 6-6 shows that T h e coaxial cable makes a good impedance
the actual impedance is a function of the dis- match for most practical dipoles. In general,
tance of the antenna above the Earth's surface. RG-59/U, RG- 11/U, or some other 75 Q coax-
The impedance is close to the ideal 73 Q only at ial cable is used for the transmission line. For
intervals of a quarter-wavelength until the an- receiver antennas, the smaller sized RG-59/U
tenna is so far above ground that the impedance cable is suitable (hams sometimes have to use
variations converge to the ideal point. While th e larger size cable because of the high power
these facts are of more importance to transmit- level of th eir transmitters) .
62 ..t.. Receiving An tenna H andbook

Dipole the resonance and feedpoint impedance. Also,

Erection Pointers when twin-lead is used, the velocity factor of the
Dipoles are relatively easy to erect. You need specific brand that you buy may affect length.
to identify or build two support points: a roof The actual length is found by trimming or
peak, wall, tree, mast, and so forth . The path lengthening the antenna from the formula
between the two support points is ideally oriented length, until m inimum VSWR is reached on the
in the direction to be rejected-at right angles frequency of operation that you desire.
to the direction of desired signals. These points The feedpoint connection is established by
should be at least 10% further apart than the cutting one of the radiator elements, and attach-
length of the antenna. UNDER NO CIRCUM- ing the transmission line. Because the free space
STANCES SHOULD A PATH BE CHOSEN impedance of the dipole is around 280 Q , it is a
THAT REQUIRES THE ANTENNA TO BE good match to 300 Q television type twin-lead
NEAR OR OVER A POWER LINE!!! cable. The twin-lead is stripped at the ends, the
exposed wires are twisted together, and then
The Folded Dipole soldered (see Inset A of Figure 6-7). Similarly,
The folded dipole is a half-wavelength an- one of the wires in the twin-lead is snipped at
tenna consisting of parallel radiator elements the center and about one-half inch stripped back
(like twin-lead) shorted together at the ends in either direction. A transmission line is pre-
(Figure 6-7). These antennas are typically pared from a piece of twin-lead, and it is sol-
"broader band" than conventional dipoles, so dered to the radiator element ends (see Inset B
they remain useful across a wider frequency in Figure 6-7) .
range away from the resonance point.
The length of the radiator element
is approximately the same as a
regular dipole for the same fre-
quency, namely 468 divided by
.1~f--------
. L~~68 -------·I
the desired receiving frequency
expressed in MHz. ...
T hese lengths are, Radiator j ~Twin
300D
by the way, approxi- lead
mate. The actual length
. _ Feedline
will probably be slightly
shorter, although there Radiator
is a small possibility of 300D
it being a bit lon ger. ~Twinlead
The actual length de- Twist and - -------
Solder
) l:A
pends on the electro-
magnetic environment
at your location be-
B A Twi st J
and Solde r
cause house structures,
trees, and height above
the ground can affect Fig ure 6-7
 The Dipole and Its Relatives ... 63

I
Rope & 1----,,---rrll----..11-~-"IF~~t-rr.:::.......::-~-,-,lrr-1-~I~ Rope
11

~
Radiato~r nsu lat<x

Line

Figure 6 -8 A B c

The 300 Q feedline to the receiver is not a toothbrushes (don't laugh, it worked!). Each
good match to the 50 Q output impedance used insulator is secured in place by a tie wire made
by most equipment sold today. In addition, this of the same wire stock as the antenn a radiator
transmission line is balanced, while the standard (Inset A in Figure 6-8). The tie wires are twisted
receiver antenna input is unbalanced (designed and then soldered.
for coaxial cable). T he folded dipole made with Th e feedpoint of the wire folded dipole
either twin-lead or parallel transmission line (Inset B in Figure 6-8) is insulated with a stan-
sh ould be connected to the receiver through an dard antenna center insulator (which are easily
antenna tuner (usually a good idea for any an- available everywhere). The feedline is 300 Q
tenna) that is eq uipped with a balanced output parallel transmission line, and it is connected to
in addition to the normal unbalanced or coaxial the radiator between the center insulator and
cable output. These tuners have an internal 4: 1 the strain relief winding. T he latter winding is
impedance ratio balun ("balanced unbalanced") made by looping a "tail" through the insulator,
transformer. and around the radiator wire (back on itself),
The folded dipole shown in Figure 6-8 uses wrapping it around the radiator four or five
a more traditional method of construction ("pre- times. Both the electrical connection from the
twin-lead") . Many experienced people prefer this transmission line and strain relief wrapping are
method to the twin-lead method. The radiator soldered.
element is made from # 12 or # 14 stranded cop- The end insulator is sim ilarly handled (Inset
p er wire. The wires are spread four to six inches C in Figure 6-8) . A spreader insulator at each
by using spreader insulators ("I" in Figure 6-8) end is wired in the n ormal way (Figure 6-8,
every five feet or so. The best insulators are the Inset A), but the ends of th e radiator are twisted
ceramic types that are made for the purpose, but together in a normal insulator for support by a
these are hard to come by these days except at rope. If yo u use regular parallel wire antenna
hamfests. Alternatives include segm ents of PVC insulators, then it is possible to buy a type with a
plumbing pipe, plastic, plexiglass, or even old hole in the center. If these are used, then the
64 • Receiving Antenna Handbook

support insulator can be eliminated, and the feedpoint impedance, this antenna can be fed
rope attached to the center hole. As with all from 75 Q. coaxial cable.
antenna connections, the end connections and Using a balun transformer at the feedpoint
tie wires should be twisted tightly together and also helps the an tenna pattern by balancing the
then soldered. currents in the two halves of the radiator. That
W hen the antenna radiator elements are nice pattern in Figure 6-1 is idealized for a per-
identical sizes, and the spacing is fo ur to six fect antenna. In practical antennas, it can get
inch es, then the impedance transfo rmation is quite ragged, but with a balun at the feedpoin t
4:1, as for antenna folded dipole. O ther values it comes much closer to the ideal.
(from 0. 1: 1 to 16: 1) can be achieved by varying
the spacing and respective conducto r diameters.
(See The ARRI Antenna Book for design graphs Solving THE BIG PROBLEM on
and equations if you're interested. If yo u use the Twin-Lead Folded Dipoles
15th edition, look on p age 2-33 .) As early as 1960, I learned the hard way that
th ere is a major p roblem with rwin-lead folded
d ipoles. Because twin-lead uses # 16 or # 18 wire,
Alternate Feed and it is typically soft-drawn copper rather than
Using a Balun copper clad steel, these antenn as break a lot. A
An alternate method of feeding a folded di- little wind, or a bit of ice, and piooop.'The an-
pole is shown in Figure 6-9. In this system , a 4: 1 ten na breaks and falls to the gro und . Sometimes
balun transformer is connected directly to the old fas hioned metal fatigue causes these anten-
feedpoint, transforming the impedance to a value nas to simply drop to rhe ground. Regardless of
fo ur times lower than the natural impedance the mechan ism, however, the result is the same:
(:::::: 300 Q./75 Q.). As a result of transforming the you're out of business until repairs are made.

~ stLGN
75 IL
Coaxial ' - _ PL-259 ''UHF''
Cable Coo xia I Connector
4
Figure 6 -9
 The Dipole and Its Relatives ,, 65

Support
~,,Hole Rope

11
Radiator 5"
x8
1

Element i+ 1" 3"

- or-
Slots Lf- 8
Plastic Block

A A A A
~

A= Nylon Screw/Nut Sets

# 6 or .tt 8

Figure 6 - 1 0

As a sad-faced teenager I told my m entor, at one end for the support rope (both ends for
the late "Mac" Parker (W4II), of the problem. a feedpoint insulator) . In order to prevent
He ch uckled, and then drew out a little cracking, the %-inch hole should be at leas t its
drawing .. . which was somewhat like Figure own diameter away from any edge.
6-10. The end insulators (shown here) and the The twin-lead is prepared by using a drill,
center insulator are made from 1.4-inch plexi- leather punch , or ordinary paper hole punch
glass, Lucite, or other form of strong, noncon- to cut holes into the twin-lead. Pass th e end of
ductive plastic material. A pair of 'A-inch slots, the twin-lead across the from side of the insu-
about two inches apart, are cut into the center. lator, through the first slot, across the back
It is easy to make these slots by starting with a side of the insulator to the other slot, and
'A-inch drill, making a hole at either end of the through this slot back to the front side. The
slot-to-be, and then removing the material be- twin-lead is fasten ed to the insulator block
t\.veen them with a rat tail file. A series of five using nylon (NOT metal) machine screws and
screw holes are made at the points indicated. If hex nuts. It might be useful to use a second
#6 screws are anticipated, then drill 5/32-inch nut on each screw, tighten it, and then super-
holes ('A- inch for #8) . A %-inch h ole is drilled glue it in place.
66 ...,. Receiving Antenna Handboo k

Inverted-Vee Dipoles Loaded Short Dipoles

The inverted-Vee antenna (Figure 6-11) isMany people do not have the physical space
to build a regular dipole antenna, especially at
the answer for many receiver owners who do not
today's real estate prices. Fortunately, there are
have two supports from which to hang a regular
some things that can be done for the situation.
dipole, or who have insufficient space to stretch
Perhaps the most popular way to shorten a di-
out the regular dipole. The inverted-Vee is sup-
pole is to insert an inductor in each element (L l
ported at its center by a mast, pole, corner of the
roof, or other supporting structure. The radiator
and L2 in Figure 6-12). This antenna is called
the inductively loaded shortened dipole. The over-
elements are sloped downward at a composite
all length of the antenna ("A" in Figure 6-12) is
angle (<I>) of 90° or more (closer to 120° is
usual). shorter than a half-wavelength. The inductor
coil is located at a distance ("B" in Figure 6-1 2)
The inverted-Vee is a half-wavelength long,
from the feedpoint, which can be anything from
bur the physical length is about 6% greater than
zero to about 75% of the overall length (''A") .
for an equivalent half-wavelength dipole on the
same frequency. An approximation of the physi-
Since this is a receiving antenna only, you can
cal length can be found from: place the coils at the ends of the radiator ele-
ments if you wish.
498
Lfeet =F Figure 6-13 gives us a means for determin-
MHz ing the inductive reactance required of
This length is th en LI and L2 by knowing the relative
trimmed by experimenta- length of the antenna. Only three
tion using ordinary an- curves are given here: A= O.lL,
tenna tuning methods. ~ALUN A= 0.5L, and A = 0.9L. The

"
,(Coax To
RCVR

_.s-Mast

Stake Stake
Earth
Figure 6 - 11
 The Dipole and Its Relatives ,.. 67

EI= End Insulator

Cooxiol R= Rope Support
Ll=L2= l .51x10•1F
Coble ?.. Xu· XL 2 ~ 950.n

Each Segment:Ln =~8 · 5

Figure 6 - 12
MHZ
To RCVR or XM TR

horizontal axis shows the location of the

inductors as a percentage of the overall
length [(NB) X 100%]. For example, sup-
pose that we want to build a 7.2 MHz IOK
antenna that is 50% of the normal size.
The length A is [(468/7.2) X 0 .5] =
32.5 feet; each element is therefore 32.5/2
= 16.25 feet long. The coil is placed at the
50% point in each 16.25 foot (16' 3")
element. The 50% coil location line (read
off "B" axis) intersects the 50% antenna 1000
~
size curve at about 850 Q . T he inductor (/)

should be designed to have an inductance E

..,C
0
of 850 Q at 7 .2 MHz, or XL/2n F = .£
[(850 Q)/((2)(3.14)(7.2 MHz)]= 18.8 µH. ·a
u o,Oo/o
As is true with all antennas, these de- 'o --'
x
sign guidelines, whether the equation for 100
a half-wavelength antenna or the chart of
Figure 6- 13, are always approximate. They
will get you into the ballpark, but you will
need to use a tuning method to bring the
resonant frequency co the exact point de-
sired. You can do this by adjusting either I0-+-~1---;..~4-~1----+-~-+-__,1----+-~-+-~~--

the inductance or the overall length of the 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

antenna. Use a noise bridge, impedance Location of Coi l (Percent of Tota l Length )
bridge, or some ocher means for finding
Figure 6 - 13
the resonant point.
68 • Receiving Antenna Handbook

Figure 6- 14 shows three possible methods insulators work best. In Figure 6- l 4A the coil is
fo r connecting the loading inductor to the an- a standard cylindrical "solenoid wound" coil
tenna. In each case, the coil is supported by an (meaning it has a length greater than its dia-
insulator of the sort used for the end and center mete r). The co il is sometimes connected exactly
insulators. Usually, the shorter versions of the as shown, while in other cases (where the coil is
larger diameter) the insulator passes coaxially
through the center of the coil. Figure 6- I 4B
Co il shows the same type of mounting for a coil
wound on a toroidal core; Figure 6- I 4C is
similar bur uses a larger size toroid that can be
slipped over the insulator.
A pair of commercial dipole loading coils are
A shown in Figure 6- 15. These coils appear to be
made from PVC pipe stock with a PVC cap on
either end. The coil is made from insulated wire
wound in the space between the end caps. These
are available from a variety of ham radio and
electronics parts sources.

B The Tilted, Center-Fed

Terminated, Folded Dipole
(Loop Antenna)
Figure 6-16 sh ows the tilted, center-fed
c terminated, folded dipole (TCFTFD) antenna,
which is a special case of a loop antenna and a
Figure 6 - 14
folded dipole antenna. The inventor, Navy cap-
tain G.L. Countryman (W3HH), once called it
a "squashed rh ombic" anten na. The antenna is a
widely spread folded dipole, and is shorter than
a conventional folded dipole. It must be mounted
as a sloper, with an angle from its upper vertical
suppo rt of 20 to 40°.
T he feed ing of the anten na is conventional,
with a feedpoint impedance close to 300 n.
A 75 .Q coaxial cable is connected to the bottom
half of the antenna through a balun transformer
that has a 4: l impedance ratio. At the top side
of the antenna, the "feedpoint" is occupied with
a termination resistor of 370 to 430 Q (39 0 Q ,
1 or 2 warrs, makes a good compromise fo r
Figure 6 - 15 receivi ng antennas).
 Th e Dipole and Its Relatives ... 69

T he height of the upper anten na support is

determined by trigonometry from th e length of
the antenna from end-to-end (not the length
calculated for D , but approximately twice
th a t length ), and the angle. For
example, at 7 MHz the lengths are
23.4 fee t, and the spreaders are

r D- 9.8
-FNHz
one foot . T hus, the overall
p hysical length, counting the
two element length s and h alf of
b o th spread er len gths, is
[2 x 23.4 feet - (2 x 0. 5)] foot,
or 45.8 feet. If the angle of
6'
6' mounting is 30°, then the an-
tenna fo rms the hypotenuse of
Figure 6 - 16
a 60/30 righ t triangle. If we al-
low six feet for the lower sup-
port, then the upper support is:
The spread (D ) of the antenna wire elements
is fo und from: H eight = 6 + L C os 8
9 .8 = 6 + (45.8 C os 30) = 45.7 feet
D feet = F
MHz
T his anten na has a low angle of radiation, and at
T he spreaders are preferably ceramic, strong a tilt angle of 30° (considered ideal) it is n early
p lastic, or thick-walled PVC pipe. T he spreaders omnidirectional.
can be made of wood (lx2 stock or 1-inch dowels) T he termination resistor can be mounted on
for receive antennas if the wood is properly var- a small piece of plastic, or alternatively as shown
nished against the weather. in Figure 6- 17, it can be stretched across the end
T he overall length of the antenna is calculat- insulator in the manner of th e inductors in the
ed a little differently from most antennas. We previous section. Use a 390 Q , 2-watt resistor
need to calculate the lengths from the feedp oint fo r this application.
to the middle of the spreaders, which is also the
length from the m iddle of th e sp readers and the
terminating resistor. These lengths (A l -B, A2-B,
C l -D and C2- D) are fo und fro m: Resist or

L _ 164, 000
feet - F
kHz

Four sections of wire, each with a length defined

by the equation above, are needed to make this
Figure 6 - 17
antenna.
70 .... Receiving Antenna Handbook

Wideband and Multiband Hertz. For example, if the one dipole (Al/A2) is
Dipole Antennas cut for 25 MHz, and the other for 26 MHz, the
T he dipole is reasonably wideband for re- length difference is only about 8.6 inches.
ceiving applications, but "wideband" normally Keep in mind that all dipoles are already
means scores of kiloHertz above and below the "multiband" antennas, provided that the other
resonant frequency. At frequencies removed bands are odd h armonics of the half-wavelength
from this range, however, the antenna is less natural frequency. Thus, an antenna cut for a
effective and acts much like a random wire an- half-wavelength on 4500 kHz, is also a 3_4-wave-
tenna. Let's look at two methods of "wideband- length resonant antenna for 3 x 45 00 kHz, or
ing" a dipole. 13500 kHz. The two-lobe "figure-8" pattern of
First, the method of Figure 6-18 is basically the half-wavelength dipole splits into four dis-
two dipoles connected to the same feedline, but tin ct lobes, so the antenna is not as directional
tuned to slightly different frequencies. At th e on the higher frequency.
higher end of the HF spectrum , only a few The simplest, most straightforward method of
inches difference in physical length are needed multibanding a dipole is to connect several dipoles
to wideband the antenna several hundred kilo- to the same feedline, as shown in Figure 6-19.

I: I
Al BALUN A2 EI R
Bl B2

Coaxial Cable
ToRCVR 2. Figure 6-18

Coaxial Cable
ToRCVR
4
Figure 6 - 19
 The Dipole and Its Relatives ... 71

Coo xia I Cable )

To RCVR ~ Figure 6 - 20

Each dipole has a low impedance near its half- parallel LC tuned circuit is that it offers a high
wavelength resonant frequen cy, and a h igh impedance at its resonant frequency bur a very
impedance at other frequencies. T he antennas low impedance to all other frequencies. Such a
can be harmonically related to each other only if trap might offer an impedance of 20,000 nor
th e even harmonics are used (third harmonics so to the resonant frequency and a low imped-
are already resonant-see above) . ance ( < 100 .Q) at all other frequencies. Thus,
Use the usual formula for a standard dipole for a high frequency, the sections marked "A" in
to determine the physical length of each antenna. Figure 6-20 are used; the trap isolates th e rest of
Like any dipole, the formulas are only approxi- the antenna length for those frequencies. Each
mate, and some means for tuning the antenna ''A" section represents a quarter-wavelength ele-
are necessary for maximum efficiency. Each an- ment of a half-wavelength antenna.
tenna is independent, so make the calculation At a lower frequency, the trap is not a factor
for each band of interest. so the resonant frequency is determined by the
Some people use a single multiconductor lengths consisting of A+ B for each quarter-wave-
cable to form the dipole sections. For example, length section. The resonant frequency is also
electric cord (two conductors), antenna rotor affected by the inductor of the trap, and follows
wire (four or five conductors), and computer rules approximating those of the loaded trap
flat cable (up to 100 conductors!) have all been dipole in the previous section. Typically, for any
used for multiband dipoles. These wires are, given resonant frequency, the antenna will be
however, weaker than regular antenna wire and 68 to 75% of the non-trap physical length given
antennas built with chem will most likely have a earlier by the standard dipole equation.
greater failure rate than regular antennas. A little "cur and try" experimentation will
result in a resonant antenna. In gen eral, the best
advice is co adjust the length of the highest
Trap Dipoles frequency sections ("A") first, and then work
One approach to building a multiband di- out m sequence.
pole antenn a is to use resonant traps in a single Figure 6-21 shows a commercially available
wire dipole, as shown in Figure 6-20. Each crap trap for shortwave antennas. Although it is rela-
is a parallel resonant inductor (L)-capaciror (C) tively easy to design and build antenna traps fo r
tuned circuit. One of the properties of the receiving antennas, they are also relatively low in
72 • Receiving Antenna Handbook

Balun
Transformers
As we noted earlier, the word balun is
actually an acronym made from the first sylla-
bles of balanced and unbalanced. A true balun
transformer will convert a balanced load into
an unbalanced load, such as from a balanced
dipole to an unbalanced coaxial cable trans-
mission line. The balun may, or may not, pro-
vide impedance transformation depending on
the design. Two common impedance ratios are
1: 1 and 4: 1. The 1: 1 balun transformer is
typically used with conventional single-wire
dipoles fed with 75 Q coaxial cable, while the
4: 1 are used with folded dipoles or elsewhere
if a 4: 1 or 1:4 impedance transformation is
Figure 6-21 needed (they are bidirectional and can be used
"backwards").
The typical balun today is wound on a
cost and readily available from suppliers of ferrite toroidal core, although air core and fer-
radio antenna goods. rite rod solenoid wound (cylindrical) are also
Figure 6-22 shows a long multiband trap possible. Figure 6-23A shows the basic toroi-
antenna that is usable for a large number of dal balun, Figure 6-23B shows th e solenoid
bands. Each trap (Tl, T2, T3) is resonant on version, and Figure 6-23C the "bazooka'' style.
successively lower frequencies. Otherwise, the For receiving antennas, the FT-37 and FT-50
antenna is very similar to the trap dipole of sizes are adequate. Typically, for the 3 to 30
Figure 6-20. MHz high frequency (a.k.a. HF) range, use

R T3A T2A TIA TIB T2B T3B R

Coaxia l Cable)
To RCVR ~

Figure 6-22
 The Dipole and Its Relatives .... 7 3

® ®

Figure 6 - 23

©
six turns on the CF- 123 or ten turns on the trifilar wound, on a single core. This type of
FT 200-6 1 (they have different permeability transformer is used on ordinary dipoles which
values), of # 12 or # 14 enameled or formvar provide a 75 Q load, and are fed with 75 Q
coated solid wire. coaxial cable (such as RG-59/U or RG-11/U) .
Each transformer is either bifilar or uifilar W hy would anyone want a 1: 1 balun trans-
wound. T hat is, each turn consists of two or former? The reason is simple, especially wh en
three wires wound close together, dep ending on one looks at the antenna patterns produced by
the design. Some builders twist the wires conventional dipoles with and without a balun
together in a drill mandrel, but I don't transformer at the feedpoint. The idealized
recommend this practice because it is both dan- figure-8 pattern that is normal fo r a dipole is
gerous and does not work as well as the flat distorted by radiation caused by currents flowing
winding schemes. o n the outside con ductor of the coaxial cable.
The pattern of windin gs is shown in Fig- Ideally, this current is geometrically balanced by
ure 6-24 fo r three differen t cases: 111 , 4/ 1, and currents flowing in the opposite direction in the
50 Q /75 Q. T h e balu n co il shown in inner conductor, but that ideal is rarely achieved.
Figure 6-24A provides balanced to unbalanced T he problem is alleviated by the 1: 1 balun
transformation, but the impedance transfor- transfo rmer, and the pattern res tored to very
mation is 1: 1. Note th at it uses three windings, near the ideal.
74 .a.. Receiving Antenna Handbook

R
Unbalanced
_c--(9) • •

R
Unbalanced

~
LtR
Balanced Balanced

Figure 6 - 24 ®
A 4: I balun transformer is shown in Figure
6-24B. This transformer uses two bifilar wound
windings ever a single core. T his is the type of
balun that will convert the 300 Q impedance of
the folded dipole to the 75 Q impedance of
coaxial cable.
Both of the balun transformers shown in
• Figure 6-24A and Figure 6-24B are broadband
RF transformers, and will cover a wide range of
impedan ces. For example, the I: I transformer
can also work with 52 Q coax, while the 4: I
• transformer will convert the 200 Q impedance
(_,_. .
o_2 of certain loop antennas to 50 Q for coax input.
~-~8(/) T he balun transformer of Figure 6-24C is a
f----1J1 little different. It will match 75 Q loads to 50 Q
transmission line. It uses two silvered mica
capacitors for frequency compensation. Note
that the number of turns for coil L l is one-half
the number of turns for L2 and L3 (3 turns and
6 turns fo r C F- 123 forms, and 5 turns/ I 0 tu rns
for FT-200-6 1 fo rms). This winding protocol
differs from the other baluns where all windings
have the same number of turns.
 CHAPTER 7

Longwire Antennas
Single Wires, Vee Beams, Rhombics,
and Beverages

L ongwire antennas have an almost legendary

appeal to receiver owners because they are
simple in concept, easy to construct, relatively
30 MHz) . O ne winter evening, the late Johnnie
Harper Thorne (K4N FU), who eventually be-
came a well known antenna expert, and myself
low in cost, and provide both gain and directivity went to th e station to work a few two-meter
at reasonable cost. Although longwires can be stations (those were pre- repeater days) . Our first
very long (> 21.. is the minimum length), espe- conract was a ch ap we had worked many times
cially at low frequen cies, they are manageable befo re; he was located about 90 m iles to the
for many people. These antennas become more east. T hat evening, he was louder than n ormal
manageable at higher shortwave frequencies, such (good conditions?), and the receiver S-meter
as the 19, 13, and 10 meter bands, where one registered about two S-units higher than normal.
wavelength is relatively short physically. At first, we thought he had installed either a
Just how long is "long" for a longwire anten- new antenna or a power amplifier, and made
n a? For the lower HF and medium wave bands, so me commen t to that effect. "No" he averred,
500 to 800 feet just begins to be considered "nothing's new." It turned our that I had acci-
"long," while at 25 MHz a mere 150 feet is dentally connected the H F trap dip ole to the
considered "lon g." Vic Clark (W4KFC), fo rmer two-meter transceiver. Its 120 foot length was
American Radio Relay League (ARRL) presi- more than 12 wavelengths long at 146 M Hz-
dent, once told me of seeing a long, heavy copper far more than the minim um requ irement fo r a
wire mounted on telephone poles along a rail- longwire antenna. Furthermore, the main lobes
road track in Peru. H e at first thought it was an of such a long longwire antenna would be off
old-fashioned telegraph line, but later fo und out the ends of the antenna and was thus pointed
that it was a low VLF band Vee-beam longwire at the other station. Of course, the frequency
antenna that was 24 miles long per leg! Vic selective traps were ineffective at two-m eter band
officially visited that radio station later during frequencies.
the same trip in his capacity as the director of a Perhaps my companion that evening remem-
U .S. Coast Guard en gineering laboratory. bered the longwire many years later. When he
My first experien ce with longwires was a moved to Texas and bought a 43+ acre farmette,
little unusual, especially since it occurred in the he erected a 1250 foot longwire anten na about
two-m eter amateur radio band (144 to 148 30 feet off the ground. W h en I used it in July
MHz) where longwire antennas are not exactly 1984, it performed a whole lot better than I
common. A ham radio club station was located anticipated. I owe Johnnie T horne a debt of
in a local Red C ross chapter house. Among the gratitude for his ins truction no t only on long-
several antennas used at the station were a nine wire antennas, but also on loop antennas (on
element two-meter Yagi directional beam anten- which he was particularly expert).
na and a 120 foo t long HF trap dipole (3. 5 to Th e horizo ntally po larized lo n gwire's
76 • Receiving Antenn a Ha ndbook

popularity with receiver owners is due to several addition, there is a related class of antennas
different factors. One factor is that it provides called Beverage or wave antennas. We will
gain and directivity at certain harmonically re- discuss all of these antennas in this chapter.
lated frequencies (and in one version on non-
h armonic frequencies). With the possible
exception of odd multiples of a quarter-wave- Resonant Single Wire
length, at other frequencies the antenna acts like Longwire Antennas
a very long random length wire antenna. Another Let's first take a look at the simple untermi-
receiver advantage is that its very long length nated resonant (a.k.a. "p eriodic") longwire an-
provides a very large aperture, so the amount of tenna made from a single wire radiato r.
signal energy captured is also large. Interestingly enough, although the longwire an-
There is also the matter of the angle of radia- tenna looks terribly Marconian-like an anten-
tion and reception (ARR or a ). DX antennas na that is tuned against ground-it is actually
need low, horizon-kissing angles. A longwire that Hertzian when the physical length is more than
is installed ~ /..,/2 from the ground will exhibit two wavelengths (~ 2/..,).
values of a of 10 to 15°. A fundamental form of longwire antenna is
Finally, there is a diversity effect sometimes shown in Figure 7-2. It consists of a wire radia-
seen on longwires. When the ionosphere is un- tor element that is at least two wavelengths
settled, an incoming signal's arrival angle may (2'. 2A) long. One can visualize the longwire an-
change (see Figure 7- 1) over the course of a few tenna as a se t of series-connected half-wave-
seconds, resulting in the fading phenomenon. length dipoles strung end to end . Unlike certain
Because of its length, the fading signal can other long wire (but not "longwire") antennas,
change, yet remain within the antenna's aper- the "dipoles" are our of phase with each other, as
ture, thus reducing fading under the right cir- indicated in Figure 7-2 by the"+" and"-" signs
cumstances. along the antenna length. It is the interaction of
There are several "flavors" on the longwire the waves on the various sections that forms the
antenna menu: resonant single wire longwires, pattern for reception.
nonresonam single wire longwires, Vee beam
longwires, and rhombic beam longwires. In

Signal Angle
Changes

l Figure 7 - 1
 Longwire Antennas ... 77

Full Wavelength Full Wavelength Full Wavelength Full Wavelength Ful l Wavelength

1+---~-1v~~--J--~-1v~~---~~1v~~_.~~1v ~~_.~~1v~~+

Iv Iv Iv Iv Iv Iv Iv Iv Iv Iv
2 2-----2--- z--2 2 ---2-----2 - -2 - - 2 ---- EI
-0
© 8 0 8 0 8 0 8 0 8
LFeedpoint N=5 Wire EI =End Insulator
R=Rope Support
Figure 7 -2

Longwire Length frequency. This is contrary to the practice on

Resonant longwire antennas are designed to other forms of antenna where a frequency in the
lengths that are multiples of a half-wavelength, middle of the band is selected (e.g. 4873 kHz) .
provided that they are at least 2/.._ long. Unlike
certain other resonant antennas, the perfor- 984(2 -0. 025)
Length =
mance of the longwire does not change a great 4.75 MHz
deal with moderate changes in frequency. The
exception to the rule is that the angle of radia- Length = (984 )(1. 975)
tion and reception changes rapidly with changes 4. 75 MHz
in length for antennas that are less than about
3A long. The acrual cur physical length is actually 1943.4
Length = = 409 feet
slightly shorter than NA, as seen by the equa- 4 .75
tion:
That 409 foot antenna also worked well on
_ 984(N -0. 025)
Length feet - its harmonics. For example, the second harmonic
FMHz is the 31-meter band, the third harmonic over-
Where: laps the 20-meter ham band and a fixed point
Lengthis infeet (ft) commercial radio band, the fourth harmonic is
FMHz is the lowest operating frequency the 19 MHz fixed point band that also includes
in megahertz (MH z) the Russian Salyut and Mir space station bea-
N is the integer number of wavelengths cons, the fifth harmonic is a fixed point band
desired for the length plus the 12-meter ham band, and so forth.
A constraint on the use of other frequencies
Let's look at an example and find the length is that the antenna becomes very heavily capaci-
of a 2A single wire resonant longwire for the 60- tive reactive (-Xe) at frequencies where the an-
meter tropical broadcast band (4.75 to 4.995 tenna is an odd multiple of quarter wavelength.
MHz). Because the lowest frequency in th e band An equivalent inductive reactance (+XL) can be
is 4.75 MHz, the antenna is designed for that used to cancel the capacitive reactance (i. e., a
coil is placed in the circuit).
78 • Receiving Antenna Handbo ok

Nonresonant Single Wire Longwire Antennas

The resonant longwire antenna mentioned The radiation pattern for the terminated
above is a standing wave antenna because it is longwire is a unidirectional version of the
unterminated at the far end. A signal p ropagat- multi-lobed pattern fo und on the untermi-
ing from the feedpoint, or any point along the nated longwires (Figure 7-4). The angles of the
length as happens in receive antennas, towards lobes vary with frequency, even though th e
the open end will be reflected back towards the pattern remains unidirectional. The directivity
source. The interference between the forward of the antenna is partially specified by the
and reflected waves sets up stationary standing an gles of the main lobes. Figure 7-SA shows
waves of current and voltage along the wire. how angles of the main lobes change with
A nonresonant longwire is terminated at the respect to anten na length in wavelen gths. For
far end in a resistan ce equal to its characteristic the sake of comparison, the gain over a dipole
impedance. T hus, the incident waves are ab- is shown in Figure 7 -5 B. It is interesting to
sorbed by the resistor rather than being reflected. note that gain rises almost linearly with NA.,
Figure 7-3 shows a terminated longwire anten- while the directivity function changes rapidly
na. The receiver end is like the feed system for at shorter lengths (above three or fo ur wave-
other longwire antennas, but the far end is lengths the rate of change diminishes consider-
grounded through a terminating resistor, Rl, ably) . Thus, when an antenn a is cut for a
that has a resistance (R) equal to the character- certain low frequency, it will wo rk at high er
istic impedance (Z0 ) of the antenna (R = Z 0 ) . frequencies, bur the directivity characteristic
W hen the wire is 20 to 30 feet above the will be somewhat different at each end of the
ground, zo is about 500 to 600 n. spectrum of interest.

RI
Antenna Wire (> 2;\) Terminating
Resistor

20' to LfO'
Receiver

Figure 7 - 3
 Longwire Antennas ... 79

Main Lobes

Figure 7-4

10
90 9

(/) 00 ~ 8
..0
"'"''- u
CT> 70
8 7
0"'
-6 bO -3
0...
6
"' 50
~
0
'- 5
~ g:
l.j() 0 1+
~ c
>
'.i3 30 ~ 3
u

0
"'
'- 20 2
10
0
0 Ill 2A 311 411 511 611 711 811 911 1011 2 3 '+ 5 6 7 8 9 10
Length (inWavelength5,ll) Antenna Length (in Wavelength5, 11)

Figure 7-SA Figure 7-58

80 ..... Receiving Antenna Handbook

Longwire Antenna Radiation/Reception Characteristics

The radiation pattern of longwire antennas

180°
is quite complex, even though the antenna is
physically simple. This complexity is due in part
to the fact that the half-wavelength segments
radiate or receive out of phase with each other. If
all segments were in-phase, then the patterns
would be somewhat simpler. As it is, the com-
plexity of the patterns is very "wavelength
90° 270° dependent."
Figure 7-6 shows two situations. A two-wave-
length (2A) pattern is shown in Figure 7-6A.
There are four major lobes positioned at angles
of ±36° from the longwire. There
are also four mi no r lobes- the
strongest of which is -5 d B down
36° main 2\ from the major lobes-at angles of
75° - 5d8
0 ±75° from the longwire. Between all
Figure 7-6A of the lobes are sharp nulls in which
little reception is possible.
As the wire length is made longer, the angle
of the main lobes pulls in "tigh ter"-that is,
180°
towards the wire. As the lobes pull in closer to
the wire, the number of minor lobes increases.
At 5A (Figure 7-6B), there are still four main
lobes, but they are at angles of ±22° from the
wire. Also, the n umber of minor lobes increases
to sixteen. The minor lobes are located at ±47,
±62, ±72, and ±83° with respect to the wire.
90° 270° The minor lobes tend to be -5 to - 10 d B below
the maj or lobes.
When the longwire gets very much longer
than SA, the four main lobes begin to converge
along the length of the wire and the
antenna becomes bidirectional. This
5\ main 22 effect occurs at physical lengths
Lf 7, 62, 72, 83 greater than about 20A.
In general, the following rules
Figure 7-68 apply to longwire antennas:
 Longwire Antennas ,.. 81

+ On each side of the antenna, there is selected. Unfortunately, these very simple an-
at least one lobe, minor or major, for tennas grow terribly comp lex (in theory of oper-
each half-wavelength of the wire ele- ation, if not construction) once the frequency
ment. For the overall element, there for which any given feed point in a current loop
is one lobe for every quarter-wave- changes. Sliding to another received frequency
length. changes the location of the maximum current
spots because the physical definition of "half-
+ If there is an even number of lobes wavelength" also changes. For multi-frequency
on either side of the antenna wire, operation the best solution is to end-feed the
then half of the total number oflobes antenna.
are tilted backwards and half are tilted The "ideal" feed system is shown in Figure
forwards; symmetry is maintained. 7-7. It uses an antenna tuning unit right at the
antenna feedpo int. The impedance to be
+ If there is an odd number of lobes on matched is typically 500 Q. An argument for
either side of the wire, then one lobe this system is that any practical untuned parallel
on either side will be perpendicular transmission line will re-radiate some signal,
to the wire, with the other lobes dis- contributing an unwanted vertically polarized
tributed either side of the perpendic- element to the antenna pattern. By placing the
ular lobe. ATU at the feedpoint, the problem is greatly
reduced-coax, prop erly termina ted, is less
Longwire Feed Systems likely to re-radiate than open feeders. (Or at
A longwire antenna can be fed either at the least that's the popular myth about coax ... which
end, or at any current maxima ("loop") along its may or may not be true-makes a good story,
length. The current loops occur in the middle of anyway.) Although some people have success-
half-wavelength segments. If a longwire is to be fully used this system by motorizing the tuning
for single frequency operation, then an appro- elements in an ATU, remote mast mounted
priate low imped ance current loop can be ATUs are still a bit rare.

Very Long Antenna Wire (~21-..)

ATU

~Coaxial Cable
...---- To RCVR

EI= End Insulator

Receiver R =Rope Support

Figure 7-7
82 .a. Receiving Antenna Handbook

A popular alternative is shown in Figure num siding than the other, can distort the
7-8. This feed system is the old fashioned current flow and thus the antenna receive
"Zepp" method. The antenna tuning unit is pattern.
co-located with the receiver, and is co nnected The use of a quarter-wavelength match-
to the longwire antenna line thorough 500 .Q ing section to feed the longwire is shown in
parallel conductor transmission line. Al- Figures 7-9A and 7-9B. Both versions use
though the correct line is 500 .Q "open" par- 600 .Q parallel transmission line. You can
allel line, a good substitute is 450 .Q insulated ei ther purchase such line ready-made or make
twin-lead. It will substitute nicely fo r the open it yourself The 600 .Q characteristic imped-
parallel line, causing only a small VSWR in- ance can be realized by spacing # 16 solid wire
crease. It is quite suitable for n early all SWL at four inches, or # 14 wire at five inches. The
applications and is less of a hassle than open physical len gth of the quarter-wavelength
line. stub is 246/FMHz (the velocity factor being
A disadvantage of the simple Zepp feed negligible here) . The m ethod of Figure 7-9A
method is that the integrity of the antenna uses a matching nonresonant (untuned) par-
pattern depends on currents in both parallel allel transmission line to the receiver that is
conductors being equal. This situation occurs tapped at a point that will make the required
naturally only when the physical length of impedance transformation. This matching
the antenna is an integer multiple of a half- system only works on a single band. The
wavelength for the frequency being received. oth er method, shown in Figure 7-9 B, con-
At other frequencies, the currents are unequal nects untuned parallel 600 .Q line to the
and that increases the pattern distortion. Also, open-circuited bottom of the stub. This feed
installation problems, like one conductor system will wo rk on only on e band as non-
being closer (too close) to a gutter or alumi- tuned feeders, but if an an tenna tuning unit

Very Long Antenna Wire (~5/\)

- ~Pa ralle l
....--- Transmission
Line

EI =End Insulator
R =Rope Support
ATU

Receiver

Figure 7 -8
 Lo ngwire Antennas "" 83

is provided it will also resonate the feeders

Antenna]
at higher frequencies. Some people pro-
vide a balun transformer to connect to the
- ----------------- ----- - -
stub. A 9: 1 transformer will reduce the
600 Q impedance to about 67 Q , which is
'A
not a bad match to either 52 Q or 75 Q
If

l /
/ 600- ohm Line
To RCVR
coaxial cable.
A way to improve the situation is to
use a quarter-wavelength radial connected
Figure 7 -9A
to the "cold " side of the parallel transmis-
sion line (see Figure 7-10). The purpose
of the radial is to provide a counterpoise
ground (as opposed to a real Earth
ground) connection for the longwire an-
A Antennal
If Radial tenna. T he radial is a wire that is cut to a
- -- - ---'--------- - --- · quarter-wavelength in the center of the
band of interest. The length is:
A.
If
246

l /
/ 600-ohm Line
To RCVR or, in 1neters:
Lfeet =F
MHz

75
Figure 7 - 98 Lmerers = F
MHz

.,,.-/ Para 1lel

- ¥ Transmission
Line

EI =End Insulator
CI= Center or End Insulator
R =Rope Support

Figure 7-10
84 • Receiving Antenna Handbook

The antenna shown in Figure 7-10 is fed mation can be done, in order to better march a
with 500 Q parallel transmission line, as were standard coaxial cable impedance, th e resultant
the others, even though it has a counterpoise 125 Q impedance results in only a 1.67 : 1
radial ground. Although considered "best" fo r VSWR when connected to 75 Q coax like
ideal installations, practical installation prob- RG -59/U or RG- 11/U. While that VSWR
lems usually militate against parallel line. A might concern ham operators (b ecause of
method for using coaxial cable transmission line VSWR shut-down circuits in transmitters), it
is shown in Figure 7-11. In this version , a 4: 1 doesn't seriously affect receiver owners.
balun transformer (Tl) is inserted at the feed- Radials are a key component to resonant
point. The balun converts the feedpoint imped- longwires-indeed, for nonresonant longwires
ance to a value that is one-fourth as large, or too. Unfortunately, the radial is also relatively
125 Q. Although further impedance transfer- long and may consume a bit of valuable lawn
space n eede d for the
longwire. For example, a
~ Radial two-wavelength longwire
Wire ~2.A. Long ~ design ed to receive 6000
\ EI R
~---;-----------~ kHz and up has a length
of 324 feet, and the radi-
al for 6000 kHz is 4 1 feet
- 75 .n_ long, for an overall length
Coaxial Coble
Ta RCVR end-to-en d of 324 + 41,
EI =E nd I nsulator or 365 feet. It is possible
R=Rope Support to shorten th e rad ial
length by inserting an
Figure 7 - 11 inductor in series with
the radial (Figure 7-12).
A general rule is to use a
ILoading coil that has an inductive
t Coil
reactance of 900 Q at a
LI frequency in the center of
R
-----t-----------t---8--8- the band of interest. For
example, in the 5950 to
6200 kHz international
shortwave broadcast band,
the center frequ ency is
6075 kH z. The coil makes
the an tenna tuning a
little sharper, but this is a
reasonable trade-off for
Receiver most users lacking proper
Figure 7 - 12 space.
 Lo ngwire Antennas ... 8 5

Longwire W hile the concept of a termination resistor

Termination Resistors is easy to draw in book illustrations, it's a little
The aperiodic, or nonreson ant, longwire harder to implement in practice. One of the
antenna requires a termination resistor at the problems is that the grounded end of the resis-
end opposite the receiver connection. This re- tor must be well grounded, and a length of
sistor should have a resistance value equal to wire between the resistor and the ground rod-
the characteristic impedance of the antenna no matter how thick-is NOT a good ground
wire. The resistor should be either a carbon connection at RF frequen cies. H owever, there
composition or metal film type (because those are two easily implemented solutions to the
are noninductive). Don't use a wirewound problem.
resistor, even those purporting to be "non- One solu tion is to use an airborne counter-
inductive." T hose resistors are noninductive poise ground, a quarter-wavelength radial, as
only at low audio frequencies .. .wh ich means shown in Figure 7- 13. An en d insulator sepa-
they actually have enough inductance to upset rates the radial wire from the antenna wire,
circuits in the RF frequency range. Termina- and a 1-watt or 2-watt termination resistor
tion resistors should have a power rating of bridges the insulator. If possible, the resistor
either 1-watt or 2-watt, with the latter being should be shrouded inside of a waterproof
preferred for receiving antennas. plastic box.

Antenna Wire l RI
~ Radiall
EI

RI EI= End Insulator

R=Rope Support
RI= Te rmination
, .. , ~
Resistor
Radial~

Figure 7 - 13
86 ..... Receiving Antenna Handbook

The other solution is to use a system such when buried (and made with bare wires) con-
as shown in Figure 7- 14. This method places siderably shorter wires will do. There should
the resisto r at the top of a six to eight foo t be at least fo ur radials p er band, although one
copperclad steel ground rod (driven into the or two are better than none. As always, the
ground so that only a few inches sh ow). A radials should be buried for safety reasons-
long, h eavy duty machine screw or bolt con- pedestrians can trip over radials on the surface,
nects the box to the ground rod; U-bolt clamps and receive serious injury for which you might
make both the electrical connection and the be liable.
mechanical fastening. A stand-off insulator con nects the other
No te that a series of radials are also end of the resistor to the antenna wire. T he
connected to the ground rod. These wire can be either a vertical downlead, at
radials are ideally a quarter-wave- the cost of some distortion to the
length lon g (length in feet Wire receive pattern, or sloped over a
eq ua ls 492/FM Hz), but relatively long distance to the
resistor housing.

Ceramic
Stand-Off ...,
Insulator

1....
.,...
_ _ Waterproof
Resistor Box

Spade Lugs

Ground Rod

Eart h

~
Radials

Figure 7 - 14
 Longwire Antennas ..,. 87

Vee Beams and summing together the patterns of the two indi-
Rhombic Beams vidual wires. Proper alignment of the main lobes
Longwire antennas can be combined in sev- of the two wires requires an included angle be-
eral ways to increase gain and sharpen directivi- tween the wires of twice the radiation angle of
ty. Two of the most popular of these are the Vee each wire. If the radiation angle of the wire is ~,
beam and the rhombic antennas. Both forms then the appropriate included angle is 2 ~. The
can be made in either resonant (unterminated) list below shows the optimum included angles
or nonresonant (terminated) versions. for various wavelength Vee beam antennas. For
antennas with included angles given below, the
+ Vee Beams radiation pattern elevation angle is close to 0°
The Vee beam (Figure 7-15) consists of two (i.e. h orizontal). To raise the pattern a few de-
equal length longwire elements (Wire-1 and grees, the 2~ angle should be slightly less than
Wire-2), fed 180° out of phase with each other, these values.
and spaced to produce an acme angle between
them. The 180° phase difference is inherent in ~ ~
connecting the two wires of the Vee to opposite 1 90
conductors of the same parallel conductor feed- 2 73
line. 3 58
The unterminated Vee beam of Figure 7 -15 4 50
has a bidirectional pattern that is created by 5 44
6 40
7 36
8 35

Note in the list above that the optimum

angle changes on harmonically operated
Resultant Pattern Vee beams. It is common practice to
design a Vee beam for a low frequency
(like the 60, 49, or 41-merer bands)
and then use it also on higher
Maximum frequencies that are harmonics
~ D ire cti o n
..:=::-------""'*'=-------""l----1.....
Reception of the minimum design fre-
quency. A typical Vee beam
works well over a very wide fre-
quency range only if th e includ-
ed angle is adj usted to a reasonable
compromise. It is common practice
to use an included angle that is be-
tween 35° and 90°, depending on how
many h armonic bands are required.
Fi gure 7 - 15 Vee beam patterns are based on an
antenna height that is greater than a half-
88 • Receiving Antenna Handbook

wavelength from the ground. At low frequen- beam is connected to each conductor of the
cies, such heights may not be practical, and one transmission line. Some books state that the two
must expect a certain distortion of the pattern wires to the receiver are mere downleads, and
due to ground reflection effects. need not be parallel to each other. I doubt that
Gain on a Vee beam antenna is about 3 dB advice, and recommend against it. While open
higher than the gain of the single-wire longwire wire transmission line is a tad difficult to work
antenna of the same size, and is considerably with, it is usually worth it. Besides, there are
higher than the gain of a dipole (see Figure other ways to do the job ("there's more than one
7-16). At three wavelengths, for example, the way to kill a cat, ya don't gotta ch oke him to
gain is 7 dB over a dipole. In addition, there death on bacon fat" as a supposedly wise man
may be som e extra gain due to mutual imped- once said). For example, using insulated 450 Q
ance effects, which can be about 1 dB at 51... and twin-lead results in a slight impedance mis-
2 dB at 81.... match, but is entirely satisfactory for receiver
Feeding a Vee beam is similar to feeding a use. Some people report that using 300 Q TV-
longwire antenna in that 600 Q parallel wire rype twin lead, with an antenna tuner, as tuned
transmission line is used. One wire of the Vee feeders also works well. A 9: 1 balun transformer
reduces the 600 Q impedance to
about 67 Q, so will match the feed-
15 point impedance to either 52 or
75 Q coaxial cable.
IL+
An additional 3 dB gain can be
13
0"
<:()Q.,o achieved by stacking two or more
i/' Vee beams together, either horizon-
0"'
o._
12 ~'\-o<".
i:5 tally (Figure 7- 17) or ve rtically
...c II
.,J
CJ>
(Figure 7- 18) .
c 10 0"
~ <:()Q.,o The horizontal stacking method
"'
>
..::,.Q.,q, was popular on low-cost TV anten-
~ 9
'-
8 nas for the VHF low-band channels
0
I (54 to 88 MHz) . T he two Vee
0
7
0
~ beams are positioned approximately
...0 6
<( a quarter-wavelength apart and are
d)
-0 5 connected by a quarter-wavelength
_<;;; section of transmission line that
0 i+
0 serves to cause a 90° phase shift
3
between them. T he bidirectional
2 radiation and reception characteris-
tic of normal Vee beams is replaced
0 with a unidirectional pattern. The
0 11 21 31 i.+l 51 61 71 81 91 101 I 11 121 actual direction is a function of
Antenna Leg Length in Wavelengths wheth er the feedline is connected
across Al/A2 or B l/B2 (see arrows
Figure 7 - 16 in Figure 7- 17).
 Long wire Antennas .,. 8 9

Al Di re cti on if
A20::-1--'--'--'-_J__j__J__J_j_j_~L-J_-L...J-J....(l ~ Al/AZ used
Di rection if
Bl/BZ used

Figure 7-17 ~ Phasing Harness (90° Phase Shift)

< q:- 90 Phasing Harness

Figure 7 - 18

Vertical stacking also produces a 3 dB gain, The two Vee beams of Figure 7-18 are fed
but h as the additional charm of taking less space 90° out of phase with each ocher. If a single
than the h orizontal method. The vertically transmission line is desired (case shown), then
stacked Vee shown in Figure 7- 18 uses two Vee space the Vees 'A/4 and use a 'A/ 4 phasing harness
beams, an upper and a lower. The upper Vee is (made of parallel transmission line) between
'A.J2 longer on each leg than the lower. T he them. Alternatively, either use two lines, with
stacking distance between them is an odd multi- the upper being 'A/ 4 longer than the lower, or
p le of a quarter-wavelength. use a 90° phase shift network in on e line.
90 .... Receiving Antenna Handboo k

+ Nonresonant Vee Beams

Like the sin gle wire longwire anten-
R nas, the Vee beam can be m ade non-
resonant by terminating each wire in a
resistance that is equal to the antenna's
~ntPottern characteristic impedance (Figure 7 - 19).
W hile the regular Vee is a stan ding wave
an tenna, the terminated version is a

~ ~
traveling wave antenna and is th us uni-
directional.
The same problems with practical
terminated longwires also affect termi-
nated Vee beams. As a result, some peo-
ple prefer to terminate the wire in a
resistor and a quarter-wavelength radial.
O thers prefer to use a Vee-Sloper anten-
na such as Figure 7-20. The supporting
R mast height should be abo ut half to
three-fourths of the length of either an-
tenna leg. The legs are sloped down-
Fi gure 7 - 19 ward to terminating resistors at ground
level. Each wire should be longer than
lA at the lowest operating frequency.

ATU

To
RCVR R

Figure 7-20
 Lo ngwire Antennas T 97

+ Rhombic Beams There are two angles present on the rhombic

The rhombic beam antenna, also called the antenna. Half the included angle of the two legs
double-Vee, consists of two Vee beams posi- of one wire is the tilt angle (<j>), while the angle
tioned end-to-end with the tips co nnected . The between the two wires is the apex angle (8). A
bidirectional resonant (unterminated) rhombic common rhombic design uses a tilt angle of 70 °,
is sh own in Figure 7 -2 1, while the unidirection- a length of 6A. for each leg (two legs per side),
al nonreson anr (terminated) rhombic is shown and a height from the ground of 1.1 A.
in Figure 7-22. The resonant form gives approx- T he termination resistance for the nonreso-
imately the same gain and directivity as a Vee nant rhombic is 600 to 800 .Q, and must be
beam of the same size. The nonresonant rhom- noninductive. For transmitting rhombics, the
bic has a gain of about 3 dB over a Vee beam of res istor should be capable of dissipating at least
the sam e size (see Figure 7- 16). one- third the average power of the transmitter.
For receive-on ly rhombics,
the termination resistor
can be a 2-watt carbon
~ =Tilt Angle composition or metal
8 =Apex Angle film type. Such an an-
tenna works nicely
over an octave (2: 1)
frequency range.

ATU

~ = Til t Angle
8 =Apex Angle
RCVR
R
Figure 7-21

ATU

RCVR

Figure 7 -22
92 • Receiving Antenna Handbook

A variation on the theme is the vertically Beverage was used by RCA at its Riverhead,
polarized rhombic of Figure 7-23. Although Long Island (New York) station in 1922, and a
sometimes called an inverted- Vee-not to be technical description by D r. H .H . Beverage (for
confused with the dipole variant of the same whom it is named) appeared in QST magazine
name-this antenna is half a rhombic, with the for November 1922, in an article tid ed "The
m issing half being "mirrored" in the ground Wave Antenna fo r 200-Meter Reception." In
(similar to a vertical). The angle at the top of the 1984, an edited and updated version of th e
mast (<I>) is typically 2:: 90°, while 120° to 145° is 1922 article appeared in the same magazine. In
more common. Each leg should be 2:: A, with the 1921, Paul Godley, under sponsorship of the
longer being somewhat higher in gain. American Radio Relay League (ARRL, 225
Main Street, Newington, CT 06111) journeyed
to Sco tland to erect a receiving station at An-
Beverage or d rossan. His mission was to listen for amateur
"Wave" Antennas radio signals from N orth America. As a result of
T he Beverage or W{zve anrenna is considered politicking in the post-World War I era, hams
by some people to be the best receiving antenna were consigned to the supposedly useless short-
available fo r very low frequency (VLF), AM waves (A< 200 meters), and it was not clear that
broadcast band (BCB), medium wave (MW), or reliable international communications were pos-
tropical band (low H F region) DXing. The sible (remember, the "200-meter an d down"

Direction of
Max imum Reception

~ Mast
600n
Line to Rece iver
~--~r--~~~~~-L-L-~~~~~-r-~~~~

Figure 7 - 2 3
 Longwire Anten nas .,. 93

region is what we now call the MW and HF the period of the experiment. The experimental
shortwave bands!) . Godley went to Scotland to results are probably valid, but are misinterpreted.
see if that could happen ... he reportedly used The issue can be easily resolved by a properly
a wave antenna for the task (today called the contrived, statistically valid, theoretically com-
Beverage) . petent, side-by-side comparison experiment.
The Beverage antenna is a longwire of special T he Beverage antenn a works on vertically
design, more than o ne-wavelength (IA) long, polarized waves arriving at low angles of inci-
although some authorities maintain that > 0.5A dence. T hese conditions are normal in th e AM
is minimally sufficient. The Beverage provides BCB, where nearly all transmitting antennas are
good directivity and good gain, but is not very vertically polarized . In addition , the ground and
efficient. As a result, it is preferred for receiving sky wave propagation foun d in th e VLF, AM
but sh unned for transmitting. This is an exam - BC B, and low MW ("tropical") bands are rela-
ple of how different attributes of various anten- tively consistent. As the frequency increases,
nas make the Law of Reciprocity an unreliable however, two factors become increasin gly domi-
sole guide to antenna selection. Unlike th e regu- nant. First, the likelihood of horizontal polariza-
lar longwire, which is of a different design, the tion increases because of the size of a wavelength
Beverage is intended to be mounted close to the at those frequencies. Second, shortwave propa-
Earth's surface (typically< O. l A); heights of eigh t gation becom es less consistent at higher fre-
to ten feet is the usual prescription. quencies. The p olarization of the received signal
The Beverage works best in th e low fre- not only changes in those bands, but does so
quency bands, VLF through Mw, although at constantly when conditions are unsettled . It is
least som e results are reportedly relatively easy the strong dependen ce of the Beverage on rela-
to obtain up to the 2 5-meter (11. 5 M Hz) band . tively constant vertical p olarization that makes
Some attempts have been m ade at m akin g me suspect the claims of Beverage-like perfor-
Beverage antennas work as high as the 11-meter mance above the 25- or even 3 1-meter bands.
citizens ban d or th e 10-m eter h am ban d Figure 7-24 shows the basic single wire Bev-
(29. 7 MHz) . T here is a sometimes snide d ebate erage antenna. It consists of a single conductor
going on between those who claim good Bever- (# 16 to #8 wire, with # 14 being most common)
age performance at h igher frequencies and those erected about eight to ten feet above ground.
who say "it t'aint so. " At the risk of joining the Some Beverages are unterminated (and bidirec-
debate- which I don't wish to do- I'll recog- tional), but most are terminated at the far end in
nize that there are sound theoretical reasons to a resistance (R) equal to the antenna's character-
support the low frequen cy argument, although istic impedance (Z0 ) . The receiver end is also
the h igh frequency adherents seem to have some terminated in its characteristic impedance, but
impressive experimental results to show. I sus- gen erally requires an impedance matching trans-
pect that both sides of the argument are right, or former to reduce the antenna impedance to the
think they are. The HF performance of Bev- 50 Q standard impedance used by most modern
erages to nearly 30 MHz may well be the result receivers (Figure 7-2 5).
of regular longwire performan ce arising at fre- T he Beverage depends on being erected over
quencies above som e unrecognized limit around poorly conductive soil, even though the termi-
7 MHz. Either that, or particular propagation nating resistor needs a good ground . Thus, one
conditions made the antenna wo rk well durin g source claimed that sand beaches adj acent to
 94 .... Receiving Antenna Ha ndbook

salty marshes make the

2'.1)..Long Wire best Beverage sites (a bit of
overstatement). Figure
7 -26 shows why poorly
R
Termination conductive soil is needed.
Resistor
-----<---
The E-field vec tors are
launched from the trans-
Figure 7 - 24 mitting antenna perp en-
di cular to th e Earth's
surface. Over perfectly
conducting soil, the verti-
Direction of
Long- W;" (> 0.5A) Moxhn'.':i:"pLloc cal waves would remain

Primary
1 Ground-To-
vertical. Bur over imper-
fectly conducting soil the
field lines tend to bend
To Receiver <§;- (Winding Ground Wi re
close to the point of con-
1 ~ s'To 10'

Secondory-=;--=b--~==-....-.~----~~=:;:zt;~~
tac t w ith th e gro und .
As shown in the inset to
Winding
Figure 7-26, the bending
of the wave provides a
Figure 7 - 25
horizontal component of
the E-field vector, and this
provides the means of gen-
era ting an RF current in
the conductor wire.
.------1"-... Direction of Beverage directivity is
~ Propagation
an interesting phenom-
enon. When sign als arrive
E-lield--..
from either side (p erpen-
Wire dicular to the wire), all
sections of the wire are ex-
cited in-phase with each
Rx other. When these signals
propagate along the wire,
they reach the receiver end
Good Medium
Conductivity Conductivity essentially out of phase
Ground Ground with each other, so they
cancel. Thus, the Beverage
exhibits very deep nulls off
the sides ar right angles to
Figure 7 - 26 the wire.
 Longwire Antennas T 95

Signals arriving from either end of the wire circuits. If an electrical signal is launched onto a
produce electrical situations that are similar to transmission line that is terminated at its far end
each other, but with opposite results. Signals by a resistance (R) equal to Z 0 , then all of the
from either direction set up in-phase reinfo rcing forward signal power is either radiated as an
waves at the ends. Signals arriving from the electromagnetic wave or absorbed by the termi-
fo rward direction propagate along the wire ro- nating resisror; no signal is reflected back down
wards the receiver end, and build up a strong the line towards the source. But if R # Z0 , a
resultant that is heard by the receiver. Signals reflected signal will arise, and its amplitude is
arriving from the rear direction also build up in- proportional to the mismatch between Z 0 and
phase reinfo rcing electrical signals, bur these R. On receive antennas, a component of the
propagate towards the termination resistor end, signal set up in the wire by the electromagnetic
where they are absorbed by the resistor and wave travels rowards the receiver, while another
therefore lost. If the termination resisror is component travels towards the termination . The
matched to the characteristic impedance of the signal heading towards the termination is ab-
antenna (R = Z 0 ) then there will be no reflec- sorbed by the resisror. The value of Z0 for the
tion s back down the wire (which could redu ce single wire Beverage is:
the depth of the rear null).
A good "thought model" for th e Beverage is
4
to regard it as a parallel wire transmission line Z 0 = 138 log ( dh J
w ith one good conductor (the wire) and one
lossy, poor conducror (the soil underneath). As Where:
with any transmission line, the electrical wave in
the wire has a lower velocity of propagation than Z0 is the characteristic impedan ce in .Q
the electromagnetic (EM) wave in free space. h is the antenna height
The free space EM wave travels at the speed of d is the wire d iam eter
light (denoted by th e letter c), while the electri- [h and d must be in t he sam e units -
cal signal in the wire set up by the passing EM inches, fee t, meters, etc.]
wave travels at a velocity of 0. 85c ro 0. 98c,
depending on the design and installation of the Let's look at an example. Find the character-
antenna. The velocity factor (V) is the ratio of istic impedance (Z0 ) of a Beverage mounted
the actual velocity (v) tO th e free space velocity eight fee t fro m the ground, and made of # 14
(c) : V = vi c. T he velocity facro r is sometimes wire (diameter is 0.064 inches).
expressed as a decimal (such as 0.90) and some-
times as a percent (like 90%) . T he velocity fac-
tor increases with antenna height, although the Z 0 =1 38 log(
4 3
( )( fr )
(O. 064 in. )(l fr I 12in. )
J
rate of increase slows down above h eights of ten
feet or so.
As n oted earlier, all transm ission lines have 32
Z 0 = 138 log ( )
an attribute called characteristic imp edance, 0 .00 53
symbolized by Z 0 . Although the rigorous defini-
tion is a bit more complex, it is possible tO Z 0 = 138 log (6037) = (138)(3.78)
defin e Z 0 in terms of what happens in practical = 52 1 .Q
 96 ..... Receiving Antenna Handbook

This equation is used to determine the im- position or metal film are suitable [note: many
pedance of the antenna so that a terminating potentiometers are wirewound]. H ere are the
resistor can be selected. Figure 7-27 shows curves diameters (d) of several popular U.S. wire gauges:
of impedance vs. height for several pop ular wire
sizes. If the calculated value of Z 0 does not fall A WG WIRE DIAMETERS
on a standard resistor value, then you can do AWG Outside
Wire Size Diameter (in .)
one of three things: make a network of standard
8 0.1285
value resistors that does match Z 0 , use a potenti-
10 0.1019
ometer (variable resistor) and set it to a value 12 0.0808
equal to Z 0 , or use a compromise value fixed 14 0.0640
resistor; 600 Q is a popular value. In any event, 16 0.0508
only noninductive resistors such as carbon com- 18 0.0403

_n_ Another of the debates found

among Beverage fans regards the best
59 0 length for the antenna. Some so urces
say that th e length can be anything
580
:2 0.5A, while others say :2 lA is the
570 minimum size. One camp says that
the length sh ould as long as possible,
560
<fl
while others say it should be close to
2I 550 a factor called the Maximum Effec-
0 tive Length (MEL), which is:
c
540
0
N
~
530 MEL = A ( 100 )
~ 4 K-1
-8
~
520
a._
E
...... 510 W here:
u
:,::; MEL is the m aximum effective
<fl
·;:: 500 length in meters (m)
cu
t 490 A is the wavelength in meters (m)
2
0
...c K is the velocity factor expressed
u 480 as a percent
470
M isek, who may well be the lead-
460 ing exponent of the Beverage anten-
450 Ft
na, uses numbers like l.6A to l.7A-
5 over the 1.8 to 7.3 MHz region, and
6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
0.53A to 0.56A- on frequencies lower
Height (Feet) than 1.8 M H z. Beverage himself was
once quoted as saying that the opti-
Figure 7-27 mum length is lA.
 Longwire Antennas ..- 97

Like the longwire antenna, the Beverage Installation of the Beverage antenna is not
needs a termination resistor that is connected to overly critical if certain rules are followed. The
a good ground. This requirement may be harder antenna should be installed at a height of six to
to meet on Beverage antennas because they work ten feet off the gro und, and should be level
best over lossy ground, which doesn't make a with the ground over its entire length. If the
very good ground connection. On Beverage in- ground is not flat enough to make a level instal-
stallations, follow the same principles given ear- lation possible, then try to use a height that is
lier for grounding of nonresonant longwire six to ten feet above the average terrain eleva-
terminations. As in the longwire case, insulated tion along irs run.
or bare wire a quarter-wavelength long makes A popular installation method is to erect
the best radials. However, a substantial improve- 16-foot 4x4 lumber such that three to four feet
m ent in the ground is possible using just bare are buried in a concrete filled posthole. Use
wires from 15 to 20 feet long (which is much lumber that is treated for outdoor use, such as
less than A/4), buried in the soil just below the lumber sold for add-on decks and porches.
surface far enough to prevent erosion from The wire can be fastened to the 4x4 posts
bringing it to the surface. Many articles and using either ceramic stand-off ("beehive") insu-
books on Beverages show ground rods of two or lators or electric livestock control fence insula-
three feet long, which borders on the ridiculous. tors (which some people deem preferable). Try
Poor soil requires longer ground rods, on the to use one contiguous length of wire for the
order of six to eight feet. As before, copperclad antenna, if possible, in order to avoid soldered
steel makes the best rods. splices and joints.
In addition to the radials and ground rod, One of the Beverage installation difficulties
Misek also recommends using a wire connection shared with the longwire is the need to slope
betwee n the ground connection at th e down to a point where a termination resistor
termination resistor and the ground connection can be easily installed close to the ground.
at the receiver transformer (see again Figure While the longwire can be sloped over a large
7-25). According to Misek, this wire helps portion of its length, the Beverage should only
stabilize the impedance variations at higher be sloped downwards over the last 60 feet or so
frequencies. (Figure 7-28).

;..____
To
RCVR
R

Figure 7 - 28
98 ""- Receiving A n tenna H andbook

Feeding the Transformers produce an impedance trans-

Beverage Ant enna formation according to the expression:
The Beverage antenna must be matched
at both ends with terminations equal to the
characteristic impedance of the antenna. At the
feed end, where the receiver is connected, this Where:
requirement usually m eans that a transformer is Np is the number of turns in rhe primary
needed because the usual receiver antenna con- winding
nection wants to see a 50 Q source. N 5 is the number of turns in the secondary
A transformer consists of two or more coils winding
of wire arranged so that the magnetic field of zp is the impedance connected to the
one coil cuts across the other. Although air trans- primary winding (in Beverage antennas
formers are common, those used with Beverage it is Z 0 )
antennas tend to be either powdered iron or Z 5 is the impedance connected to the
ferrite toroid ("doughnut" shaped) cores (see secondary winding (typically 50 Q).
Figure 7-29). Sizes range from 0.125-inch o.d.
to 5.2-inches o.d. For transmitting, size is im- We lmow the required impedance transfor-
portant, but for receiving the convenience of mation (Zp/Z5 ) by comparing the value of Z 0
building the transformer is more important. The (which connects to the primary winding) , and
cores are also classified according to material, the receiver system impedance (which connects to
and this attribute is frequency sensitive. the secondary winding); the latter is usually 50 n.
The usual practice is ro select an inductance
for the transformer winding that is high relative
to the highest impedance to be matched. Bryant
and Hall-Patch recommend a reactance of
Zp 637 µH for the primary, which translates to 35
turns of wire on the Amidon FT-50-43 core
["FT" denotes ferrite material, "50" denotes a
Toroida l 0.50-inch o.d., and "43" is the material mixture
Core \
type. The 43 mixture is nickel-zinc, works to
.:...--- about 50 MHz, and has a perm eability µ of
850.]. To match 500 Q to 50 Q we need to
work the follow ing example:

NP - /50
35 turns ~SOO

Secondocy j Primary NP = (3 5 turns) .JQ.l

W inding W ind ing

Figure 7 - 29 NP = ( 3 5 turns) ( 0. 3 16) = 11 turns

 Longwire Antennas ... 99

Thus, we can select an FT-

Jack91~
50-43 core, and then wind the
primary turns of #26 enam-
eled wire, and the secondary
with 11 turns of the same wire.
Other cores are also useful, and
indeed may be better for the
BCB. These would require Toroida l ~
different turns ratios from the Forradoy Core ~
example given above. Shielded
The "" 500 n impedance Secondary
of the Beverage makes a rea- Primary
sonable match to the "Hi-Z" Winding
(high impedance) inputs of Jock
some receivers (as well as the (to RCVR) ~
normal imp edance of older
receivers), but direct connec- Center
tion is not recomm ended Conductor Shield
because of safety reasons. The Soldered to Not Connected
Outer Shield
Beverage is a huge static elec- Figure 7 - 30
tricity generator. Static build-
up on the wire can p roduce
discharges that will destroy the RF input circuit- to allow 114-in ch of inner conductor to be
ry of solid-state receivers. As a result, even when exposed, along with V2-inch of inner insulator
no impedance transformation is needed, a 1: 1 and 1/2-inch of the shielding outer conductor;
transformer is recommended because of the dis- solder the inner conductor of the other end to
charge path to ground through the secondary the outer conductor of this end (be sure to not
winding. use too much heat, or the inner insulator will
Better performance, especially noise perfor- melt).
mance, is achieved if the transformer is wound The transformer can be mounted in either a
using a Faraday shield technique recommended shielded metal box, or a non-shielded box, but it
by Misek and others. This method is shown in must be mounted at the feed end of the wire,
Figure 7-30. The primary winding is wound in with no downlead (other than the coax) . The
the normal m anner with enameled hook-up chief requirement is that the box be weather-
wire. T he secondary, h owever, is made with a proofed.
length of coaxial cable for the wire. Small sizes, Avoid mounting the transformer on the pole
such as RG-1 74/U or even RG-58/U, will suf- is possible if the Beverage wire is sloped gently
fice for m edium to large size cores. One end of from the normal height (six to ten feet) to the
the wire is stripped back and the shield removed, ground level (Figure 7-3 1). As in the case of the
exposing the inner insulator and conductor; termination resistor m entioned earlier, the slope
remove about 114-inch of the inner insularor to should be over about 60 feet, but not signifi-
expose the conductor. The oth er end is trimmed cantly more.
 100 ...._ Receiving Antenna Handbook

Coaxia l Cable

~
To RCVR

Figure 7 -3 1

Also shown in Figure 7-31 is an alternate wire over a suitable core (like the FT-50-43).
transformer scheme (see inset) that can be used T he center tap is at 18 turns and is grounded.
with any Beverage, not just the sloping feed The center condu ctor of the coaxial cable to the
type. This transformer is called an autotrans- receiver is connected to a tap on the "cold" end
former because the same winding is used for that matches the impedan ce. For 50 Q , tap the
both primary and secondary. T he secondary coil six turns from the ground connection.
is merely tapped down on the
p rim ary at the correct imped-
ance level. Some people use a
series of taps on the primary Rope
and a switch to select one tap
from the many in order to ac-
commod ate several different
impedance levels.
Figure 7-32 shows a Zepp-
1
fed Beverage antenna. A paral- 6 to 10 ' Wood or Plastic
Spreaders (12" separation )
lel transmission line is made by
spacing two # 14 lengths of wire,
each long enough to reach the
feed end of the Beverage, 12
inch es apart. Use either plastic
or wooden dowels to keep the
wires spread apart (as many '------Autotransformer
son..
dowels as needed may be used). Coax To
T he feed transformer is a bal- RCVR
anced autotransformer consist-
Figure 7-32
ing of 36 turns of #26 enameled
 Longwire An tennas ..,. 70 7

Steerable Notch Beverage Where:

Antennas Z 0 is the characteristic impedance in Q
A Beverage erected with two wires-parallel h is the antenna height
to each ocher, at the same height, spaced about d is the antenna wire size diameter
12 inches apart, with a length that is a multiple S is the spacing between the wires
of a half-wavelength-is capable of null steering. [h, d and S are in th e same units]
Thar is, the rear null in the pattern can be
steered over a range of 40° to 60°. This feature The two parallel wires in Figure 7-33 are
allows strong off-axis signals to be reduced in terminated differently. W ire-A is grounded in a
amplitude so that weaker signals in the main radial and ground rod system, with out a termi-
lobe of the pattern can be received. There are at nation resistor; Wire-Bis open-circuited. When
least two varieties of the steerable wave Beverage a passin g signal produces a signal in these wires,
(SWB). One variety is shown in Figure 7-33. the results are exactly opposite. Both wires form
The characteristic impedance (Z0 ) of a two- a "transmission line" to ground, but one is open-
wire Beverage antenna is calculated a little dif- circuited so sees an infinite load impedance,
ferently from that of the single wire Beverage: while the other is shorted so has a zero load
impedance. In bo th wires, the traveling wave

[4hd ~i +(2h)2J
propagates to the right side end, an d reflects
z =69 lo 100% back towards the receiver. In Wire-A,
0
g s however, the reflected signal reverses phase with
respect to the incident forward signal, while in
Wire-B the open-circuit load causes an in-phase
reflection. Whether these signals can cel or add
depends on the nature of th e load circuit.
Wire B If the load is resistive (see "Alternate Load"

JI
PortA
rl
y
in Figure 7-33) the antenna is unidirectional. If
the second transformer is used as the load for
W ire A (Grounded T 1, however, the reception is bidirectional,
bur only one direction at a time. A two-
anten na coaxial switch can be used to select
~
Port-A or Port-B, depen ding on the desired
J2
PortB y direction of reception.
If null steering behavior is desired, then a
phase control circuit (abbreviated PCC-see
inset to Figure 7-33) is used. Ir consists of a

c5270oH potentiometer, an inductance, and a variable

capacitor in series with each other. Varying both
the "pot" and the capacitor will steer the null.
365pF
You can select the direction of reception, hence
Phase Control CirC1Jit
the direction of the null, by using a switch to
swap the receiver and PCC between Port-A and
Figure 7 -3 3
Port-B.
102 ... Receiving Antenna Handbook

The other variation on the theme is shown longwire and ground. Each NE-51 takes more
in Figure 7-34. This antenna is the same as the than 65 volts to ignite so there was at least 195
previous case on the receiver end (except for the volts on that line- and probably several kilo-
PCC being hard-wired, rather than movable; volts!
both designs are acceptable) . On the termina- Everyone is familiar with static electricity
tion end, however, a trifilar transfo rmer (three problems from ordinary experience. Wearing
interleaved windings) is used to terminate the certain fabrics, scuffling across certain types of
two wires. rugs, or sliding across a car seat can build up a
very high-many kilovolts-static ch arge that
can cause the "bite" yo u receive when touching
Electrostatic Discharge (ESD} another (especially a gro unded) object.
Damage Control All electronic circu itry is sensitive to ESD,
During my 1984 visit to Texas to see friend but the problem became more acute with the
and antenna guru Johnnie Harper Thorne, I advent of solid-state circuits . These circuits are
learned first-hand about a problem that affects zapped into oblivion by high voltage ESD tran-
all large antennas, but is especially severe on sients. While vacuum tube receivers were not
longwires of all types: electrostatic discharge immune to ESD damage, they were a lot more
(ES D) damage. Because of their very large size, tolerant of ESD voltage spikes.
longwire antennas pick up immense static elec- There are several mechanisms by which static
tricity charges. John demonstrated to me that ch arges build up. First, lightning storms many
three series-connected NE-51 neon lamps would miles away, far out of sight, can produce electri-
flash (indicating a high voltage present) when cal fields near you r antenna that are intense
connected between the feedline of a resonant enough to build up static charges on a long

Tl

To
KCVRJ
t---1
r !: T3

- I
I

1
LI
300uH

Cl
lf50
pf

Figure 7-34
 Longwire Antennas ~ 103

conductor. Rain, dust, snow, and even the

motion of air itself across the wire is capable of
building trem endous ESD p otentials. Since
these charges cannot be avoided, some protec-
tion is warranted .
ESD protection circuits should be added to
longwire antennas in addition to, not in lieu of,
lightning arrestor protection devices. Figure 7-35 ATU ESD
shows an ES D protection module connected to Protection
the active side of the feedline, ahead of the an- Module
tenna tuning unit (ATU). Several methods, or
combinations of these, can be used to suppress
Figure 7 - 35
static and transient charges. Figure 7-36A shows
the use of ten 1,000,000 (1 megohm), 2-watt
resistors connected in series between the antenna point the MOY temporarily breaks down and
feedline and ground. These resistors have a high forms a low resistance to ground.
enough resistance value that they don't load A combination of a resistor bank (a La Figure
down the antenna, but low enough to bleed off 7-36A), and neon glow lamps is sh own in Figure
static charges as they develop. 7-36C. The resistor bank serves its bleed-off
The use of metal oxide varistor (M OV) rran- fun ction, while the neon lamps respond to
sien t supp ressor devices is shown in Figure sudden high voltage spikes. In some cases, a
7-36B. T hese devices offer a high resistance until Siemens spark gap device is used in place of
the voltage exceeds a threshold level, at which the neon lamps.

x
x
Ten 1- meg _n_ Ten 1-meg _n_
2 - watt Resistors 2- watt Resistors
M
0
v NE-2
Neon Glow Lamp

-= -=

Figure 7 - 36 A B c
 CHAPTER 8

Other Wire Antennas

here are a number of different wire anten-
T nas that you can easily make and might be
the answer to your particular needs. However,
range, but rather on the center frequency. For
example, to make an antenna for H F (3 to 30
MHz), one wo uld split the difference to find the
these don't fit comfortably into any of the cate- design frequency:
gories we've discussed so far. Here are chose
"odds and ends" that didn't fit in elsewhere ... the 3+ (30- 3) =1 6.5 M H z
anten na yo u're looking fo r just might be in this 2
chapter! [Note: Amateur radio operators would use
14.2 MHz as the design center because it is
GSRV Doublet within their 20-meter band]
The G 5 RV doublet antenna (Figure 8-1 ) is a This type of antenna is designed to be 31.J2
harmonically operated wire antenna that will at the center frequency, so each element (dimen-
operate over the entire HF spectrum-or so sion ''A" in Figure 8-1) is:
goes the legend. Adherents of this fine antenn a
722
sometimes claim more for it than is supp orted Afeet =F
by good science. And chat's too bad, because, MHz
within its constraints, the GSRV antenna is a Where:
very good shortwave antenna. Afeet is the length in feet (fr)
Unlike other harmonic antennas of similar FMHz is the center frequen cy in m egah ertz
appearance, the G5RV is not designed to work (MH z)
on th e lowest operating frequency within its [note: at 16.5 M Hz, A= 43'9"]

B
A= 722 feet

i B=
FMHZ

480V feet
FMHZ

Figure 8 - 1
7 0 6 .... Receiving Antenna H andb ook

The matching section (" B") is made from Windom Antennas

either parallel open wire transmission line, The W indom antenna (as shown in Figure
450 n twin-lead, or 300 n television type twin- 8-2) dates back to the early 1920s when it was
lead. It is connected at one end to the feedpoinr popular among hams and SWLs alike. This an-
of the antenna, and at the other end to 75 n tenna consists of a half-wavelength wire radiator
coaxial cable (80 or 90 Q cable is a better match, element installed (for best performance) at least
but harder to obtain). The length of the match- "A/2 ab ove the gro und surface. The physical
ing section is: length of the Windom radiator elemen t can be
fo und from:
B _ (480V)
feet - F 470
MHz
Lfeet =F
W here: MHz
Bfeet is the length of the matching section
in feet (fr) The feedline is a single conductor insulator
FMHz is the operating center frequency in wire, # 14 or #16, that must drop away from the
megahertz (MHz) antenna at a right angle (90°) for at least /...,/4.
V is the transmission line velocity factor T he feedline connects to the radiator element at
(typically 0 .999 for open-wire parallel a point that is 14% off-center, or:
line, and 0.82 for twin-lead)
66
The G5RV antenna offers good perfo rmance Kfeet =F
MHz
at 16.5 MHz and 26 MHz, and at other specific
points in the band. The feedpoint impedance is A practical Windom for general SWL use
roughly 90 to 100 Q at those frequencies. At might be cur for a low fre quency, such as
other frequencies, however, it beco mes highly 4.5 MH z, so it would have an overall length (L)
reactive and the VSWR rises markedly. Gain of 468/4.5 = 104 feet. It would be fed with a
also changes considerably. At 11 M H z and 23 single conductor wire at 14. 7 feet from the
MHz, there are sharp spikes in the VSWR that center. Because the exact center is a little harder
reduces the performance to that of a random to find than the ends, we can restate this dimen-
length wire antenna. Because of the variation of sion in terms of the end points. T he connection
VSWR-which ranges from 1.3 :1 at16 .5 MHz p oint is 36% of the total length from one end of
to 70: 1 at the "spike" frequencies-a wide im- the an tenna:
p edan ce range antenna tuning unit sh ould be
168.5
used at the receiver end of the coaxial cable. Lengthend = - --
The G5RV antenna can be installed either F MHz
horizontally as sh own in Figu re 8-1, or in the
manner of an inverted-Vee dipole. If the Vee The Windom antenna wo rks well on the
installation is selected , then use an apex angle at fundamental frequency band described by these
the m ounting point of approximately 120°. The equations as well as harmonics of the design
resonant center freq uency will drop 50 to 80 frequency.
kHz depending on the installation and local When designed according to the equations
conditions. above, the Windom will have a single wire feeder
 Other Wire Antennas .., 107

that represents a load impedance of about Off-Centerfed Fullwave Doublet

600 Q. This impedance will not easily interface (OCFD) Antennas
to most receivers, so an antenna tuning unit An antenna that superficially resembles the
must be used. A popular form, shown in Figure windom is the off-centerfed doublet antenna
8-2, is a parallel inductor capacitor (LC) tuned (OCFD) of Figure 8-3. It is a single band anten-
circuit that resonates at the bands of interest. na, although at harmonics it will begin to act as
The coil should h ave an inductive reactance a resonant standing wave long wire antenna.
(Xi) of about 2000 Q at the lowest frequency of The overall length is one wavelength long:
operation. The coil is tapped at two points, ''A"
and "B," to work as an autotransformer to con- 936
Lfeer = F
vert 800 Q to 50 n. MHz

T his antenna works best

at heights of at least 'A/2
L ... above ground, so practical
W
ire \
Radiator
::+ K ~l Center
considerations limi t it to
frequencies above about 11
R M H z (i.e., the 25- meter
band).
Right angle t o
Radiator W ire T he feedpoint of the an -
for at least 'A Ii+ tenn a is placed at a distance
Note: Radiator W ire of A/4 from one end and is a
?: 'A /2 above
Grou nd good match for 7 5 Q co-
Cl LI
r 52D
Coax to
Receiver
axial cabl e. A 1: 1 balu n
transformer at the feedpoint
is hi gh ly reco mm ende d.
T he pattern of a l Aan ten na
is a four-lobe "cloverleaf"
Figure 8-2 with the major lobes being
about 53° from the wire.
The gain is abo ut 1 dB.

I :I BALUN
~ 75D Coax

Figure 8-3
108 .&. Receiving Antenna Handbo o k

Off-Centerfed Double (Stacked) Dipole

Nonresonant Sloper Figure 8-5 shows a double dipole, which
(OCFS) consists of two half-wavelength dipole antennas
Perhaps more viable for many SWLs is the spaced a half-wavelength apart. T he transmis-
nonresonant off-centerfed sloper (OCFS) an- sion lines are connected in parallel at the receiv-
tenna of Figure 8-4. This antenna consists of a er. This antenna provides about 3 dB gain over a
wire radiator that is longer than 3A/2 at the single dipole, plus it adds a bit of fade protec-
lowest frequency of operation. The feedpoint is tion because two side-by-side antennas provide
elevated at least /.../ 4 above ground at the lowest a bit of space diversity.
operating frequency. The antenna is fed with The two dipoles are supported by a common
75 Q coaxial cable. The shield of the coax is structure consisting of ropes (R) and end insula-
connected to a /.../4 resonant radial (counter- tors (EI) to support masts on the ends. In the
poise ground). There should be at least on e center, a half-wavelength space is taken up by a
radial (more is better) per band of operation. rope so that the structure is maintained. T he
The far end of the radiator element is sloped space is determined by:
to ground, where it is terminated in a 270 Q 492
noninductive resistor. Spacefeer = - -
FMHz
and, for th e dipoles:
468
Le11gthfeet = ---
FMHz

~Radial
~
Wire Antenna Element
JiV (>~at lowest frequency)

Coax to Direction of ~
Receiver Reception ~

~ Support
Mast RI
270 n.. / _ Ground
Ground 2- watt ~ jll( Connect ion
I
_ I

Fig ure 8-4

 Other Wire Antennas ... 109

1:] 1:1
BALUN EI R EI BALUN R

75 _n_ Coax

A
Phase
Box
Figure 8-5

RCVR

Double Extended supplier), especially if a balanced an tenna tuner

Zepp Antenna is available at the receiver, or it can be fed from a
The double extended Zepp antenna (Figure quarter-wavelength marching section made of
8-6) provides a gain of about 2 dB over a dipole 45 0 Q twin-lead (or equivalent open air parallel
at right angles to the antenna wire plane. It line), as shown, and a balun if coax is preferred.
consists of two sections of wire, each one of a The length of the matching section should be:
length of:
103
L2feet = - --
600 FMHz
Llfeec = - - -
FMHz The double extended Zepp will wo rk on a
Typical lengths are: 27 .7 feet on the 13- several different bands. Fo r example, a 13-meter
merer band, 51 feet on the 25-meter band, band double extended Zepp will work as a Zepp
62 feet on the 31-meter band, and 100 feet on on the design ban d, a dipole on frequen cies
the 49-meter band. below the design band, and a four-lobed "clover-
The d ouble extended Zepp antenna can be leaf" antenna on frequencies above the design
fed directly with 450 Q twin-lead (see below for band.

·-~1--~-u ______J l~~r--~-u ______J

I Ii
R EI ... , ... ,EI R

~ ~
Figure 8 -6
110 .a. Recei ving A ntenna Handbook

Collinear "Franklin" Array wavelength section at each end, with an inter-

Antenna vening quarter-wavelength phase reversal stub
Perhaps the cheapest approach to real serious in between each new section and the preceding
antenna gain is the Collinear Franklin array section. Once you get longer than five half-
shown in Figure 8-7 . This antenna pushes the wavelengths-which provides the 4.5 dB gain-
dipole and double extended Zepp concepts even the physical size becomes a bit of a bother for
further. It consists of a half-wavelength dipole most folks.
that is centerfed with a 4: 1 balun and 75 .Q
coaxial cable. At each end of the dipole there is a
quarter-wavelength phase reversal stub that end- Lazy-H Antenna
feeds another half-wavelength element. Each The Lazy-H antenn a (Figure 8-8) is a
element is a half-wavelength (A/2) long, and its "stacked " antenna because it consists of two an-
length can be calculated as follows: tennas, one on top of another. This antenna
provides gains up 5.5 to 6 dB with just wire
alone. In addition, the angle of radiation is low-
er than many antennas, so it's possible to put the
"first hop" on sh ortwave a lot fu rther out than
The phase reversal stubs are a quarter-wave- on simple dipole antennas. T he len gth (Ll ) of
length lon g, or one-half the length calculated by each element is:
the equation above.
The version of the Collinear shown in Figure 478
Llfeer = - - -
8-7 has a gain of about 3 dB . T here is no theo- FMHz
retical reason why you can't extend the design
indefinitely, but there is a practical limit set by W hile the spacing is:
how much wire can be h eld by your supports
and how much real estate you own. A 4.5 dB 492
L2feer = - - -
version can be built by adding another half- FMHz

EI 'A/2 EI 'A/2 EI 'A/2 EI R

A/Lt
i_ ~
Lf:I BALUN
A/Lt
i_
. - 75ohm
Coax To
RCVR

Figure 8-7
 Other Wire Antennas ... 111

L3

l
L3

l
x3
To RCVR via
Figure 8-8 BALUNand Coax

The phase reversal harness connecting the Large Wire Loop Antennas
elements is made fro m either 45 0 Q parallel Antennas can be built using half- or full-
transmission line, or 450 Q twin-lead. No te wavelength pieces of wire arranged in a loop.
that it is twisted over on itself in order to make There are two basic fo rms of loop antenna: small
the ph ase reversal happen (lack of this phase and large. These two types have different char-
reversal is one reason why this antenna seems to acteristics, work according to different princi-
"fail" when built!) . The matching section is also ples, and have different purposes. Small loops
made of 4 50 Q line, and is a quarter-wave- are those in which the current flowing in the
length: wire has the same phase and amplitude at every
point in the loop (which fact implies a very
246
L3feet = -- - short wire length, such as < O. lA). Such loops
FMH z respond to the magnetic field compon ent of the
electromagnetic radio wave. We'll discuss small
T he 75 Q coaxial cable transmission line is loops in an upcoming chapter.
connected to points "X l " and "X2 " through a A large loop antenna has a wire length
1: 1 balun transformer. T hese points are found > O. lA, with most being either A./2, lA, or A.
experimentally by m oving the balun connection The current in a large loop varies along the
points up and down along the stub until a 1: 1 length of the wire in a manner similar to other
impedance match is achieved . wHe antennas.
112 "" Receiving Antenna Handbook

A/2 Large Loops The feedpoint impedance is considerably

The performance of large wire loop anten- different in the two configurations. In the closed
nas depends in pan on the size. Figure 8-9 shows loop sirnation (S 1 closed) the antenna can be
a half-wavelength loop in which the four sides modeled as if it were a half-wavelength dipole
are each A/8 long. There are two basic configu- bent into a square and fed at the ends. The
rations for this antenna: continuous (S 1 closed) feedpoint (Xl-X2) impedance is on the order of
and open (S 1 open). In both cases, the feedpoint 3 kilohms because it occurs at a voltage anti-
is at the midpoint of the side opposite the node (current n ode) . The curren t antinode (I -7
switch. Ima,x) is at Sl, on the side opposite the feed-
The d irection of the main recept10n or point. An antenna tuning unit or RF impedance
rad iation lobe-the direction of maximum transformer must be used to match the lower
recep tion- depends on whether S 1 is open or impedance of the transmission lines needed to
closed. W ith S 1 closed, the main lobe is to the connect to receivers.
right (solid arrow), and with S 1 open it is to the The feedpoint impedance of the open loop
left (broken arrow). Direction reversal can be configuration (S 1 open) is low because the cur-
achieved by using a switch or relay at S 1, rent antinode occurs at Xl-X2. Some texts list
although some people opt for unidirectional the impedance as "about 50 .O," while my own
operation by eliminating S 1 and leaving the measurements on several test loops were some-
loop either open or closed as needed. what higher (abo ut 70 .0). In either case, the

..I

l_ l_
8 Xz
· ------- SI 8

l_ ..,
8

..., Direction of main lobe (SI closed)

Figure 8 -9 • - - - - - - - Direction of main lobe (SI open)
 Other Wire Antennas "' 7 73

-------~ y y y ''------ -- - - - - - - - - ,

I) XI

x2
Maximum 1)

Reception

Figure 8 - 10 '-----------~' y y y-.___ _ _ _ _ ____.

open loop is a reasonable match for either 52 Q

or 75 Q coaxial cable.
Neither 'A/2 loop configuration shows gain
over a dipole. T he figure usually quoted is -1 dB Where:
forward gain (a loss compared with a dipole), L~LH is the coil inductance in microhenrys
and about 6 dB of front-to-back ratio (FBR). (µH)
Such low values of FBR indicates that there is FHz is the mid-band frequency in hertz
no deep notch ("null") in the pattern. (H z)
A lossy antenna with a low FBR seems like a
born loser, an d in most cases it is. But the 'A/2 Let's look at an example. Suppose we want
loop finds a niche where size must be con- to find the inductance fo r the coils in a loaded
strained for one reason or another. In those half-wavelength closed loop antenna that must
cases, the 'A/2 loop may be an alternative. operate in a band centered on 11.75 MHz. The
A simple trick will change the gain, as well as solution would be:
the direction of radiation, of the closed version
8
of the 'A/2 loop. In Figure 8- 10 a pair of induc- L = (3. 6x l 0 ) =4 . 9 H
tors, Ll and L2, are inserted into the circuit at µH (2)( 7t )(ll,750,000Hz) µ
the midpoints of the sides adjacent to the side
containing the feedpoims. These inducto rs The coils force the current antinodes towards
should have an inductive reactance (Xi) of about the feedpoinr, reversing the direction of the
360 Q in the center of the band of operation. main lobe and creating a gain of about + 1 dB
T he in ductance of the coil is: over a half-wavelength dipole.
114 ..._ Receiving Antenna Handbook

1 A Large Loops
If size is not forcing you ro a 'A/2 loop, then a
l A loop may be just the ticket. It produces a
gain of about +2 dB over a dipole in the direc-
tions that are perpendicular to the plane of the
loop. The azim uth patterns formed by these
antennas are similar to the "figure-8" pattern of
th e dipole. T hree versions are shown: the square
loop in Figure 8-11, the diamond loop in Figure
8- 12, and the delta loop (a.k.a. D-loop and tri-
angle loop) in Figure 8-13. T he square and dia-
mond loops are built with 'A/4 on each side,
while the delta loop is 'A/3 on each side. T he
overall length of wire n eeded to build these
antennas is:

L _ 1005
feet - F
MHz Figure 8-11

T he polarization of the three loop antennas moving the feedpoinr to either of the two adja-
is horizontal because of the location of the feed- cenc apexes. On the delta loop, placing the feed-
points. On the square loop, moving the feed- point at either of the two other apexes produces
point to the middle of either vertical side will a diagonal polarization that offers approximately
provide vertical polarization. Similarly, on the equal vertical and horizontal polarization com-
diamond loop vertical polarization is realized by ponents.

XI XZ
Figure 8-12 Figure 8 - 13
 Other Wire Antennas ... 115

To XI t X2
I

~Match i ng Section \/Lf = 2 Lf 6 V Feet

Lf F MHZ
( 75_()_ Coax)~

Figure 8-14

~ 52 ohm
Coax To
RCVR
The feedpoint impedance of the lA loop is (any length )
around 100 Q , so it provides a slight mism atch
to 7 5 Q coax, and a 2: 1 mismatch to 52 Q coax.
A very good m atch to 52 Q coax can be pro-
duced using the scheme of Figure 8- 14. H ere we Where:
see a quarter-wavelength coaxial cable matching Z 0 is the characteristic impedance of the
stub made of 75 Q coaxial cable. The length of coax used in the matching section in Q
this cable sh ould be: ZL is the feedpoint impedance of the
antenna in Q
L _ 246V
feet - F Zs is the source impedance (the 52 Q
MHz characteristic impedance of the line to
Where: the receiver in standard systems)
Lfee t is the length in feet (ft)
V is the velocity factor of the coax For example, where Zs = 52 Q and ZL =
FMHz is the frequency in megaHertz (MHz) 100 Q:

T he impedance (Z0 ) of the cable used for zo= ~( 100 Q )(52 Q ) = 7 2 Q

the matching section should be:
which is a very good match to 7 5 Q coaxial
cable.
116 .... Receiving Antenna Handbook

Half-Delta Sloper (HDS) feet is needed. T he lengths for any frequen cy are
The half-delta sloper (HDS) shown in Figure found from:
8-15 is similar ro the fu ll delta loop, except that
(like the quarter-wavelength verrical) half of the
antenna is in the fo rm of an "image" in the
ground. Gains of 1. 5 to 2 dB are achievable. and
The HDS antenna consists of two elements:
a /..../3 wavelength sloping wire and a 'A/6 vertical
wire (on an insulated mast) or a /..../6 m etal mast.
Because the ground currents are very important,
much like the venical antenna, either an exten- T he HDS is fed at one corne r, close to the
sive radial system at both ends is needed or a ground. If only the fundamental freq uency is
base ground return wire (buried) must be pro- desired, then you can feed it with 52 Q coaxial
vided. cable. But at harmonics the feedpoint imped-
The HDS will work on its design frequency ance changes to as high as 1000 Q. If harmonic
plus harmonics of the design frequency. For a operation is intended , then an antenna tuning
fundamental frequency of 5 MHz, a vertical unit is needed at point ''A" tO match these im-
segment of 33 fee t and a sloping section of 66 pedances.

Good Electrical
and Mechanical
Connection

\
\/3

\ /6
.._s-- M etal Mast
or Wire

52Jl
Earth Coax

~ ~
Buried Ground Return Wire (Bare)
Figure 8 - 15
 Other Wire Antennas • 7 77

Bi-Square
Loop Antenna
The bi-square antenna, shown in
Figure 8-16, is similar rn the other large
loops except that it is 'A-/2 on each side,
making a total wire length of two wave-
Each side is ~
lengths. This antenna is built like the
diamond loop shown earlier, in that it is L side-- -F--
i+BO
a large square loop fed at an apex that is MHZ
set at the bottom of the assembly. In
this case, the loop is fed either with an
antenna tuning unit (to match a 1000 n
impedance) or a q uarter-wavelength
matching section made of 300 n or
450 n twin-lead transmission lin e.
A 1: 1 balun transformer connects the
~Matching Section
75 Q coaxial cable to the matching sec- i+
uon.
The bi-square antenn a offers as
much as 4 dB gain broadside to the I :I BALUN
plane of the antenna (in and out of the Transformer
book page) , in a figure-8 pattern, on the
design frequen cy. It is horizontally po-
larized. When th e frequency drops to
one-half the design frequen cy, the gain
drops to about 2 dB and the antenna
52ohm
works sim ilarly to the diamond loop Coax To
discussed above. RCVR Figure 8 - 16
 CHAPTER 9

Vertical
Antennas
he vertical antenna has long been popular sistent with th e "free space" idea, let's use the
T with hams and SWLs because of its many
positive attributes. It is omnidirectional (not
concept of "far above rhe Earth's surface" for our
present discussion. This idea allows us to over-
always a positive factor, by the way), usually look the effects of a bounced signal from the
quite simple to erect, is low cost, and requires ground recombining with rhe principal antenna
only a small amount of real estate under most pattern. So, for the sake of our argument, this
circumstances. The straight quarter-wavelength antenna is many, many wavelengths up in the
vertical antenna is of manageable size down ro air.
frequencies of about 5 MHz (height:::::: 50 feet), When the physical axis of the antenna is
although at lower frequencies the height be- vertical with respect to the ground, the electro-
comes prohibitive for most shortwave listeners. magn etic wave that it transmits is vertically
Ar lower frequencies (< 5 MHz), or even at polarized, meaning the electrical field is vertical
higher frequencies, a vertical can be constructed with respect to the Earth's surface. On receive,
with a loading coil to compensate for missing
length . While nor ideal (all co mp ensation
m ethods involve trade-offs), it is often a viable A.
approach to making a decent antenna that is
otherwise impossible. AM radio broadcasting Ve rtica lj J
stations and most VLF stations use vertical an- Antenna
tennas, and there is ample evidence that they are
frequently, bur not always, the best engineering
~ A.
choice for those frequencies. Lt
Vertical antennas can be m ade fro m either
wire or piping (aluminum tubing is most often
J
selected). In this chapter we'll take a look at
antennas made from both types of construction
material.

The Basic Vertical Radiator

1 1
Far Above Earlh s Surface
Figure 9-1 shows the basic vertical an renna
in free space (the "free space" construct is always
a good place to start an antenna discussion be-
cause ground effects complicate things!). This
antenna is a half-wavelength dipole antenna that
is oriented with its axis perpendicular to the
Earth's surface. As a theoretical "mind tool" con- Figure 9-1
120 • Receiving Antenna Handbook

the antenna responds best to signals that are all directions (which-surprise!-is what "omni-
vertically polarized. In the middle and upper directional" means). The side view (Figure 9-2C)
shortwave spectrum, the polarity of the incom- is a "figure-8" pattern with nulls projecting from
ing signal is messed up by ionospheric propaga- the top and bottom along the antenna's physical
tion problems. But on the lower shortwave, axis. This pattern, which in practical terms is the
medium wave, and VLF bands, the polarity is elevation pattern, is less than omnidirectional
more likely to remain consistent. because of the nulls. Its strongest point is per-
Now remember that antenna patterns are pendicular to the axis of the antenna.
three-dimensional. They describe a solid hunk Now let's get back down to Earth. Real verti-
of the universe .. . not just vertical and horizontal cal antennas are planted either on the ground or
planes. Figure 9-2 shows the space occupied by mounted a short distance above the ground, as
the antenna pattern for antennas such as Figure in Figure 9-3. In this configuration, we don't
9- 1. The overall pattern is what the math whiz- need the full half-wavelength (although it could
zes call a "torus," but we less than brilliant types be used). When the antenna is mounted on the
call doughnut-shaped (Figure 9-2A). When ground, the radiator element is a quarter-wave-
viewed from above (Figure 9-2B), and sliced length long and the other half of the antenna
horizontally, the pattern is a circle. The "omni- circuit is essentially the ground. Some books use
directional" property of a vertical is based on the concept of a quarter-wavelength radiator
this pattern; a circular pattern hears signals from coupled with its "image" in the ground. I've

Horizonta l
Polar
Patter n
(seen from above)

Antenna

1
Horizontal
Plane
Vertical
Antenna Pattern Patter n
(side view)
1 Antenna Lobe
Antenna Nu ll
: (i nside) Axis
Lobe
A Sol id
Pattern

Antenna
Figure 9 - 2 Ax is
c
 Vertical Antennas .,. 121

always viewed this construct as a mite mystical,

so I don't use it very often. Pretend you don't see
the dotted line in Figure 9-3A. The central
concept is that the antenna uses a quarter-wave-
length element and is fed in an unbalanced man-
ner by a grounded transmission line (see also
To RCVR Figure 9-3B).
T he pattern for the ideal vertical antenna,
Ground
over a perfectly conducting ground, is simply a
horizontally sliced doughnut such as we saw
earlier. In Figure 9-4, the solid line shows the
ideal situation, i. e., the half-doughnut with the
maxima positioned along the Earth's surface.
Practical antennas, however, have a slightly ele-
Figure 9-3A vated maxima (or "main lobe" if you p refer) .
The angle of this lobe, a , is the angle ofradiation
and reception (ADD) for the vertical. Generally,
the ADD is quite low for most q uarter-wave-
length verticals, and this is th e condition re-
quired for good DX reception. Longer verticals,
L -- .1_
i+ such as the SA/8 and 3/...,/4 verticals, tend to have
lower ADDs than A/4 models, and so are pre-
ferred fo r DX if the height is reasonable and
impedance can be matched. The best DX recep-
tion occurs when the ADD is matched to the
52fl Coaxiol
To RCVR angle of arrival of the incoming signal. Shorten-
ing of the antenna is possible if an inductance is
inserted in series with the antenna radiator ele-
Figure 9-38
ment. Some people look at this type of antenna
as having the coil of wire (inductor) make up for
the missing len gth. True ... but that's not quite
an accurate description.
Shortened antennas tend to be capacitive,
meaning if you measure the impedance you will
find a certain amount of capacitive reactance
present. The value of the inductor is selected to
negate this capacitive reactance, and sh ould have
an inductive reactance equal to the value of the
capacitive reactance of the antenn a. A popular
Elevation Lobes form of shortwave loaded vertical is the standard
nine foot stainless steel mobile "whip" antenna
Figure 9-4 with a base loading coil.
122 • Receiving Antenna Handbook

'\_ Capacity Hat

r Xz
@

X1.Xz: Transmission Line

Figure 9-5 Connections

Figure 9-5 shows three popular coil loading end of the loading coil is gro unded, fo rming a
schemes. The antenna in Figure 9-5A is base path to ground for currents. The antenna is
loaded because the series inductor is placed at tuned by adjusting tap ''A," while the imped-
the base right at the antenna feedpoint. A center ance of the coaxial cable to the rece iver is
loaded version is shown in Figure 9-5 B, while a matched by adjusting tap "B." These taps can be
top loaded version is in Figure 9-SC. Many top adjusted with a VSWR bridge, noise bridge, or
loaded verticals also have a small telescoping other antenna instrumentation.
extension above the coil to tune the antenna. A delta fed vertical is shown in Figure 9-6B.
Some also have a cap acitive decoupling " hat," as The basis for impedance matching in this an-
in Figure 9-5D. tenna is the fact that the impedance varies along
The verticals presented thus far have been the height of the antenna, with the lowest point
insulated from ground, m eaning the feedpoint being the current n ode. In this type of antenna,
is not connected to ground. Some people prefer the radiator element itself is directly gro unded,
grounded verticals for various reasons, not the as is one side of the coaxial cable (the shield).
least of which is possibly improved lightning T he center conductor of the coax is connected
protection. Figure 9-6 shows two fo rms of to a po int above ground that has an impedance
grounded vertical antenna. The version in Fig- equal to its characteristic impedance (50 Q ,
ure 9-6A is a base loaded vertical in which one usually).
 Vertical Antennas ... 123

Counterpoise Grounds,
or "Radials"
There are two problems with grounding on
vertical antennas. First, the Earth ground may
not be all that good .. . and verticals require a
good, low resistance ground to work properly.
Second, when you elevate the vertical, which is
done sometimes to adjust the elevation of the
Radiator
Element - - ARR, then there is no ground to connect to.
Both of these situations are improved im mensely
by the use of quarter-wavelength radials (Figure
9-7) connected to the shield side of the coaxial
cable. The radials form an artificial ground, also
called a counterpoise ground. Antennas that use a
LI
co unterpoise ground sys tem are sometimes
called ground plane antennas.
Each radial can be a half-wavelength long,
but is at least a quarter-wavelength lon g. Its
length is found from:
Figure 9-6A

246
Length feer = .
Frequency m MHz

T he ideal number of radials is-believe it or

not- 120! Fortunately, as few as two will give
decent results, and four will form a pretty good
practical system. Even though 120 radials are
ideal, there is a diminishing return above 15 or
so. As a result, mos t books cite a number
between four and 15 for the radial system. But if
L2 yo u can't put in fo ur, use two ... and failing two,
use one. Assuming that you use th e "kinda stan-
dard" fo ur radials per band of operation , then
be sure to space them equally around the anten-
LI na if at all possible.
The angle of the radials affects the feedpoint
impedance. When the radials are horizontal to
the ground, the feedpoint impedance will ideally
= be on the order of 30 to 37 Q (it could be much
lower). Drooping th e radials 45° (as shown in
Figure 9-7) causes the feedpoint impedance to
Figure 9-68
raise to nearly so n.
124 • Receiving Antenna Handbook

When a ground plane antenna is mounted Vertical Construction

in che air, on a mast or the side of a house for In this section, let's take a brief look at the
example, the radials are tied to supports thro ugh principal means for installing vertical antennas.
end insulators and ropes (as is done in the case These methods may, or may n ot, be what you
of the dipole and other wire antennas). If the need for some specific si tuation, but can serve as
ground plane is mounted on the ground, then guidelines to in itiate your own thinking. In the
the radials should be m ounted a few inches next section we'll take a look at installing com-
above the gro und. In both cases, insulated wire mercial vertical antennas.
should be used for the radial if chere is any Figure 9-8 shows the use of a vertical half-
possib ility of contact with humans or animals. wavelength dipole. These antennas were very
A possible hazard exists with both ground popular in Europe for many years fo r two sim-
mounted radials and with drooping radials that ple reasons: they are cheap and take up less space
have their ends close to the ground. Pedestrian than a horizo ntal half-wavelengt h d ipole.
traffic could be a problem! People can trip over (Although the si tuation may have changed to-
radials close to th e ground, or run into them if day, mos t Europ ean homes didn't have enough
they are a bit higher. A better solution is to bury yard space for larger "foo tprint" antennas.)
the radials a few inches below the surface of the The support shown in Figure 9-8 is a house.
ground. In this case, a quarter-wavelength is The upper end of the antenna is attached by
OK, but any length is sufficient. Try to make rope (R) and en d insulator (EI) to the soffit
che radials a quarter-wavelength or longer at the underneath the roof (any other h igh feature
lowest frequency of operation. Use bare wire, could be used). The lower end, again with rope
not insulated. The radials can be buried in a slit and end insulator, is attached to a long stake
trench that is made wich che tip of d riven into the gro und . I once used a
a spade, shovel, or other ground rod to anchor the lower
gardening tool. end of a 15-meter ham
~ Radiator band vertical dipole.

Coaxial
To RCVR

Figure 9 - 7
 Vertical Antennas ,,. 125

used for porch and deck construction. A six to

eight foot ground rod, preferably copperclad
steel, is driven into the ground next to the post.
Radials are buried six or so inches below the
surface, and are electrically connected to the
gro und rod. T he shield of the coaxial cable is
also connected to the ground rod. The inner
conductor of the coaxial cable is connected to
the antenna element, which is a copper or alu-
. .
mmum pipe.
The antenna radiator element is made from
either copper plumbing pipe or aluminum
tubing. Don't use steel, iron, or lead pipe. In

Coax! EI
Figure 9-9, the pipe is sh own bolted to the
wooden support with U-bolts. An alternative
scheme is to use stand-off "beehive" insulators.
~R These components, however, are becoming in-
~ Stake creasingly difficult to locate and actually have
only a slight advantage over dry wood. (Of
Figure 9-8 course, if the wood gets soaked there may be
a considerable difference!)
I used a scheme such as
The vertical half-wavelength dipole is built Figure 9-9 for many
in exactly the same manner as th e horizontal years and n ever
variety. The center insulator (CI) can be found it to be
either a regular center insulator, designed a problem.
for this purpose, or a 1: 1 balun trans-
'-+X'-+ or 2X'-+ \
former. The coaxial cable is routed con - 1- - Pipe
veniently to the inside of the structure.
Where possible, the coax should come
away from the antenna wire at a right
> U- Bolts
angle, and continue that way for a
considerable distance. However,
don't go overboard trying to ....- Ground Stake
make this ideal situation hap- ~ -- 1--1r- ...
------1 j : :
pen if it is just plain difficult. ,,
A ground mounted vertical made from alu- ,,,,
--r---'-L---- ----""-- Bu ri ed Rad ia Is
minum tubing is shown in Figure 9-9. The sup- I 11

,,,,,,
1. _ _ I I1

port structure is lumber, and can be a 2x4, two

2x4s planked together, or a 4x4, depending on ,,,,
how strong it needs to be. The wood post is ,,
,,
l j

anchored in the ground about three feet down. 11 Figure 9 -9

The wood should be the treated variety that is
126 .A. Receiving Antenna Handbook

mounted coax connector used on most receivers

A variant using beehive stand-off insulators
is shown in Figure 9-10. Depending on how and transmitters. A short len gth of wire soldered
high an antenna is being installed , and how to the center conductor of the S0-239 electri-
cally connects the coax to the antenna radiator
robust the particular beehive insulators are, there
element.
sh ould be at least two and as many as six insula-
tors supporting the antenna. For most applica- The ground wire (if ground mounted), or
radial wires (which can be used on ground
tions two, three, or four is the correct number. I
mounted antennas, and must be used on "up in
can't advise which yo u should use because I lack
specific information on your particular situa-the air" antennas), are connected to a machine
tion . However, use some common sense, and screw connected to the L-bracket.
always opt for safety first. The L-bracket can be homemade from heavy
metal stock or adapted from L-b rackets found
Also shown in this illustration is a reasonable
means for connecting the coaxial cable to the in hardware stores. I've done both, but find that
antenna radiator. If you just directly connect the
the store-bought variety are a little better (and
cable, as might be implied from the previous are at least easier) .
illustration, rhen it will share a common defect The hardware used on the antenna should
be of a type that will resist weathering. Stainless
with oth er such installations: it will break in
steel is a good choice for anything that must
sh ort order. In Figure 9-10 there is an S0-239
"UHF" coaxial connector mounted on an have strength; galvanized steel is a close second.
L-bracker. The S0-239 is the stan dard chassisFor machine screws and o ther fasteners that
don't bear weight, use brass stock
hardware. I've found that most
Alum inum Pipe well stocked Harriet Homeowner
hardware stores carry these items.
Failin g that, look in marine sup-
~-1--- Sta nd - Off
plies stores. Boaters use brass hard-
Insu lator
wa re because of th e inhe rent
rusting problems they face.
The piping used for the antenna
can be either copper or aluminum.
While the copper solders better
and is a better electrical conductor
Stand-Off than aluminum, it's a bit less desir-
Insulator
able for several reasons. First,
copper pipe is bloody expensive!
Wire
Second, it's hard to find diameters
larger than % -inch, and th e
smaller diameters are only used for
short heights. Thi rd, when it
weathers copper turns an icky
cuprous green color that closely
Figure 9-10 resembles pigeon droppings.
 Vertical An tennas ...- 12 7

Most H arry Homeowners (notice the slick

way I maintain gender n eutrality) hardware
stores carry displays of aluminum tubing, and
metal products distributors (see Yellow Pages)
carry even m ore types. There is a little "trade
secret" that you should known about aluminum
tubing: adjacent diameters are designed so that the
outside diameter (o.d.) ofthe smaller is a slip fit to
the inside diameter (i.d) of the larger. This fac-
toid means that adjacent sizes can be fitted to-
T Heavy
Sheet
Metal
gether to form a tapered , telescoping length that Screws
can be easily assembled. In addition, the slip-fit
feature makes it easy to tune the antenna. Tuning
is don e by adjustin g the height of the vertical to
resonate in the center of the band of interest.
Figure 9-11 shows one m eans of joining ad- Figure 9 -1 1
jacent sections together. T he smaller len gth
should be slipped into the larger by at least six
inch es. Use cvvo groups of three or four sheet Let's take a look at some hardware salvaged
metal screws to hold th e sections. If you can get from an antenna in my backyard. Figure 9-12 is
regular antenna hardware, then use clamps rath- a base mount assembly. It consists of a hollow
er than sheet metal screws. T hey work better section of pipe that slips over the supporting
and are easier to remove (unless they are the type mast. A pair of h eavy duty an chor rings, with
that "d imples" the metal). associated bolt, is used to secure the assembly to
Antenna hardware can often be salvaged the mast. The screws pass through holes in the
from hams or bought at hamfests. It seems that mount and clamp the m ast. A broadbanded
there are zillions of us that have purchased verti- antenna tuning circuit (Figure 9-1 3), mounted
cals for the ham bands, installed the antenna, in a black plastic weather proof box, is used to
used it for several years, and then took it down. electrically match th e antenna to the coaxial
There are three reasons that I've removed verti- cable.
cals: I m oved , the thing stopped working, and I
became m ore en amored of another antenna Installing Store-Bought Trap
(fickle, fickle). Another source of antenna hard- and Non-Trap Verticals
ware is a used citizens band antenna. A 5/s-wave- Why ham antennas in a book aimed at
length C B vertical is 22.5 feet high , so can be SWLs? T here are two reasons: many readers are
cu t down to becom e a quarter-wavelength on also hams, and h am antennas are often adj ust-
any frequen cy above 10 .5 M H z. O f course, th e able (or modifiable) to work on nearby SWL
radials would have to be lengthened, or wire bands. Above I described how the C B antenna
radials adopted , but that isn't an insurmount- can be cut down fo r SWL use, and the same is
able task. In both ham and CB antennas, the also true of ham antennas. A typical h am anten-
base mount, th e piping, an d the hardware can na, h owever, is used on three, four, or five bands,
be p ressed into service fo r SWL use. with LC parallel resonant frequency selective
128 • Receiving Antenna Hand book

wave traps separating the sections. Most crap The wave traps can be treated in several
verticals designed for the ham bands can be ways . If you want to modify the trap to change
tuned as much as 5% or 6% ou tside the ham its frequency, then connect a small value capaci-
bands, so they will work nicely for some SWL tor in parallel with the coil (the regular capacitor
bands. is inside and can usually be accessed). The capa-
citor will lower the resonant frequency. The
values of capacitor vary m arkedly, bur good trial
values are 10 pF from 13 MHz and up, 33 pF
from 7 to 13 M H z, and 100 pF at lower fre-
quencies. Use a "trial and error" approach to
home in on the actual capacitance.

Electrical Installation
Figure 9-1 4 shows the usual fo rm of multi-
band trap vertical antenna. Each trap (TR1 -
TR3) is a parallel resonant LC tank circuit that
blocks a certain frequency but passes all others.
Figure 9- 12 In Figure 9-1 4, TRl is the 10-meter trap, TR2
is the 15-meter trap, and TR3 is the 20-meter
trap. No 40-meter trap is needed because the
antenna resonates the entire length of the tubing
on 40-meters. Each section (except perhaps the
10-meter section) is actually a little shorter than
might be expected from the standard quarter-
wavelength formulas. That is because the traps
tend to act inductively and lessen the length
required to resonate on any given band.
The vertical manufacturer may give suggested
lengths fo r the various segments between traps.
Do not make the mistake ofassuming that these are
absolute numbers! They are only recommended
starting points, even though the literature
packed with the antenna may suggest otherwise.
Loosely (meaning don't tighten the clamps too
much) but safely install the antenna and then
adjust each segment for resonance. Start with
the 10-meter band, and then work each lower
frequency band in succession: 10-1 5-20-40, etc.
After each lower band is adjusted, recheck the
higher bands to make sure nothing shifted be-
cause there might be a little interaction between
Figure 9 - 13
 Vertical Antennas ... 129

_____,..,..___ .._s Capacity Hat two radials per band and preferably four
arranged so that they are equally spaced
around the antenna. If you can't space
them correctly, never fear-they' ll work any-
way. O n a four-band antenna, that means 16
radials, which really isn't a lot.

PVC Pipe Verticals

TR3
PVC plumbing pipe is standard through-
out the U.S. construction industry these days.
The heavier (th ick wall) grades can be used for
vertical anten nas with heights up to about 15
TR2 feet, especially if anchored ab out 12 fee t high,
as well as the base. The antenna radiator is one
or m ore copper wires running the length of
the PVC pipe (PVC is an insulator). Ir is fairly
commonplace to run the wires inside the pipe,
Base although external runs are also used if the wire
Insulat or _ ____,..,.~, Coax is anchored properly. A loading coil (see Figure
9- 15) can be used to increase the effective
antenna electrical length.
Figure 9-14

bands. Once the antenna is properly reso-

nant, tighten rhe clamps and make the Thick Walled
final installation. I know this is a
pain in the neck, and means
PVC Pipe
putting the an tenna up
and taking it down a
couple of times, but it Antenna
pays dividends in th e Wires
end. I failed to do this
once, and found that the
15-meter band was useless;
it resonated at 19 .2 MHz.
Radials make or break a verti-
cal antenna; they form the ground
plane for the antenna. We've already
noted how 120 is the optimum number of
radials, but that we can get by with fewer. For
Figure 9 - 15
our kind of work, I recommend not less than
130 ... Receiving Antenna Handbook

One chap I know built a multiband vertical

by using separate quarter-wavelength insulated
wires fo r each of about seven differen t H F short-
wave bands. All of the anten -
nas were joined together at the
base in a screw connection , PVC
where they were also connect-
ed to a coaxial connector (see
Steel
Figure 9-1 6 for detail).
'' Fence post''
Pipe

, 1 111 I ,,,,
11
Figure 9-16 ,,
11
11
//
II,
I
I
,,
,,,,
,1 - 1'...,,,, ''...i--......
//
,,
,,
,,
 CHAPTER 10

Directional
Antennas
irecrional antennas are those in which the
D reception pattern can be directed or steered
to a specific region of the universe. The reason
decent center mount for smaller antennas (such
as for the 13-meter band) while the matching
pipe serves as a mast.
that we want to be able to direct the pattern is Rotation of the antenna can be by either of
two-fold. In the main beam (o r "lobe") of the two methods. The ''Armstrong" rotor consists of
antenna p attern, signals will be louder. This is a good gripping wrench or pliers and some el-
because there is a gain associated with the anten- bow grease. Don't laugh- I've lmown both hams
na. The other reason is that a null-a point of and SWLs who would open an upstairs window
minimum pick-up-exists in the pattern and it and use a vise grip wrench to turn the antenna
can be positioned towards an interfering station. mast to point the antenna in th e right direction.
In this chapter we'll take a look at several popu- T he other method is t~ buy a regular antenna
lar directional antennas. ro tator. For ligh tweight an tennas (above
20 MHz), an ordinary television antenna rotator
Rotatable Dipoles will suffice, but for larger antennas a heavy duty
The h alf-wavelength dipole is probably the ham radio rotator is required.
most popular single type of directional antenna
in th e sh ortwave bands. It has a "figure-8" direc-
tional pattern (azimuthal) consisting of two
Antenna

AaPipe
maxima at right angles to the wire, and two
minima (nulls) off the ends of the wire. If the
Elements
dipole can be rotated, then the nulls and the C lamps
maxima can be positioned for
best signal reception .
Figure 10-1 shows a rotat-
able half-wavelength d ipole that
' - Pipe Flange
can be built at frequencies as
low as abou t 13 MHz, although IX2 Lumber )
it is probably easier to construct
the antenna at the 18 MHz
band and up. (At lower frequencies, the elements ........1---- - Pipe Mast
get too long for simple construction practices.)
The antenna elements are made from %-inch to
l 1A.-inch aluminum tubing. Each element is a
quarter-wavelength long. The aluminum tubing
is mounted on a piece of l x2 pressure treated
lumber. A pipe floo r or ceiling flange makes a Figure 10-1
1 32 ... Receiving Antenna Handbook

Parasitic Beam Antennas Di rection of

If an array of two or more antenna elements Maximum Reception
is arranged so that only one elemem, such as a
dipole, is connected to the receiver or rrans-
mitter, then it is called a parasitic beam antenna.
In these antennas, the element connected to the
receiver is called the driven element, while other-
parasi tic- elements are called either reflectors or Director
directors depending on their placement. These I
elements are said to be parasitic to the driven S2
element because they are not directly connected
to the receiver or transmitter, but instead are
Driven Element Qr-----1-
1 I
electromagnetically coupled to the driven element. Sl
The reflector elements are tuned to a slightly
lower frequency th an the driven element and Reflector
tend to be about 4% longer than the driven
element. Similarly, the director elements are Figure 10-2
tuned to a slightly higher frequency and are
about 4% shorter than the driven element.
There can be any number of reflectors and di- The lengths of the elements are found
rectors making up a parasitic beam antenna. empirically, but the starting points are approxi-
The radiation characteristics of the parasitic mated by:
beam antenna are approximately unidirectional.
The pattern is a function of the relationship Driven Element:
between the ph ases and amplitudes of the cur-
475
rents flowing in the various elements. T he pat- Lfeer =F
tern is altered by the tuning and position of each MHz
parasitic element. In general, the parasitic ele-
m ents are located between O. lA. and 0.26A., with Director Element:
0.1 5A. being very popular. There are two basic
456
forms of parasitic antenna which we w ill consid- Lfeer = F
er: "Yagi-Uda ("Yagi") beams and quads. M Hz
The Yagi antenna shown in Figure 10-2 con-
sists of two or m ore half-wavelength dipoles Reflector Element:
arranged parallel to each other. T he driven ele-
500
ment is fed at the center at points Xl and X2. Lfeer =F
These antennas can be constructed of either MHz
wire or aluminum tubing, although ro tatable
Yagis are usually made of tubing. This type of Additional directors are sized to be 4%
antenn a sho uld be operated at a h eight of /..J2 or shorter than the directo r one space closer to th e
m ore above ground at the lowest frequency of driven element, while additional reflectors are
operation. 4% longer than the next reflector.
 Directional Antennas .... 133

The direction of the maximum receive sensi- arcing of the Yagi beam antenna elements at
tivity, and maximum radiation on transmit, is in their ends in the rarified high altitude atmo-
the direction away fro m the reflector and sphere of Quito. By making a current mode
towards the director. The elem ents are spaced loop antenna, the high voltages at the tips were
approximately 0 .151.. apart. In this case, the gain avoided (there are no tips in a loop). The loop
of the Yagi will be optimized at 5.8 dB for a two lengths (i. e., entire perimeter) can be found by:
element model and 7 dB for a three elem ent
model. Additional elements add gain, as does D riven Element:
"stacking" two or more beams (about 3 dB per
L _ 1005
stack if done correctly). Yagi beam antennas can feet - F
~MHz
be either horizontally or vertically polarized,
although the horizontal version is the most pop-
ular (except on the 11-meter citizens band). Director Element:
Yagi beams can be operated on multiple
975
bands using tuned traps, similarly to the trap Lfeet = F
dipoles discussed earlier. Amateur radio opera- MHz
tors often use multiband, multi-element Yagi
beam antennas fo r their op erations. Yagi beam Reflector Element:
antennas can also be shortened by inserting in-
1030
ducto rs in the elements. Similarly, the induc- Lfeer = - --
tance can be provided by helically winding the FMHz
wire along the length of an insulating elem ent.
By using this method, low frequencies can be
accommodated, although at the cost of lost Driven Element
bandwidth.
The impedance at the feedpoinr of the Yagi Paras it ic Element
beam antenna is lower than th e 75 Q one nor-
mally expects of dipole antennas. Values of feed-
point impedance of 12 to 60 Q are fo und,
depending on the number of elements and their
relative spacing. This impedance can be mea-
sured , an d an impedance transformer or balun
provided to match it to 50 Q coaxial cable.
X1 X2
There are other matching methods-such as the
gamma match , omega match, and h air pin
stub-but these ten d to get a bit dicey to build.
Quad beam antennas are full wave loops
(Figure 10-3) rather than half-wavelength di-
i
A
s-Op t ional
Tu ning Stub
poles. The quad antenna was invented in the _l_
late 1940s by engineers for the missionary sh ort-
wave radio broadcasting station H CJB in Quito,
~ Shorting Bar
Ecuador. H CJB was troubled by RF corona Fig ure 10- 3
134 .._ Receiving Antenn a H andboo k

These lengths are the entire loop length, cable at the feedpoint, and then 52 Q coaxial
rather than each side. The length of the indi- cable from the open end of the 75 Q section to
vidual sides are one-fourth of the lengths calcu- the receiver. T he length of the 75 Q portion is
lated by the equations above. T he antenna can reduced by the velocity factor of the coaxial
be tuned by adding a quarter-wavele ngth cable:
tunable stub (''A") to one side of the reflector L _ 246V
element , although this stub is cons idered teer - F
MHz
optional by some experts.
The feedpoi nt impedance of the quad M ulriband quad antennas can be built from
antenna will vary from about 40 Q to around a common mounting scheme (Figure 10-4). T he
90 Q , depending on the spacing of the elements. wires of each band's antenna can be connected
These antennas are therefore reasonable m arch- in parallel to the transmission line (points "Xl"
es to either 52 Q or 75 Q coaxial cable. In some and "X2") . The spreaders are made of fiberglass,
cases, however, an impedance transformer or although at one time bamboo poles (used in the
matching stub is used to imp rove the situation. carpet trade) were quite popular. Un fortunately,
A popular impedance matching method is to bamboo poles are a bit hard to find these days
use a quarter-wavelength piece of 75 Q coaxial and the cardboard rolls now used by carpet mal(ers
are no t suitable . The
mounting plate can be a
thick piece of plywood or
a fiberglass or metal plate.
Check the amateur radio
or SWL magazin es for
current suppliers of these
items.
H ardwa re to make
either Yagi or quad an-
tennas can be ob tained by
salvagin g parts from used
amateur radio antennas.
Spreaders I've seen a large amount
of such hardware at ham-
fests and other "flea
market" get togethers,
and the stuff is generally
low cost. T h e elements
can be either cut to SWL
freque ncies, or the basic
hardware used to support
newly constructed ele-
ments cut to SWL fre-
Figure 10-4 quenc1es.
 Directional Antennas "" 135

Phased
Vertical Arrays
Can a vertical antenna own- Null
er get the benefit of directivity
without a huge investment in a t
• pl
tower mounted with a Yagi
beam or quad? The usual ___ .,..
so luti on is to u se phased
Maxima
verticals. AM broadcast stations
• p2
with more than one tower are
using this type of system. The
idea is to place two or more
t
Null
antennas in close proximity and
feed them with currents at
specific phase angles to produce
a desired radiation pattern. A lot of material is
available in the literature on phased vertical an-
tenna systems, and it is far too much to be

•
Max ima
covered here. There are "standard patterns" dating
from before World War II that are created with
different spacings and different phase angles of
feed current. In this chapter, we will consider
only one sys tem.
Figure 10-5 shows the patterns for a pair of
quarter-wavelength vertical antennas spaced a
half-wavelength (180°) apart. Without getting
into complex phase shifting networks, there are
basically two phasings that are easily obtained:
0° (antennas in-phase) and 180° (antennas out
of phase w ith each other). When the two anten-
nas (Pl and P2) are fed in-phase with equal
currents, the radiation pattern (shown some-
what idealized in Figurel 0-5A) is a bidirectional
"figure-8 " that is directional perpendicular to
the line of centers between the two antennas. A
sharp null exists along the line of centers (Pl-P2).
When the antennas are fed out of phase with
'
Maxima

each other by 180°, the pattern rotates 90°

(quarter way arou nd the compass) and now
exhibits directivity along the line of centers
®
(Pl-P2). The interference canceling null is now
perpendicular to line P 1-P2. Figure 10- 5
136 ... Receiving Antenna Handbook

It should be apparent that we can select our upon the type of coax used. Unfortunately, the
directivity by selecting the phase angle of the physical spacing between P 1 and P2 is a real half-
feed currents in the two antennas. Figure 10-6 wavelength (A= 492/F), while the cable length
shows the two feeding systems usually cited in is shorter by the velocity factor (~ = ((VF) X
books for in-phase (Figure 10-6A) and out-of- 492)/F). Consider an example. A 13-meter band
phase (Figure 10-6B) systems. In Figure 10-6A, (21. 6 5 MHz) phased vertical antenna system
we have the coax from the trans-
mitter coming to a coax Tee-con-
nector. From the connector to Quarter Wavelength
the antenna feedpoints are two Verticals
lengths of coax (Al andA2) that
are equal to each other and iden-
tical. Given the variation be-
tween coaxial cables, I suspect
that it would work better if the
two cables were not m erely the
same length (Al = A2) but also
came from the same roll!
The second variation, shown
in Figure 10-6B, supposedly pro-
duces a 180° phase shift between
Al = A2
antenna Pl and antenna P2, Coax To
when the length is an electrical RCVR
half-wavelength. According to
much-publicized theory, the sys-
Figure 10-6 A
tem of Figure 10-6B ought to
produce the pattern of Figure
Quarter Wavelength
10-6B-yet experience shows Verticals
''t'ain't always so." It seems that
there are a couple of problems
with the system in Figure 10-6B.
First, remember that coax h as a 1----------- A=~ - - -- -- -- - -1
velocity factor (VF) which is the
fraction of th e
speed of light at
which signals in
the cable prop- --- - - -- - - A
Coax To
agate. T he VF is RCVR
a decimal frac- ''Tee''
tion on the or- Coax
der of 0.66 to Connector
0.82, depending B
 Directional Antennas ..,. 137

will have two 11.4 foot radiators spaced 22.8 Figure 10-6B is less than the power available to
feet apart (approximately, d epending upon antenna P 1. Thus, the pattern will be distorted
exact frequency). If we use foam coax, with VF because the current produced in P2 is less than
= 0.80, the cable length is (0.8) x (22.8 feet), the current in Pl, where they should be equal.
or 18.25 feet. In other words, despite lots of The first problem is sometimes fixed by using
publicity, the darn cable won't fit between the unequal lengths for cables Al and A2 (Figure
towers. 10-7), and using it for the out of phase case. For
Second, the patterns shown in Figure 10-5 example, if we make Al a quarter-wavelength,
are dependent upon one principal condition: and A2 a %-wavelength, antenna P 1 is fed with
the antenna currents are equal. If both of them a 90° phase lag (relative to the Tee connector
are the same impedance, and are fed from the signal), while antenna P2 is fed with a 270°
same transmitter, then it is reasonable to as- phase shift. The result is still a 180° phase differ-
sume that the currents are equal-right? ence. Unfortunately, we have not only not solved
Wrong!What about coax loss? Because of nor- the current level problem, we have actually made
mal coax loss, which is worse at higher fre- it worse by adding still more lossy cable to the
quencies, the power available to antenna P2 in system.

Quarter Wavelength
Pl Verticals P2

........- --Al .. ,- - - -- - - A2 - - -- - -

AI =\ /4
A2=3\/4
Coax To
RCVR
Figure 10-7
138 .... Receiving Antenna Handbook

There is still another problem that is generic Adjustable phase control is obtained by select-
to the wh ole class of phased verticals. O nce ing how many segments are switched into the
installed, the pattern is fixed. T his problem circuit at any one rime.
doesn't bother most point-to-point commercial
radio stations or broadcasters because they rend Bobtail Curtains
to tran smit in only one direction. Bur we are The Bobtail curtain, also called th e broad-
most likely to n eed a rotatable antenna pattern. side array, is shown in Figure 10-9. It is a verti-
N either Figure 10-5A nor Figure 10-5B is ratable cally polarized array that can be mad e either of
without a lot of effort- like changing coax feeds wire or tubing. Ir is blessed with a low angle of
around (or physically digging up the verticals radiation and works very well for long distance
and repositioning them ?) . DX work (over 2500 miles). The Bobtail cur-
The pattern of a pair of phased vertical can tain offers about 5 dB gain in a figure-8 pattern
be steered considerably (20 to 70°) by inserting at right angles to the line connecting the three
a phase shift network in series with either anten- antennas (when seen from above).
n a's coaxial cable before it inputs to the phase The Bobtail curtain antenna consists of three
control box. Various RLC n etworks can be used quarter-wavelen gth ve rt ical radiators ("A")
for phase shifting, bur the coaxial cable version spaced a half-wavelength apart. T he center radi-
of Figure 10-8 is quite simple. Cut up a half- ato r element is fed between its base and ground
wavelength piece of coax and fit the ends with through an antenna tuning unit (Figure 10-10).
coaxial connectors. Connect the coax junctions, T he horizontal sections ("B") act as phasing
via Tee connectors, to a coaxial switch (S l ). harnesses to excite the two outer radiators.

Coax Sections ~
Tee ~ Tee ~ Tee

B E
F
A SI
Go---oITo
Antenna
J2
~
To
RCVR
JI
Figure 10-8
 Directional Antennas T 139

E
lr - B
·I~ B
___,EI
iA
iA
iA

EI
1 Coax To
RCVR
1 1 EI

R R

A= 225 feet
FMHZ
Fig u re 10- 9
475
B= feet
Flv1HZ

T he lengths of the various elements J2

of the Bobtail curtain are found from: To
Antenna
225
Afeer =F
MH z ~
and
475
Bfeer =F
MH z

Cl
T he antenna tuning unit is shown in ILJ-Opf JI
Figure 10-10, and consists of a 140 pF To RCVR
capacitor and 18 µH adjustable induc-
tor in parallel. In practice, the inducto r
may be set to one inductance that tunes
the band when the capacitor (C l ) 1s
adjusted through its entire range. Fi g ure 10-1 O
74 0 • Receiving Antenna Handbook

Thorne Array are found using the same equations as in the

Another vertically polarized antenna capable Bobtail curtain. All th ree elements can be built
of very low angle of radiation and 5 dB of gain is fro m wire and supported from the tops with a
shown in Figure 10- 11. This antenna is some- taut rope. Otherwise, use aluminum tubing (or
times called the Thorne array, and is also known copper pipe) for the vertical elements and wire
as the inverted bobtail curtain. It is essentially a for the horizontal elements. Either a transmis-
truncated version of a complex amenna called a sion line matching section or an antenna tuner
"Sterba curtain array'' (which is popular with at the feedpoint converts the feed impedan ce to
shortwave broadcast stations), but is scaled ro a 75 or 52 Q as n eeded. The T horne array differs
size that ordinary people can sometimes use. from the Bobtail curtain in that it does not need
Like the Bobtail curtain, the T horne array an- an antenna tuning unit at the feedpoint. I saw a
tenna pattern has a low angle of radiation and demonstration of this antenna down in Texas
reception in directions broadside to the array. one rime. An Australian station was very loud
The antenna consists of three quarter-wave- on this antenna, while it was considerably weak-
length verticals (''A") spaced a half-wavelength er on a dipole and a single vertical at the same
apart by horizontal elements ("B"); the lengths location.

l-<111111- -- B ....- 1 -~--- B

T TA T
A A

52ohm A = \/ Lf
Coax To
RCVR B = \/2
Figure 10- 11
 Directional Antennas ... 141

A3
Al

CT

Figure 10- 12

Figure 10-12 shows a multidirectional Thorne "Y," close 52 and 53 and leave 51 open. For direc-
array using a center element ("CT'') and three tion "Z," close 51 and 52 and leave 53 open.
outer elements spaced at 120° intervals in a The switches 5 1 through 53 can be either
circle- with a 'A/2 radius- around the center mechanical switches, or electromechanical relays.
element. A set of switches (S 1 through 53) allows If you opt for relays, then make sure to use low
the antenna to receive in any of three directions. current, low voltage (5 volt DC or 6 volt DC)
For direction "X", close 51 and 53 and open 52 types that are operated from a battery. Do not use
(that is, use elements Al and A3). For direction 110 voft AC relays!
 CHAPTER 11

Small Loop
Receiving Antennas
I f you are fond of DXing the AM broadcast-
ing band (BCB), VLF, medium wave, or low
tion of the loop plane), and the nulls are broad-
side to the loop plane (see Figure 11- lA). Don't
frequency HF "tropical" bands, then this chapter confuse small loop behavior with the behavior
was written with you in mind. In this chapter of the loopstick antenna. Loopstick antennas
yo u will learn some smoke about small loop are made of coils of wire wound on a ferrite or
receiving antennas. These antennas are funda- powdered iron rod. The direction of maximum
mentally different from the large loop typ es pre- response for the loopstick antenna is broadside
viously discussed and are very often the antenna to the rod with deep nulls off the ends (Figure
of choice for low frequency work. Large loop 11-1 B). Both loops ticks and small wire loops
antennas are 0.5A or larger and respond to the are used for radio direction-finding and for
electrical field component of the electromagnetic shortwave, low freq uency medium wave, AM
wave. Small loop antennas, on the other hand, broadcast band, and VLF DXing.
are< O. lA (some sources say 0.17/... and <0.22A) The nulls of a loop antenna are very sharp
and respond to the magnetic field component of and very deep. Small changes of pointing direc-
the electromagnetic wave. One principal differ- tion can make a profound difference in the re-
ence between the large loop and the small loop sponse of the antenna. If you point a loop
is found when examining the radio frequency antenna so that its null is aimed at a strong
current induced in the loop when a radio signal station , the signal strength of the station appears
intersects it. In a large loop, the dimensions in to drop dramatically at the center of the notch.
each section are an appreciable portion of one But turn the antenna only a few degrees one way
wavelength, so the current will vary from one or the other, and the signal strength increases
point in the conductor to another. But in a sharply. The depth of the null can reach 10 to
small loop, the current is the same throughout 15 dB on sloppy loops and 30 to 40 dB on well-
the entire loop. built loops (20 dB is a very common value). I've
The differences between small loops and seen claims of 60 dB nulls for some commer-
large loops show up in some interesting ways, cially available loop antennas, but until they are
but perhaps the most striking is the directions of properly tested I discount such claims as adver-
maximum response-the main lobes-and the tising hyperbole. I would, however, like to see
directions of the nulls. Both types of loop pro- some scientifically valid evidence of 60 dB nulls
duce figure-8 patterns, but in directions at right if anyone has it available. The construction and
angles with respect to each other. The large loop uniformity of th e loop are primary factors in the
antenna produces main lobes orthogonal at right sharpness and depth of the null.
angles or "broadside" to, the plane of the loop. At one time, the principal use of the small
Nulls are off the sides of the loop. The small loop antenna was radio direction-finding, espe-
loop, however, is exactly the opposite: the main cially i.n the lower frequency bands. The RDF
lobes are off the sides of the loop (in the direc- loop is mounted with a compass rose to allow
144 .... Receiving Antenna Handbook

th e operator to find the direction of minimum

Max imum response. The null was used, rather than the
Response peak response point, because it is far narrower
than the peak. As a result, precise determina-
tion of direction is possible. Because the null
is bidirectional, ambiguity exists as to which
of the two directions is the correct direction.
What the direction-finder "finds" is a line
along which the station exists. If the line is
fo und from two reasonably separated loca-
tions, and the lines of direction are plotted on
a map, then the two lines will cross in the area
of the station. Three or more lines of direc-
tion (a process called triangulation) yields a
pretty p recise knowledge of the station's actual

Loop~
location.
Today, th ese small loops are still used for
(Top View) radio direction-finding, but their use has been
extended into the general receiving arena,
especially on the low frequencies. One of the
characteristics of those bands is the possi-

t
Maximum
bility of strong local interference smoth ering
weaker ground wave and sky wave stations.
As a result, you can't hear co-channel signals
when one of them is very strong and the other
Response
is weak. Sim ilarly, if a co-channel station has
Figure 11-lA

Null

Maximum
Response ----~~
' ____
......,... Max imum
Response

Null
Figure 11 - 1 B
 Small Loop Receiving Antennas .,.. 145

a signal strength that is an appreciable fraction Air Core Frame Loops

of th e desired signal, and is slightly different in ("Box" Loops)
frequency, then the two signals will h eterodyne A wire loop antenna is made by winding a
together and form a whistling sound in the large coil of wire, consisting of one or more
receiver output. T he frequency of the whistle is turns, on some sort of frame. The shape of the
an audio tone equal to th e d ifference in fre- loop can be circular, square, triangular, hexag-
quency between th e two signals. T his is often onal, or octagonal. For practical reasons, the
the case when trying to h ear fore ign BCB square loop seems to be most popular. W ith
signals on frequencies (called split ftequencies) one exception, the loops considered in this
between the standard 10 kHz spacing used in section will be square so you can easily dupli-
North and South America. The directional cate them.
characteristics of the loop can help if the loop T h e basic form of the simplest loop is
null is placed in the direction of the undesired shown in Figure 11-2. This loop is square, with
signal. sides the same len gth "A" all aro und. The width
Loops are used mainly in the low frequency of th e loop ("B'') is the distance from the first
bands even though such loops are either physi- turn to th e last turn in the loop, or the dia-
cally larger than high frequency loops or require meter of the wire if only one turn is used . The
m ore turns of w ire. Loops have been used as turns of the loop in Figure 11-2 are depth
high as VHF and are commonly used in the wound, meaning each turn of th e loop is spaced
10-meter ham band for such activities as hidden in a slightly different parallel p lane. The turns
transmitter hunts. The reason why low fre- are spaced evenly across distance "B." Alterna-
quencies are the general preserve of loops is tively, the loop can be wound such that the
that th ose frequencies are more likely to h ave turns are in the same plane (this is called planar
substantial gro und wave signals. Sky wave winding). In either case, the sides of the loop
signals lose some of their apparent directivity (''A") should be not less than five times the
because of multiple reflections. Similarly, VHF width ("B") . There seems to be little difference
and UHF waves are likely to reflect from build- between depth and planar wound loops. T he
ings and hillsides, so will arrive at angles other far-field patterns of the different shape loops
than the direction of the transmitter. As a result, are n early the same if the respective cross sec-
the loop is less useful for the purpose of radio tional areas (nr 2 for circular loops and A2 for
direction-finding. If your goal is not RDF but square loops) are< A.2/1 00.
listening to the station , that is hardly a prob- The reason why a small loop has a null
lem. A small loop can be used in the upper when its broadest aspect is facing the signal is
shortwave bands to null a strong local gro und simple, even though it seems counterintuitive
wave station in order to hear a weaker sky wave at first blush. Take a look at Figure 11-3. H ere
station. Finally, loops can be useful in rejecting we have two identical sm all loop antennas at
noise from local sources, such as a "leaky" elec- right angles to each other. Antenna ''A" is in
tric power line or a neighbor's outdoor light line with the advancing radio wave, while an-
dimmer. tenna "B" is broadside to the wave. Each line in
Let's examine the basic theory of small loop the wave represents a line where the signal
antennas, and then take a look at some practi- strength is the same, i.e. an "isopotential line."
cal construction methods. W hen the loop is in li ne with the signal
146 • Receiving A nt en n a H a n dbook

(antenna "A"), there is a difference of potential

from one end of the loop to the other, so current
can be induced in the wires. But when the loop
Minimum
is turned broadside, all points on the loop are on
Response
/

the same potential line, so there is no difference /

/
of potential between segments of the conductor /

... thus little signal is picked up

(and the antenna there-
fore sees a null). .....
Maximum
Response
T Maximum
iResponse
I
l
/
/

A
/
/

I
B

"'<
I

Minimum
4~-4~ * see t ext
Response
Cl*
A>5B
Vo
Figure 11 - 2
To RCVR

Advancing Radio Wave

Fi g ure 11 - 3
 Small Loop Receiving Antennas ..,. 747

/
/

Advan ci ng Radio Wave /

/
/

/
/

/
/
/
/
/
/
/

Figure 11 -4

The actual voltage across the output termi- put voltage of a small loop with a vertical piece
nals of an untuned loop is a fu nction of the of che same kind of wire chat has a height of:
angle of arrival of the signal a (see Figure 11-4),
as well as the strength of the signal and the H _ 2nN A
design of the loop. The voltage V0 is given by: eff - 'A

If a capacitor (such as C l in Figure 11-2) is

V = _(2_n_A_N_E_"r_c_os_a_) used to tune the loop, then the output voltage
o 'A
V 0 will rise substantially. The output voltage
W here: fo und using the first equation is multiplied by
V 0 is the output voltage of the loop the loaded Q of the tuned circuit, which can
A is che area of che loop in square meters be from 10 to 100 (if the antenna is well
(m2) constructed):
N is the number of turns of wire in the
V = (2n ANEr Q cosa)
loop o 'A
Er is th e strength of the signal in voles per
meter (V/m) Even though th e output sign al voltage of
a is the angle of arrival of the signal tuned loops is higher than chat of untuned loops,
A is the wavelength of the arriving signal it is non etheless low compared with oth er forms
of antenna. As a result, a loop preamplifier is
Loops are sometimes specified in terms of usually needed fo r best performance. More will
the effective height of the antenna. This number be said about loop preamplifiers later in this
is a theoretical con struct chat compares che out- chapter.
148 .A Receiving Antenna Handbook

Transformer Loops smaller. As a result, the capacitance to resonate

It is common practice to make a small loop is usually much larger. In several loop antennas
antenna with two loops rather than just one. constructed for purposes of researching this
Figure 11 -5 shows such a transformer loop an- chapter, I found that a 15-turn main loop reso-
tenna. The main loop is built exactly as dis- nated in the AM BCB with a standard 365 pF
cussed above: several turns of wire on a large capacitor, but the two turn coupling loop re-
frame, with a tuning capacitor to resonate it to quired three sections of a ganged 3x365 pF ca-
the frequency of choice. The other loop is a one pacitor connected in parallel to resonate at the
or two turn coupling loop. This loop is installed same frequencies.
in very close proximity to the main loop, usually In several experiments, I used computer ribbon
(but not necessarily) on the inside edge not cable to make the loop turns. T hat type of cable
more th an a couple of centimeters away. The consists of anywhere from eight to 64 parallel
purpose of this loop is to couple signal induced insulated conductors arranged in a flat ribbon
from the main loop to the receiver at a more shape. Properly interconnected (of which more
reasonable impedance match. later), the conductors of the ribbon cable form a
The coupling loop is usually untuned, but continuous loop. It is no problem to take the
in som e designs a tuning capacitor (C2) is placed outermost one or two conductors on one side of
in series with the coupling loop. Because there the wire array and use it for a coupling loop. In a
are many fewer turns on the coupling loop than couple of projects later in this chapter, you will
the main loop, its inductance is considerably see the use of both coupling loops and ribbon
cable.
Mu lt i-turn
Tuni ng Loop
Tuning Schemes For
Loop Antennas
Loop performance is greatly enhanced by
tuning the inductance of the loop to the desired
frequency. T he bandwidth of the loop is reduced,
I or2 Turn
which reduces front-end overload. Tuning also
Cou p! ing Loop
increases the signal level available to the receiver
by a factor of 20 to 100 times. Although tuning
can be a bother if the loop is installed remotely
C2
~ --
from the receiver, the benefits are well wonh it
m most cases.
There are several different schemes available
for tuning, and these are detailed in Figure 11 -6.
The parallel tuning scheme, which is by far the
most popular, is shown in Figure 1 l -6A. In this
type of circuit, the capacitor (Cl) is conn ected
in parallel with the inductor, which in this case
Cl
is th e loop. Parallel resonant circuits have a very
Figure 11 - 5 high impedance to signals on their resonant
 Small Loop Receiving Antennas ,.. 149

frequency, and a very low im-

pedance to other frequencies.
As a result, the voltage level
of resonant signals is very
much larger than the voltage ® - - --
level of off-frequency signals. I~
T he series resonant scheme /
C1 To RCVR
is shown in Figure l l-6B. In -
this circuit, the loop is con-
nected in series with the
capacitor. A property of series
resonant circuits is that it
offers a high impedance to all
frequencies except the reso-
C1
nant frequency (exactly the - - - - v
opposite of the case of paral-
To RCVR
lel resonant circuits). As a
result, current from the signal --

will pass through the series

resonant circuit at the reso-
n ant fr eq u en cy, but off-
frequency signals are blocked C1
by the high impedance.
There is a wide margin
© C3
Trimmer CZ
Main
Tune
for error in the inductance of
loop antennas, and even the
precise-looking equations to Figure 1 1-6
determine the required values
of cap acitance and ind u c-
tance for proper tuning are actually only estima- value. If the capacitors are connected in parallel,
tions. The exact geometry of the loop "as built" then the total capacitance is increased (all capac-
determines the actual inductance in each partic- itances are added together). But if the extra
ular case. As a result, it is often the case that the capacitor is connected in series then the total
tuning provided by the capacitor is not as exact capacitance is reduced.The extra capacitors can
as desired, so some form of compensation is be switched in and out of a circuit to change
needed . In some cases, the capacitance required frequency bands. I know one fellow who fancies
fo r resonance is not easily available in a standard listening to only two distant AM stations, one at
variable capacitor and som e m eans must be 650 kHz and another at 780 kHz. H e used
provided for changing th e cap acitance. Figure screwdriver adjustable trimmer capacito rs to
l l -6C shows how this is d one. The main tuning tune the loop to those fixed frequencies. A
capacitor can be connected in either series or switch selects which capacitor is in the circuit at
p arallel with other capacitors to change the any given time.
 150 A Receiving Antenna Handbook

Tuning of a remote loop can be a bother if Figure 11-7 shows h ow a remote tuning
done by hand, so some means must be found to scheme can work with loop antennas. The tun-
do it from the receiver location (unless you enjoy ing capacitor is a combination of a varactor
climbing into the attic or onto the roof). Tradi- diode and two optional capacitors: a fixed ca-
tional m eans of tuning called for using a low pacitor (C l ) and a trimmer (C2). The DC tun-
RPM D C motor, or stepper motor, to turn the ing voltage (Vr) is provided from the receiver
tuning capacitor. A very popular comb ination end from a fixed DC power supply (V+). A
was the little 1 to 12 RPM m otors used to drive potentiometer (R I) is used to set the voltage to
rotating displays in retail store show windows. the varactor, hence also to tune th e loop. A DC
But that approach is not really needed today. We blocking capacitor (C3) keeps the DC tuning
can use varactor voltage variable capacitance voltage from being shorted out by the receiver
diodes to tune the circuit. input circuitry.
A varactor works because the junction
capacitance of the diode is a function of the The "Embroiderloop"
applied reverse bias voltage. A high voltage (such Fashioning the loop is usually a bit of a
as 30 volts) drops the capacitance while a low chore, and winding even a dozen or so turns on
voltage increases it. Varactors are available with a large form can be daunting-especially since
maximum capacitances of 22, 33, 60, 100, and the turns keep falling off the form. I hit upon an
400 pF. The latter are of most interest ro us idea that allowed me to make a multi-turn trans-
because they have the same range as the tuning forme r loop in which the tuned loop (Ll) has
capacitors normally used with loops. Look for 14 turns, and the receiver coupling loop is two
service shop replacement diodes intended for turns. The loop is made of 16-conductor color-
use in AM broadcast band radios. A good selec- coded ribbon cable of the sort used by comput-
tion, wh ich I have used, is the NTE-618 device. erniks. Two wires in the center of the bundle
It produces a high capacitance > 400 pF, and a (grey and white) are used for L2, while all the
low of only a few picofarads over a range of 0 to rest are used for LI. The form is a 14-inch
15 volts.
V+

RI
/OK
Tune
Loop
Antenna
R2
DI lf7K
NTE-Lf IB
C3
Coax to Receiver 01 Jvtf
·=--------1 f-----+ To
Receiver
~-~--• Antenna
Input
Termina ls
Figure 11-7
 Small Loop Receiving Antennas "" 151

embroidery or n eedlepoint hoop which I

bought from a craft store for $1.49. It Outer Hoop
consists of two concentric, close-fitting (Wood) " "
wooden hoops. The inner hoop is contin-
uous, while the outer hoop is broken at
one point. A screw and two tabs holds the
ends together and adjust for size. In em-
Ribbon
broidery, the fab ric is placed between the Cable
two hoops and secured with the screw; in
our loop antenna, the 16-conductor rib-
bon cable is sandwiched into the space
between inner and outer hoops as shown
in Figure 11-8. The conductors of the Figure 11-8

cable are cross-connected in the manner

shown in Figure 11-9 to form one contin-
uous coil.
Al

BRN BRN
RED RED
OR OR
EL YEL
GRN GRN
BLU BLU
VIO VIO
GRY GRY
WHT WHT
BLK BLK
BRN BRN
RED RED
OR OR
YEL YEL
GRN GRN
BLU BLU

AZ

Figure 11-9 To RCVR

152 • Receiving Antenna Handbook

The inner loop is connected to a length of Ysx3x24-inch Bass wood "hobby board" stock
coaxial cable, which carries signal to the radio acquired from a local hobby shop. Model build-
receiver. The outer loop is connected to a ers use this wood as a stronger alternative to
variable tuning capacitor. I found that a 365 pF balsa wood.
"broadcas t band variable" capacitor was suffi- The electrical circuit of the Hobby Board
cient to tune the loop in all sections of th e AM Loop shown in Figure 11 - 11 is a transformer
band. But two or three 365 pF sections may be loop design . The main tuned loop is on the
n eeded in some cases where fewer turns are used. outside and consists of ten turns of #26 enam-
Figure 11-10 sh ows the completed loop antenna. eled wire. It is tuned by a 365 pF capacitor. The
inner loop is used for coupling to the receiver
The Square Hobby Board Loop and consists of a single turn of #22 insulated
A very common way to build a square loop solid h ook-up wire.
antenna is to take two pieces of thin lumber, The mechanical fit between the vertical and
place them in a cross shape, and then wind the horizontal wooden pieces is shown in Figure
wire around the ends of the wooden arms. T his 11-1 2 . Note that four Y2-inch wooden blocks
type of antenna is shown in Figure 11 - 11. T he (also obtained at the hobby shop) are glued to
wooden supports can be made of lx2 lumber, the junction of the two cross pieces in order to
or some other stock. A test loop made while stiffen the joint. Details for the boards are
researching thi s book was made with two shown in Figure 11-1 3. Each board is 24 inches
long. At the mid-point (1 2 "), there is alls-inch
wide, l 1/2-inch long slot cut. T hese slots are
used to mate the two boards together.
At each end there are ten tiny slits made by
a jeweler's saw (also called a "jig saw" in h obby-
ist circles) with a thin blade. These slits are just
wide enough to allow a single #26 wire to be
inse rted without slipping. T he slits are IA -inch
long, start 1/2-inch from one edge, and are
Vs-inch apart. There are ten slits on both ends
of the horizontal piece while the vertical piece
has ten slits on the top end and 11 slits on the
bottom end. The reason for offsetting the wire
slits is to allow room on the other side of the
3-inch width of the vertical member for a
mounting stick.
When assembling the antenna, use wood
glue on the mating surfaces, square them to be
at right angles to each other, and clamp the two
pieces in a vice or with C -clamps for 30 min-
utes (or longer if the glue maker specifies) .
Next, glue the support blocks into place and
clamp them for a similar period.
 Small Loop Receiving Antennas ..- 753

Main Tuned Loop Cl

Inner (Coupling) Loop

Wooden
Supports
I" III
zXz
Wooden
Braces -------...

Cl
365pF

Figure 11-11

Figure 11-12

Coupling
® Loop W ire

• A2

Figure 11 - 13 Eleven Cuts

154 .._ Receiving Antenna Handbook

The Picture Frame Loop

When I went to buy the embroidery loops
.. for the antenna discussed above, I ran across a
Wood display of raw, unfinished wooden picture frame
Picture Screw lumber. T hese sticks cam e in lengths up
Framing
__J IX2 to 15 inches long and about 2V2 inches
Lumbe r Ribbon Cab le wide. Each piece of wood is cut at a 45 °
angle at each end, and cur in a tongue-
and-groove manner so that the pieces can be fit
together to make a frame. If four pieces are used,
then it's possible to make a 15-inch square loop.
Larger loops can be made (in 15-inch incre-
- - Wiring Board ments) by connecting the pieces end-to-end ,
- -Cl although th e 15-inch variety seems sufficient.
Figure 11- 14 shows a square loop antenna made
with picture framing stock for the loop and l x2
Figure 11 - 14
lumber for the vertical support.
The antenna is made using the sam e kind of
To RCVR color-coded 16-con ductor computer ribbon
cable that was used in the E mbroiderloop. 15
Coupl ing Loop"') turns were used as th e multi-turn loop while one
rum was used as a coupling loop to carry signal
RED ~ RED to the receiver. T he flat ribbon cable and the
OR OR wood are smeared with wood contact cement,
EL EL and then the cable is pressed onto the wood and
GRN GRN
BLU BLU held fast with clamps. The first loop of this type
VIO VIO that I built used ordin ary wood glue and did not
GRY GRY
WHT hold the wire well. As a substitute, I held the
WHT
BLK BLK cable to the wood with ordinary thumb tacks
BRN BRN (one every th ree inches or so) . The types that I
RED RED used had a plastic body, which reduces coupling
OR OR
YEL YEL between loops th rough the tack head.
GRN GRN Figure 11 -15 shows the wiring scheme to
BLU BLU make the parallel ribbon cable conductors into a
VIO VIO single, multi-turn loop. The color scheme is stan-
GRY GRY dard, but make sure that your cable is of the
same standard before relying on the diagram.
The idea is to conn ect each conducto r to its
Cl adjacent co nducror at the feedp oin r. The
365pF co nnections are m ade on a piece of integrated
max
circui t (IC) p rim ed wiring proto typing board
Figure 11 - 15 design ed for D IP ICs. This comes in several
 Small Loop Receiving Antennas ..,. 155

Cl
16 Turns 365pF

-
1--~ - Zlf" _ ____
_., ,

Figure 11-17
Figurell -1 6

varieties, m ost of which are suitable.

Z'Xl"XZ"
D etails of the connections board, less a Lumbec ~
shielded enclosure, are shown in Figure 11-16.

The Sports Fan's Loop

O K, sports fans, what do you do when the
best game of the week is broadcast only on a
low-powered AM station ... and you live at the
outer edge of their service area where the sign al AM Radio~
strength leaves much to be desired? You use the (end view)
Sports Fan's Loop antenna, that's what! I first "'---.
learned of this antenn a from a friend of mine, a
professional broadcast engineer, who worked at
a religious rad io station that had a pipsqueek
signal but lots of fans. It really works .. . one might ''Lazy Susan'' ~
say it's a miracle.
The basic idea is co build a 16-curn, 24-inch
square tuned loop (Figure 11 -17) and then place
the AM p ortable rad io at the center (Figure
11 - 18) so that its loopstick is aimed so chat its Figure 11-18
null end is broadside of th e loop (Figure 11 - 19).
When you d o so, the nulls of both the loop and
the loopstick are in th e same direction . T he place the antenna and radio assembly on a din-
signal will be picked up by the loop and then ing room table "Lazy Susan" to m ake rotation
coupled to the radio's loopstick antenna. Six- eas ier. A 365 pF tuning capacitor is used to
teen-conductor ribbon cable can be used fo r resonate the loop. If you listen to only one sta-
m aking the loop. For an extra touch of class, tion, then this capacitor can be a trimmer type.
15 6 .a. Receiving Antenna Handboo k

The Ferriloop Antenna Null

The circuit for the Ferri-
Loop antenna is shown in
Figure 11-20, while the mech-
anical structure is shown in
Figure 11 -21. The main loop
Sports
Fan Loop
'
consists of four ferrite core in-
ductors, LlNLl B, L2 , L3, and
L4. A coupling loop to the re-
ceiver (L5) is also provided.
Each inductor in the main loop
La zy ___.,
consists of ten turns of #24 wire

•
Susan
wound over a section of %-inch
I

PVC plumbing that contains an

Amidon RGl-050-750 ferrite Figure 11-19
Nul l
rod. The rod is made of nickel-
zinc "type-6 1" ferrite material
that has a permeability(µ) of 125, and operates spaced apart sufficiently to insert the "Tee" con-
over the frequency range 200 kHz to 15 MHz. nector (see Figure 11-2 1).
T he size of the rod is Y2 inch in diameter and Note the coupling scheme. This allows us to
7Y2 inches long. Coil Ll consists of two parts couple the antenna to the receiver or a pre-
(L lA and Ll B), each consisting of five rums, amplifier without additional external circuitry.

L3

L2 LLf

cf*

/ 90° Elbo~Tee"
LlA LlB

90° Elbow J
52fL Coaxia l
To RCVR

~· see text Figure 11 - 20 Figure 11 - 21

 Small Loop Receiving Antennas .,,. 75 7

I.... 8.5" ----------1·~1

75x0.5 Tape Plug

~"o d. PVC pipe - - - "
Ferrite Rod
Figure 11 - 22

Coil L5 acts as a transformer secondary to the Before assembling th e Tee piece segment, it
main loop, and it supplies the output signal is necessary to wind the couplin g loop (L5).
from the loop. It worked well directly to a re- This coil is wo und directly on the ferrite rod
ceiver through 52 Q coaxial cable, but a pre- and not on the PVC pipe (Figure 11-23) . It
amplifier is nonetheless highly recommended. consists of four turns of #24 wire in the center
of the ferrite rod. Before winding L5, place a
Construction of the Ferriloop single layer of electrical tape at the point on the
The construction of three of the arms of the rod where the coil will be wound and for a
FerriLoop an tenna is shown in Figure 11 -22. An distance about one inch either side. Anchor one
81/2-inch long section of %-inch PVC plumbing end of the wire (with a second piece of tape) at
pipe is cut and the burrs trimmed off the ends. the point where the coil will start, and then
The ferrite rod will not fit snugly inside the wind four turns. The turns are wound so that
pipe, so the ends must be built up with masking each w ire touches its neighbor. ~en the fo ur
or electrical tape to form a tape plug. How turns are wound, anchor the oth er end of the
many turns of tape are required depends on the wire with another piece of electrical tape.
thickness of the tape you use. W ith the 3M Next, prepare a length ofRG-174/U coaxial
brand black electrical tape that I used, 13 turns cable. This cable is 52 Q coax, but is about half
were sufficient to allow a snug slip-fit that held the size of RG-58/U so is easy to use in applica-
the rod but did not require excess force to insert tions such as this antenna. Strip off the outer
it. You might find it advisable to plug the ends insulation and unbraid th e shield. Then twist
of the PVC pip e with wood glue or some other the unbraided shield rightly, and tin with solder
substance to furth er improve the stability of the to keep the strands from straying. Strip off about

rod inside the loop. a ~-inch of the in ner insulator to expose the
The section containing the Tee piece (refer inner conductor. Tin the inner conductor and
again to Figure 11 -2 1) is broken into two seg- then solder it to one end of coil L5; solder the
ments of PVC pipe, each 31/2 inches long, placed other end of L5 to the shield of the coaxial
on either side of th e Tee piece. Four small holes cable. After the entire assembly is finish ed, place
(I used a 3/ 16-inch bit) are drilled into the Tee a single turn of electrical tape over all connec-
at the points shown in Figure 11 -21 (holes A, B tions to further secure th em. Be careful not to
and C are shown; D is at the same point as C on build up the layer so much that it won't slip into
the opposite side of the Tee) . the Tee junction.
158 ..... Receiving Antenna Handbook

.
Fe rrite Rod -i LSI .
11
05

Solder Solder

----RG-J7LJ-/U Coaxial Coble

Figure 11-23

To assemble the bottom portion of the an- The loop will tend to flex and become mis-
tenna, gather together che two 3Y2-inch sections shapen unless the pieces are glued together. After
of PVC pipe, the Tee junction, and the ferrite you assemble the unit to make sure all sizes are
rod. Insert one end of the ferrite rod into one of correct and it will actually fie together properly,
the PVC pipe pieces until it is about Y2-inch disassemble each joint and coat the %-inch PVC
from the far end. Next, insert the coaxial cable pipe ends with wood glue. You should use a glue
through hole "D " in the Tee junction and then that takes a few minutes to set up (I used Elmer's
pull some cable th rough to the outside (gently.0. wood glue) so chat th e antenna can be adjusted.
As you do this operation, slide the Tee over the Lay the glued assembly on a flat surface and
ferrite rod until LS is centered inside che Tee. square the corners in all planes. Leave it sitting
Pull all of the excess coax out so that only there undiscurbed uncil the glue is cured.
enough is left to prevent strain on the electrical Now it's time to add the main loop. For this
connections. Finally, place che ocher piece of operation we need about ten feet of #24 wire. I
PVC pipe over the ferrite rod and secure both used regular solid insulated hook-up wire, but
ends of the assembly with wood glue or oth er you might wane to use enameled magnet wire
"potting" substance. instead. Pass one end of the wire through hole
At this point, you should have three arms ''A" from th e outside towards the inside, and
containing rods 2, 3, and 4 plus a bottom sec- then pass it our the bottom of the Tee so that
tion containing rod 1 and che Tee section. These there is about eight inches of free wire. Anchor
sections are assembled into a square by using this wire temporarily with electrical tape. Next,
90° PVC elbow junctions at the corners (refer wind coil Ll A, securing it on either end with
again to Figure 11 -21). Each elbow is scored electrical cape. Pass the far end of the wire over
from one end to the other on the outer surface, che first elbow joint (so that che wire lays in the
with a triangle or flat file to form a "Vee" shaped vee groove), an choring either end with tape, and
wire groove. chen wind L2. Similarly, pass it over each elbow
 Small Loop Receiving Antennas .,. 159

in succession, and wind each coil in a similar

manner. Always anchor each end of each coil
with tape to keep the thing all together. Finally,
wind LIB and pass the loose end of the wire
through hole "B" and trim to the same size as
the other end.
Figure 11-24 shows the detail of the lower
end of the loop and its wiring, while Figure
11-25 shows the completed loop. Note that the
rest of the PVC pipe was used as a handle and
mount for the tuning capacitor. (Not shown in
this view is the small aluminum shielded box Figure 11-24
that I used for the preamplifier that I eventually
added to the circuit.)
The main loop is resonated by capacitor Cl.
I found that the antenna would resonate in the
bands just below the 80-meter ham band when
a 365 pF variable capacitor was used for Cl. To
resonate in the AM broadcast band (5 50 to
1600 kHz), it was necessary to use a three-
section variable, where each section was 365 pF,
and all three sections were connected in paral-
lel. It is reasonable to experiment with the num-
ber of turns needed in each coil to change the
resonance schem e. Fewer turns will raise the
resonant frequency while more turns reduce it
for any given capacitance. If you are inclined to
experiment, then try as few as two turns per coil
and as many as you like.
The resonant frequency of the loop antenna
can be checked either on-the-air with a receiver
equipped with an S-meter or by using a signal
generator (the best approach). Temporarily wrap
about four turns of hook-up wire around one
arm of the loop to form a "gimmick" for the
Figure 11 -25
signal generator. The output cable of an RF
signal generator is connected to the gimmick. I
found that just connecting the "hot" lead alliga- LS will show the RF signal output. With an
tor clip to one end of the gimmick gave enough ordinary "service-grade" RF signal generato r
signal, but if not then connect both the hot and running at about half the maximum output
ground clips to opposite ends of the gimmick. level, I found signal levels of more than 100 mV
An oscilloscope or receiver connected across at 550 kHz across LS with my oscilloscope.
 160 • Receiving Antenna Handbook

Shielded Loop Antennas The solution to the problem is to reduce

The loop antennas discussed thus far in this interaction by shielding the loop, as in Figure
chapter have all been unshielded types. Un- 11 -27. Loop antennas operate on the magnetic
shielded loops work well under most circum- component of the electromagnetic wave, so the
stances, but in some cases their pattern is loop can be shielded against voltage signals and
distorted by interaction with the ground and electrostatic interactions. In order to prevent
nearby structures (trees, buildings, etc.). In my harming the ability to pick up the m agnetic
own tests, trips to a n earby field proved neces- field , a gap is left in the shield at one point.
sary to measure the depth of the null because of There are several ways to shield a loop. You
interaction with the aluminum siding on my can, for example, wrap the loop in adhesive-
house. Figure 11 -26 shows two situations. In backed copper foil tape. Alternatively, you can
Figure l l -26A, we see the pattern of the n ormal wrap the loop in aluminum foil and hold it
"free-space" loop, i.e., a perfect figure-8 pattern . together with tape. Another method is to insert
But when the loop interacts with the n earby the loop inside a copper or aluminum tubing
environment, the pattern distorts. In Figure frame. Or. .. the list seems endless. Perhaps one
l l-26B we see some filling of the notch for a of the most popular methods is to use coaxial
moderately distorted pattern. Some interactions cable to make a large single turn loop. Figure
are so severe that the pattern is distorted beyond 11 -28 shows this type ofloop made with RG-8/U
all recognition.

Shie~

Loop Shield-----------..._ , ' /

/ ·
/.)
--~
''
1 !..
I /
'
I I ' \

I
I
I
I ' I
I
I
I
I I
I I
I
Loop .._ ~
® I
I
I I

-----

Loop
I I

'· - - -(0- - - -'

JI
Coax
To RCVR
Figure 11-26 Figure 11-27
 Small Loop Receiving Antennas .., 161

n Do not connect shields

Connect center
conductors

Sh ielded Box

Coax
Connectors
Coax To
Figure 11 - 28 RCVR

or RG-11 /U coaxial cable. T he cable is n ormally biliry an d may cause overload of th e receiver
supported by wooden cross arms, as in the other front-end circuitry.
forms of loop, but they are not shown here for Another problem with shortwave reception,
sake of simplicity. Note that, at the upper end, whether using a portable radio or a AC powered
the coaxial cable shields are not connected . radio, is due to the nature of ion osph eric short-
wave propagation. When signals are refracted in
Shortwave Performance the ionosphere, their components tend to spread
Enhancer Loop Antennas out, causing the signal to arrive at different
Small portable shortwave radios are not al- angles of arrival at d ifferent times . As the dy-
ways the best performers, although they work namic ionosphere changes , the angle of arrival
better today than ever in the past . Neverth eless, changes. These changes can occur over th e
they are severely "antenna limited." In most cas- course of a few minutes. C omm on loop anten-
es, the only antenna is a small telescoping whip nas aimed at th e desired station are reasonably
extending from the case of the radio. Attempts insensitive to changes of elevation angle of arriv-
to put up random length wire antennas of large al, but their null is essentially a point-source
size will help, but will destroy all of the porta- notch . T he solution to th e p roblem is to build
162 """ Receiving Antenna Handbook

antennas with a fan-shaped, adjustable null with A clever and simple-to-build antenna of this
reasonable insensitivity to the vertical angle. This class is shown in Figure 11-29. This loop anten-
class of antenna, popularized by Villard, includes na calls for a 30-inch single turn square loop
the single- turn, low-inductance wide loop. This antenna made from three-inch wide sheet metal
trick is seen in a lot of antenna books and maga- stock. The metal can be copper, aluminum, or
zine articles, and was also told to me by a mis- brass as available (not aluminum if you want to
sionary who worked in Sudan. This guy was a solder to it). A gap is left at one end to accom-
Swedish national and a ham radio operator, and modate the tuning capacitor, Cl. This capacitor
in the course of a three hour evening at Wheaton must be relatively large, on the order of 750 to
College taught me a lot of smoke about "anten- 1200 pF. This capacitance can be accommo-
naing" under bad circumstances and at low bud- dated by two-section and three-section AM
get. Some of his antennas are found in the broadcast band variable capacitors of 365 pF per
emergency antennas chapter of my other anders section (some capacitors, intended for superhet-
book, Radio Antenna Handbook published by erodyne radios, have two sections that are differ-
TAB/McGraw-Hill. (Buy two copies please, I ent capacitances) . On the same side of the loop
need the money.) as the gap there are four 5/32-inch holes (A, B,
C, and D) drilled to accommodate
mounting the loop to a lx2 wood-
en piece or other suitable support.
A wire that is equipped with an
alligator clip is attached to the loop,
and this clip will be connected to
the telescopic antenna on the por-
table radio. In operation, the loop
SheetMetal ~ can be oriented for best reception.
Cl (Each side is 30 '' X3 '')
~ 750pF Another example is the anten-
na designed by Villard as shown in
0
c Figure 11 -30. This antenna is made
ofwide metal conductors. Examples
include th e same type of hobbyist's
brass stock as used above. It can
also be copper foil or som e other
stock that can be soldered. Some
electronic parts stores sell adhesive
backed foil stock used for making
printed circuit boards. The foil can
Portable be glued to some flat insulating
HF Radio surface. Although 3/s-inch plywood
0 0
0
gQ springs to mind immediately, another
alternative is found in artists' supplies
stores. Ordinary poster board is too
Figure 11-29 floppy to stand up, bur poster board
 Small Loop Receiving Antennas ... 163

A---.i~1
(four inches), then the induc-
1~ tance increases and only 28 pF
are needed at 15 MHz. The larger
size loop can be used at lower
frequencies as well. For example,
the 91 cm loop will resonate at
I
I
6 MHz with 177 pF.
Antenna ~: To use this antenna, position
(see text) the radio's telescopic antenna
Cl RI close and adjacent to the loop
365 SOK
pF but not touching it. The loop an -
tenna can be rotated to find the
B
best position to either null or
-0--------
enhance a particular station. T he
Radio --'..-~:
Position ' "Lazy Susan" idea will work well
in this case.
Table ~
A traditional method is
shown in Figure 11-31. These
Figure 11 - 30 antennas consist of two small
loops spaced d < Al 4 apart, but
not too close. The version in
glued to a Styrofoam backing can be used. It is Figure l l -32A consists of two
extremely easy to work with using X-acto knives
and other common household tools.
Two controls are used on this antenna. Capa-
citor C l tunes the loop to the resonant frequency
of the desired station. Potentiometer Rl is used Small Loop
as a phasing control. The dimensions of the
Whip Antenna ----.
antenna are not terribly
critical, although some
guidelines are in order. In
the Villard article, he
recommended a 40 cm
(15. 75-inch) square loop
("A") . If the loop is 7.62 149 97
Paper Sheet
cm (three inches) wide, ===o
the antenna will resonate Metal Plate 0
at 15 MHz with around
33 pF of capacitance. If rC-----~
~ "Lazy Susan''
the dimensions are in-
creased to A = 9 1 cm (36
inches) and B = 10.16 cm Figure 11 - 31
164 .... Receiving Antenna Handbook

vertical coaxial loops (the loops are on the same Testing Your Loop Antenna
axis, not that they are made of coaxial cable) . W hen each loop prototype was completed,
This antenna is less sensitive to skywave error I tested it on th e AM broadcast band over
than sin gle lo ops, but at the expen se of several evenings. T he same procedure can be
changing the pattern. This style of antenna has used with any loop. A strong local signal at
a four lobe "cloverleaf" pattern. T he second 1310 kHz served to check the pattern. The
class of antenna is the horizontal coplanar loops station and my home were located on U.S.
of Figure l l -32B. This antenna retains the Geological Survey 7.5-minute quadrangle maps
figure-8 pattern fo r d < A/4, and produces a of my area. The maps had adjacen t coverage, so
minimal elevation skywave erro r. Both of these the compass bearing from my location to the
antennas can be mechanically rotated in either station co uld be determin ed. Checkin g the an-
azimuth or elevation in order to find the best tenna showed an 57 /S8 signal when the loop
reception conditions. was endwise to the station-that is, the station
was in one of its lobes. Rotating the loop so
that its broadside faced the direction of the
station dropped the signal strength to less than
S 1, and frequently bottomed out the meter.
Because my receiver has a 3-dB/S-un it calibra-
tion on the S-meter, I figured the null to be
more than 20 dB, although it will take a bit
more exp erimentation to find the actual depth.
This test is best done d uring day-
ligh t hours, I fo und out, because
there is always a residual sky wave
cacophony on the AM band that
raises the S-meter "floor" in th e null.

Using a Loop Antenna

Most readers will use a loop for
DXing rather than hidden tran s-
mitter hunting, navigation, or other
RDF purposes. For the DXer, there
are actually two uses for the loop.
O ne is when you are a renter or live
in a community that has routine
covenants against outdoor antennas.
In this situation, the loop will serve
as an active anten na fo r receiving
Al\1 BCB and other low frequency
sign als without the n eighbors or
Figure 11 - 32
landlord becoming PFJs (purple-
faced jerks).
 Small Loop Receiving Antennas ,.. 165

I
I
I
I
I

I
I
I
I
/

Lo rge Box Loop :z___..

( 2' t o 3' behind Loop stick)
Smol I Loopstick
(Conn ected to
Receiver )
I

Figure 11-33
60°- 90°

L/
I

The other use is illustrated by the case of a also null the desired station in the opposite
friend of mine. H e regularly tunes in clear direction.
channel W SM (65 0 kH z, Nashville) in the wee One method is to use a sense antenna to
hours between Saturday evening ("Grand O le spoil the pattern of the loop to a cardioid
Opry" time) and dawn. H owever, that "clear" shape. Another method is to use a spoiler loop
channel of WSM isn't really so clear, especially to null the undesired signal. The spoiler loop is
without a narrow filter in the receiver. H e uses a large box loop placed one to three feet (found
a loop antenna to null out a nearby 630 kHz experimentally) behind the recep tion loop in
signal that made listening a bit dicey, and can the direction of th e offending signal. T his
now tap e his 1940s/ 1950s vintage country method was first described by Levintow and is
music. detailed in Figure 11-33. T h e small loopstick
It isn't n ecessary to place the desired station may be the anten na inside th e receiver, while
directly in the main lobes off the ends of the che large loop is a box loop such as th e Sports
antenna, but rather place the nulls (broadside) Fan's Loop. The large box loop is placed about
in the direction of the offending station chat one to three fee t behind the loopstick and in
you want to eliminate. So what happens if the the direction of the offending station. The
offending station and the d esired station are in an gle with respect to the line of centers should
a direct line with each other with your receiv- be 60° to 90°, which is also found experimen-
ing location in the middle between chem ? Boch tally. It's also possible to use two air core loops,
nulls and lobes on a loop antenna are bidirec- such as those in Figures 11-8 and 11 -1 4, to
tional, so a null on the offending station will produce an asymmetrical receiving pattern.
166 .... Receiving Antenna Handbook

Loop Preamplifiers (similar to ECG-108) device which th ey did

All small loop antennas produce a weak out- have in stock. T he amplifier produced an average
p ut signal, so a loop preamplifier is indicated for gain of about 15 dB across th e AM broadcast
all but the most sensitive receivers. The pre- band, although it had higher gain at th e upper
amplifier can be mounted eith er at the receiver end than at the lower end.
or the antenna, but it is most effective when The circuit fo r the preamplifier shown in
mounted at the antenna (unless the coax to the Figure 11-34 is relatively straightforward, except
receiver is sh ort). for the marching transformer T l . This trans-
Figure 11 -34 shows a typical loop preampli- former is a balun device that you wind yourself.
fier based on common N PN silicon transistors. Use Amidon TF-37-61 or TF-50-6 1 ferrite tor-
The transistor for this appli cation is the oidal cores. The winding is bifilar #26 enameled
2N5 179, but they are a bit hard to locate at wire. I used 12 turns on a TF-37-6 1 form, which
many h obbyist electronic parts distributors. seemed to work well. You might want to experi-
There are, however, suitable substitutes from ment with this circuit by varying the number of
the service replacement transistor manufacturers turns with changes of frequency.
such as ECG and NTE. The direct crossover is Balun transformers are wound in the bifilar
the NTE-316 and ECG-3 16 devices. I had to manner, as mentioned above. Just what does
order these from my local distributor, so in the that m ean in this case? It means that the two
meantim e I successfully used th e NTE- 108 wires used for the primary and secondary wind-

Tl

+ 12
VDC C:::V ires Twisted
Together
Tl J2
C2
,------ $ 50.fl.
Output
0.33},\J 1

I
I
101: Si licon NPN
1 High Frequency
Cl Transistor (2N5179
JI I 0.33Jvl.f ECG - 316,NTE - 316,
EC G- 108,NTE -108, etc)
50.fl. ~----<I 1--- --e-- - - -- -r
Input 1

: Tl: 12 bifi lor turns,

, -i:t:26 on TF-37-61or
TF-50 - 61 form

Figure 11 - 34
 Small Loop Receiving Antennas .,,. 167

+12VDC
C6 RIO RI/ C7
0.1_µ,f 47 47 0.1_µ,f
_[)_ _[)_

_rl +
ri
C2
RFCI
lmH
-1 l_µf

C5
RFC2
lmH
0. 1_µ,f 0.1_µ,f
R5
3.3K C9
R6 0.1_µ,f 50

Cl
RI
240
_[)_
R5
3.3K
C4
0.1}.{J
2Lf0
.n. fou-Pput
0.1_µ,f
o----1 ,_____ ------+--<
From
R7
IK
Loop
R2
J_ IK
cs
0.1_µ,f
Figure 11 - 35

ings of Tl are twisted together, about eight stages can be cascaded for 40 dB of gain,
twists to the inch, and then wo und over the although one must be cautious to observe good
form as if they were a single wire. I make twist- layout practices in such a case (inadvertent feed-
ed enameled wire for baluns by taking a length back can cause oscillation wh en gains are high) .
of #26 enamel insulated wire, folding it back The amplifier of Figure 11 -35 is useful at
on itself, and then chucking it up in a hand full sp ecifica tion gain from about 1 MHz
drill. Anchor the far end in a vise, and then thro ugh out the shortwave bands. At lower fre-
turn the crank on the drill to twist the wire . quen cies, gain will drop off somewhat, but that
T his operation can be done on an electrical doesn't necessarily mean that it becomes useless.
drill, if the drill has a gentle trigger and speed Besides, you can make certain modifications that
control, but can be DANGEROUS. If you do will coax (that's "coax," not "co-ax" like the
this operation, then wear safety goggles or glass- transmission line!) a little more gain out of the
es to protect your eyesight. If that wire comes circuit at VLF frequencies. For example, all of
loose and starts whipping around, it could dam- the coupling and deco upling capacitors (that is,
age your eyes. every one but C2 and C5) can be increased in
A related amplifier circuit is shown in Figure value to accommodate lower frequencies. I no-
11 -35. This circuit also uses the 2N51 79 tran- ticed a bit more gain by using 0.47 µF instead of
sistor, or its service grade replacements. The 0. 1 µF fo r those capacitors. You can also in-
amplifier consists of two identical stages, each crease the values of the RF chokes (RFC 1 and
of which provides 10 dB of gain. Up to four RFC2) from 1 mH to 2.5 mH.
168 • Receivi n g A ntenn a Handbook

The circuits of Figures 11-36 and +12VDC

11-37 are based on the junction field
effect transistor (JFET); the circuit of
Figure 11-36 is a common gat e design, C2 100.n.
while that of Figure 11-37 is a common o.1µf
drain design (a "source follower"). Both
are broadband amplifier circuits and can
be used throughout
r
the HF spectrum as RFCI
2.5mH
well as VLF and
MW
Cl OI R2
The particular O. Iµf MPF-102 IOD
JFET specified for JI @;-----"I ' - - ------ - ____Jl,f\l\r- >------.

these circuits is the Input 1

C3
MPF-102, a device RI OF

D
56
.n. J2
th at works well into
the VHF region .
Suitab le replace- =
Cq Output f
ments from the service sh op lines of IIOOpF
devices include the ECG-312 and the
Figure 11 - 36
N TE-312. Because the application is
not terribly critical, and the devices are
not expensive, it is reasonable to exp eri-
ment with other JFET devices if they
+
are more readily available than those
+9VDC_l
selected here.
All of the preamplifier circuits in R2
th is section can be used w ith either 100
.n. C4
tuned or unruned loops, although
o. 1µf
neither the loop nor the tuning capaci-
tor are shown in all cases.

C2
200µf
~--<l---+
-'--1 I--__,,_ _ __ ... 01
MPF-102

Loop Cl RI
IOOK
C3
1----ITo J I
-
Receiver
o.1µf -

= RFCI
2.5mH
Figure 11-37
 Small Loop Receiving Antennas -.. 769

Shar pening the Loop of an amplifier stage, and a feedback coupling

Many years ago the Q-multiplier was a loop (L3). The degree of feedback is controlled
popular add-on accessory for a communications by the coupling between Ll and L3. The coupling
receiver. These devices were sold as Heathkits is varied both by varying how close the two coils
and many construction projects were seen in are, and their relative orientation with respect to
magazines and amateur radio books. The each ocher. Certain oth er circuits use a series
Q-multiplier has the effect of seeming to greatly potentiometer in the L3 side chat controls the
increase the sensitivity of a receiver, as well as amo unt of feedback.
greatly reducing the bandwidth of the front- The Q-mulriplier is adjusted to the point
end. Thus, it allows better reception of some that the circuit is just on the verge of oscillating,
stations because of increased sensitivity and nar- bur not quite. As the feedback is backed away
rowed bandwidth. fro m the threshold of oscillation, but not too
A Q-multiplier is an active electronic circui t far, th e narrowing of bandwidth occurs as does
placed at the antenna input of a receiver. It is the increase in sensitivity. It cakes som e skill to
essentially an Armstrong oscillator, as shown in operate a Q-multiplier, but it is easy to use once
Figure 11-38, that doesn't quite oscillate. These you get the hang of it and is a terrific accessory
circuits have a tuned circuit (Ll/Cl) at the input fo r any loop antenna.

To Receiver
or Preamplifier +9VDC

L2 Coupling
Loop
C2
200}M
01
+ MPF-102
Q-Multiplier
Loop
Antenna
LI
Cl IOOk

L3

0
Multiplier
Feedback

Figure 11 - 38
 CHAPTER 12

Low Frequency
Antennas
he low frequency (below 6 MHz) antenna
T is a Particularly Perplexing Problem (dare
we call it a "p3''???) for most people. There is a
support the dipole (properly connected to a herd
of cows to supply the methane needed for the
burner, of course). And a vertical antenna is no
large amount of interesting DX on the low fre- less problematic. Quarter-wavelength vertical
quencies (which we'll define as near DC to about antennas wo uld rapidly become too high for
6 MHz or so). Unfortunately, many of the easy or economical construction, and would be
wonderful antennas that I've discussed in this illegal under existing zoning and engineering
book are "as useless as teats on a boar hog... " (to regulations in most locations. And while the
coin a phrase) on low frequencies because of on e Beverage is always a good bet if you own a farm
little problem: they're too darn big. The size of or have some mighty tolerant neighbors, its 600
resonant antennas varies inversely with frequen- to 1500 foot length reduces its appeal and practi-
cy, so we can expect low frequency anders to be cality fo r most p eople.
a mighty assemblies indeed. Consider the ubiq- There are any numb er of other reasons why
uitous (that's a fancy word for "seen every- conventional half- and quarter-wavelength an-
where") half-wavelength dipole. A 6 MHz dipole tennas become less and less practical as the oper-
is a reasonable 78 feet long. But in the marine ating frequency decreases, bu t those given above
radiotelephone band (e.g., 2182 kHz), the di- are probably sufficiently depressing to render
pole antenna becomes 215 feet long, and in the yo u senseless. Let's press on and prevent a gener-
m iddle of the AM broadcast band ( 1 MHz or alized weltschmertz from setting in. It is, after all,
1000 kHz) it becomes 468 feet long. On 1600 somewhat more rewarding to dwell on possi-
kHz, at the top end of the AM broadcast band, bilities than on what can't be done.
the dipole is 293 feet long and wants to be at Low frequency receiving systems depend in
least as high. On the low end of the AM band- part on the propagation phenomena applicable
550 kHz-the dipole becomes 850 feet long to those frequencies and also to the practices of
and its ideal A/2 mounting height wo uld look radio stations operating there. As the frequency
down on the Washington Monument (555 feet drops, there is an increased tendency to see both a
tall, provided it has stopped sinking like the ground wave and a sky wave. In some situations,
dollar) from a height of nearly 300 feet. both may arrive at a distant receive site (although
T he dipole antenna should be installed half- that is rare) and interfere with each other. When
wavelength above the ground, or about as high DXing the AM broadcast band, signals, espe-
as it is long. An AM broadcast band dipole, cut cially on ground wave, tend to be vertically polar-
for midband, would require two Washington ized. This is in co ntrast to higher frequencies
Monuments, spaced their own height apart, to where the polarization may be skewed by propa-
support the optimal half-wavelength dipole. Or gation conditions even though the signal started
maybe two hot air balloons could be used to out as either horizontal or vertical.
172 .... Receiving Antenna Handbook

Obvious Solutions
T here are, fo rtunately, several obvious solu-
tions that lend themselves well to the low fre-
quency antenna problem. For SWLs, there are
more solutions than for ham operators because
some antennas, such as the small loop, are very
good on receive but work poorly on transmit. Tap ~ L2
Indeed, some ham operators operating on the
80- and 160-meter bands will use a sm all loop
antenna on their receiver, m ostly to null out
T8'
interfe ring signals, and a dipole or other full
sized antenna on transmit. l
You might be well advised to consider a loop
antenna because they work very well fo r low
~ LI
frequency reception while offering very deep l-=
nulls (for removing interferen ce) that wo uld
otherwise require large-very large at low fre- Figure 12- 1 -=
quencies- arrays to otherwise achieve.
Another approach is to use a loaded antenna
of one sort or another. T hese antennas are phys- Figure 12-1 shows a rypical low frequency
ically shorter than the full sized quarter-wave or antenna made from either a single 16-fo ot long
half-wave antenna, and perform well en ough to thickwall section of PVC pipe, or two eight-foo t
be quite useful. D o they perform as well as the sections coupled at the middle. There are two
full sized antennas? In a word: heckno. But when coils used in this antenna. Inductor Ll is used to
the decision is optimum perfo rmance ve rsus any impedance match the feedpoint of the an tenna
performance at all, th en you might be enticed to to the 50 Q system impedance used by th e
try one of these compensation antennas. Besides, receiver; a length of 52 Q coaxial cable is used to
the co rrect comparison is between the com pen- connect the tap on this coil to the receiver. The
sation antenna and a random length wire of other coil in Figure 12-1 , L2, is a loading coil.
convenient size rather than an optimal antenna. Its use is to increase the effective len gth of the
The random length wire is, after all, the option antenn a. All antennas that are used on frequen-
that most people will otherwise select. cies lower than their natural resonant frequency
exhibit a capacitance, and this capacitance has a
capacitive reactance. Inductive reactance will
Loaded "Plumber's Delight" cancel capacitive reactance, so coil L2 is needed
Vertical to "rune" the antenna to the operating frequency.
We've seen in a previous ch apter how vertical Fo r p ractical use in the 2 to 7 MHz band-
antennas can be constructed using PVC pipe to assuming a two to three inch PVC pipe and two
support the antenna wiring. T he same technique vertical runs of wire (# 12, # 14, or # 16), each
can be used when building a low frequency eight feet long- we can make L2 of 30 turns of
antenna. #16 enameled wire closely wound . Tap the coil
 Low Frequency Antennas ,. 173

every five turns or so in order to find the exact Using a CB Whip On The Low
inductance needed, and to accommodate differ- Frequencies
ent bands. A tap is made by scraping the enam- Figure 12-2 shows two ways to use a nine
eled insulation off the wire at the correct point, foot CB whip antenna on low frequencies. One
and soldering the tap wire to it. Some authori- method is to treat it as a very short random
ties actually made a little loop of the wire used length wire antenna, albeit in the vertical posi-
for the coil at that point to facilitate tapping. tion, and use a reverse L-section antenna tuner
Tuning the loaded vertical can be a little to match the impedance to the 50 Q used by the
tricky if you are not equipped with proper in- receiver. Typical values for the components will
strumentation. The best way is to use a VSWR be 140 pF for the capacitor (Cl) and 28 µH for
meter, dipper, a noise bridge, or some other the inductor (Ll ). These values can be increased
instrument that is legal for SWLs to use (that is, or decreased if it is found that they are
it doesn't require a ham transmitter for RF exci- insufficient for any particular installation. If you
tation). Another way that's a little flaky but buy an antenna tuner for this application, then
often works is to pick a strong station at a dis- select one that will match a high impedance to a
tance, on a frequency where you want to listen, low impedance, rather than a mere "line flat-
and then find the correct tap by looking at tener'' (typical of coax-to-coax tuners).
the S-meter of the receiver. The maximum The m ethod of Figure 12-2 does
signal strength is theoretically found wh en not actually resonate the antenna,
the tap is correctly set. T he reason this but rather it matches the high
method is a bit flaky is that the changes are impedance to the receiver sys-
going to be very subtle-so subtle, in fact, tem impedance. An alter-
that ordinary fading (and oth er variation) native is to use a loading
in the signal strength may easily be mis- 9' coil (see inset for Figure
taken for the correct setting (or obscure the 12-2) to bring the an-
correct setting). For this reason, I recom- tenna to resonance.
m end using an instrumentation approach.
After all, if you're going to be active in the Antenna Tuner
shortwave h obby, the price
of the instrument will
be justified over
time.

Load ing
Co il

~ The coil can be mounted anywhere in the an-

'-_ Op~ional tenna, but typically it is located at either the
>)+Rad ial base or in the middle (the latter position involves
Figure 12-2
some mechanical problems that must be solved) .
174 .... Receiving Antenna Handbook

T he value of the loading coil requi red varies All-Band (More or Less)
somewhat depending on th e details of the local Shortwave/Low Frequency
environment where the antenna is installed, Antenna
but a reasonable approximation is found from Figure 12-4 sh ows a vertical antenna that
th e curves in Figure 12-3 . Two curves are can be used for n early the entire sh ortwave
sh own , one each for base mounting and center sp ectrum from 2 to 30 MHz depending on the
mounting of the loading coil. components selected. The 16-foot to 18-foot
One of the nice features of this antenna is radiator element is either aluminum tubing, or
that it can be an indoor antenna, even in the PVC pipe fitted with wire (as described above).
attic of some h ouses, fo r those SWLs who live The entire length of the antenna should be
in neighborhoods with restrictions on building vertical, although a single conductor "down-
antennas. lead" to an antenna tuning unit close to the
receiver can become part of its overall length.
1000
T he versatility of this antenna is derived
900
800
from the tuning network at the base. This
700 tuner can be placed at the receiver location,
600 if a single wire feedline is used, but that is
not the best solution "antenna wise"
500
(even though it might be as a practical
~
'100 consideration) .
~c T h e inductor should have a
::r 300 ~,.....
~ maximum value of 25 to 40 µH,
(i)
u 200 dbO'~ <oOQ< and is tapped twice. One tap
c
0
+)
<oOo.< ~O" provides an impedan ce match to
u 100
the receiver (50 Q), while the
::J ~O"
-0 90 other provides the correct load-
c 80
f---1 ing ind uc tan ce to m ake th e
70
antenna reso nant on a low fre-
60
50
quen cy. At these low frequencies,
the switch is closed so the "cold"
'10
end of the coil is grounded. At
30 higher frequencies, where the an-
tenna length is close to or more
20 than a quarter-wavelength, the
switch is opened and the capaci-
10 tor used to counteract some of
2 3 'I 5 6 7
the inductive reactance of the an-
Frequency (MHz) tenna and loading coil, effec-
tively shortening the anten na. In
Loading Co i I I nductance (jvtH) for 8' Whip those cases, th e loadin g coil tap
and the impedance matching tap
Figure 12- 3 may nearly or actually coincide.
 Low Frequency Antennas T 175

lead transmission line. H orizontal

section "A" has a len gth of:
c:::- Radiator Element
~ (16feet)
A = 270
FM Hz

LI While length "B" is "A" m ul-

25 to Lf-0}4H
son tiplied by the velocity factor ("V")
Coaxto~ of the transmission line, which is
Receiver 1 typically 0.82 for 300 .Q twin -
lead. T he "B" section should be
bro ught away from "A" at a right
angle for as long a distance as pos-
sible. If th e entire length cannot
Cl be accommodated at a right angle,
250pF SI
then slope away the portion that
cannot as gently as possible.
Figure 12-4 Note th e arrangement of the
feed point. O ne con ductor of the
"B" twin-lead is co nnected to
52 .Q coaxial cable to the receiver,
while the other conductor is con-
The Twin-Lead n ected to ground .
Tee Antenna {TlTA)
Figure 12-5 shows a
reasonably well perfo rming A
antenna that is used typi-
cally in the 1 to 7 MHz
region , although it will
work at higher frequencies 300.n.
as well. T he T LTA has been used Twin - Lead " ' ----ll• A- 270
- FMil
by ham s for dual coverage of ei- B
B= AV
ther 160- and 80-meter bands,
or the 80- and 40-meter bands.
T he TLTA antenna works on a
design band where dimension "A" To RCVR
is approxim a tely a quarter-
wavelength and on a band that is
one-half that frequency.
This antenna is made from
300 .Q television antenna twin- Figure 12- 5
176 .... Receiving Antenna Handbook

Coaxial "Tee" Antenna

A A coaxial Tee antenna is sh own in Figure
12-6 . T his antenna can be built from a dipole
cut to th e lowest frequency that you can physi-
cally accommodate at your location. For opera-
tion on lower frequencies, the coaxial cable is
shorted (shield to inner conductor) at the re-
ceiver end. The cable then acts as a single wire
downlead. At certain frequencies, however, the
cable acts something like a "bazooka" balun and
transforms a higher impedance to a lower im-
pedan ce, making the antenna wo rk somewhat
better.

Figure 12-6 The Dippy Discone Antenna

Figure 12-7 shows a D ippy D iscon eAntenna
(DDA; "dippy" because it's not quite as
good as a full-sized discone antenna)
that uses loading coils to make the
d ifferent wire elements look
Llf longer than they really are.
The values of Ll through
L4 are found experimen-
tally, bur th e starting
point is the loaded dipole
inductance fo r the 50%
Dr ive / point. Adjustment is diffi-
Element
cult without a transm itter,
but VSWR or feedpoint
impedance is a good way
Figure 12- 7 xi to proceed.
_rx2 An advantage of the DDA is that it p rovides
an impedance transformation upwar~the feed-
point impedance is higher than th e impedance
xi of each individual element. The impedance trans-
forma tion is equal to the square of the number
of elements (N 2) . In the configuration shown,
there are five elements so the impedance trans-
formation is 25: 1. T hus, relatively short antennas
(relative to received wavelength) can be accom-
modated without an anten na tuning unit.
 Low Frequency A n tennas ... 177

Helically Wound Verticals

An old friend of mine, who was something
of a cracker barrel (actually it was an old oil
drum) philosopher, was fond of claiming "there's
more than one way to kill a cat, ya don't gotta
choke him to death on butter." (Or something
like that...) Likewise with antennas for low fre-
quen cies. Vertical antennas for low frequency
operation tend to be too high for practical appli-
cations. Of course, if you have a 50 to 100 foo t
cower for a ham or SWL beam antenna for
higher frequencies, the tower itself can be used
as a low frequency antenna as well as a support
structure. There is another way.
Short vertical low frequency antennas can be
built from wood or from PVC pipes helically Xz

wound with wire. For example, at 2 MHz we Ground rod

could use a 25-foot insulated support wound Figure 12-8
with wire. There are two wire wrapping schemes.
T he first, shown in Figure 12-8, is the slow
pitch method. In this m ethod, a bit m ore than a
q uarter-wavelength of wire is wound over the
entire length of the support. It is assumed here
that the support is quite high (0. lA to 0.2A) so
s Telescoping Whip

that the wire turns are made at a slow pitch.

For very short helically wound antennas
(> 0.05A) we can use the fas t pitch method
...__s- Copocity Hot
shown in Figure 12-9 . This method can be used
when the diameter of the winding (which is W ire Wra pped
essentially the diameter of the PVC pipe) must PVC Pipe~
be very sm all compared with the wavelength of
the received signal. Practically speaking, this
means anything up to about ten inches diameter
is acceptable, although rwo to four inches is
most commonly used .
In these helically wound vertical antennas,
about a half-wavelength of wire is linearly wound
and spaced so that the entire available length of
the support is evenly covered . A 16-foot PVC Xz
pipe is 0.05A at 3 M H z, while a 20-foot PVC
pipe is O.OSA. at 2.46 MHz. As an example, Ground rod
consider a 16-foot PVC pipe designed to operate Figure 12-9
 1 78 .... Receiving Antenna Handbook

at 5 M H z. A half-wavelength of wire at this antennas for same) o r from car radio antennas.
frequency is about 100 feet. To make the heli- Adjustment of the helically wound antenna
cally wound vertical, then, 100 feet of insulated is done similarly to any other antenna. The
wire (any type) is wound so that it is evenly correct wire len gth is found experimentally by
spaced over the entire 16 feet oflength. using a grid dip m eter, impedance m eter, SWR
The helically wound antenna simulates a meter, or noise bridge. The feedpoint imped-
quarter-wavelength vertical, bur typically is much ance tends to be very low, about 4 Q , so either a
higher "Q'' than a full-sized vertical. As a result, b roadb and imp edance transfo rm er or an
th e h elically wound antenna is much narrower antenna tuning unit is needed.
in bandwidth than the full-sized version. In order
to alleviate that problem, it is common to use a Ground Systems for
capacity hat made from fo ur to six rods measur- Low Frequency Antennas
ing eight to 12 inches (brazing rods or hobby A good ground is important for all antennas,
brass rod stock are popular) arranged evenly especially unbalanced typ es, but it is even more
spaced around the anten na at th e top end. Some critical in the low frequen cy bands. Whenever
people report that a ten to 12 inch aluminum yo u see the ground symbol in the illustrations in
pie p an works just as well, although it tends to this chapter, assume that it refers to a very good
look a bit tacky. Earrh ground or to at least a multiple radial
T he actual length required of the antenna is counterpoise ground. Such a counterp oise need
found experimentally. The interaction of the not have straigh t radials, but they at least should
turns of wire change the physical length required be resonant. Keep in mind that the efficiency of
to achieve an electrical half-wavelength. Some a compensation antenn a is poorer than full-
p eople use a telescoping whip antenna at the top sized antennas at best, so we don't want to burn
fo r tuning to resonance. These whips are sal- up any more signal in losses than is absolutely
vaged from portable radios (or new replacement necessary. Get a good ground!
 CHAPTER 13

Odds & Ends

n previous chapters, we've often referred to
I antenna tuning units (ATUs), also known as
antenna tuners. These devices take the imped-
the desired degree of amplification. A growing
trend is to combine an antenna tuning unit and
preamplifier in the sam e unit, as shown in Figure
ance of an antenna as an input and "transform" 13-2. The unit in Figure 13-2 is the MFJ-959 B.
it to a 50 Q output. ATVs do this by a network T his unit lets users select between two different
of variable inductors and capacitors. Since the antennas, and can operate as an anten na t uning
impedance of an antenna will vary with fre- unit only, as a preamplifier/ATV combination ,
quency, you'll have to readjust the settings of the or it can feed either antenna directly to the
inductors and capacitors as you change the re- receiver.
ceiver's frequency. Preamplifiers can be useful in many situa-
While it's possible to build your own AT V , tions, such as when chasing weak DX signals
they are also available from several radio equip- that are just barely above the atmospheric noise
ment manufacturers at reasonable cost. Deluxe level or when using less-than-optimum antennas
units are able to accept th ree different types of (indoor antennas, shortened antenn as, etc. ).
antenna inputs, namely random wire, parallel However, they must be used carefully. If their
line (such as 300 Q twin-lead), and coaxial ca- gain is set too high, the receiver may be "over-
ble. Simpler antenna tuning units only have a loaded," producing cross-modulation and spur-
coaxial input and output, but these can be used ious signals in the receiver. If your listening is
with random wire inputs simply by inserting the
random wire lead into the S0-239 coaxial input
jack. (You might have better results by attaching
the random wire leading to a "banana" plug so INDUCTANCE CAPACITA NCE
that it will fir more snuggly into the S0-239
connector.) These simpler ATVs are sometimes
known as "random wire" tuners, and most were
originally designed fo r use with low power ham
transmitters. A typical random wire tuner man-
.
·o· ·o·
.
. . .
' .
.

MFJ AN TE N NA TUNER
111!1 . . .
.
.
. .
M O<h· I M f J lhllll'
..
.

ufactured by MFJ is shown in Figure 13-1. This

type of unit w ill give satisfactory performance as
the ATV specified in some antennas covered Figure 13-1

in earlier chapters.

Pream plifiers 111 / llllf l\H Hll \ \ I II \Ill /'~I 1111~ IHI R
lhtk,C. TOA fttcT(M lA
• f ••

RF preamplifiers or preselectors are . Im

used ahead of the receiver to boost weak
antenna signals to a level where they
can be received better. Most incorpo-
•
: :~ :::,

rate a gain control to allow you to select Figure 13- 2

180 .._ Receiving Antenna Handbook

restricted to powerful, well-heard stations, or if signals. In fact, they can't receive signals that
you're using a "full size" antenna, odds are that aren't present. An active antenna used inside a
you will seldom need to use a preamplifier. metal frame structure, such as a high rise apart-
ment building, or one with aluminum siding
Active Antennas such as my house, will not pick up signals that
Active antennas are very short (two to six are shielded by the metal building ... and most
feet) antennas that include a built-in preamplifi- will be. If some signal is present, and the electri-
er. They are used to replace longer antennas in cal n oise is not too high, then the active antenn a
places where a longer antenna is not viable, such will work reasonably well if the signal's strength
as when you're an apartment dweller, townhouse is not too low.
or rowhouse dweller, or live in a single family Ir is also possible to build your own active
h ouse with a lot too small to support even a antenna by using a preamplifier with a physically
limited space antenn a. You m ight also be a shortened antenna, a len gth of aluminum
listener who lives in a rented house owned by a tubing, or random length of wire. This can be a
landlord with no sympathy for the shortwave versatile solution and less expensive than many
listening hobby. active antennas.
Unfortunately, the active antenna has been
touted perhaps a little too much by advertisers Indoor Antennas
in the shortvvave industry. I don't believe that, Indoor antennas are relatively easy to install,
when all factors are considered, an active anten- and except for certain circumstances wo rk quite
na will actually work as well overall as a 50 to well. Indoor antennas typically don't work as
100 foot random length wire antenna. However, well as the same antenna outdoors, bur in so me
there are situations where they are very useful, cases the differen ces aren't profound.
especially when living under some of the con- Several problems insinuate themselves into
straints noted above. Don't expect a miracle, the indoor antenna installation. Perhaps the
however. Try an active antenna, if you must, but most important is the matter of safety. You don't
expect to h ave to live with the defects. want to install the wire where humans or pets
Some of the defects are those that also afflict can tangle with it. It can be quite dangerous to
a preamplifier: strong signals will overload some be trotting towards what the British call the
active antennas. If there is no filtering in the "loo" and get decapitated by a wire antenna.
front-end , then you will find that local AM Place the wire where it can't be a hazard.
stations rend to "swamp" an active antenna badly. The attic o r loft probably represents the best
Also, the electrical noise inside a building te nds alternative for indoor antennas. In the attic or
to become worse when an active antenna is used loft, the antenna is well hidden. Besides, it is
because the antenna amplifies noise as much as also above most of the effects of siding, wiring,
it does real signals. Various electrical noises are and plumbing so it will probably work better
all seen as valid signals by the active antenna- than most other indoor antennas. To support
and are amplified. The noise also afflicts regular antennas in the attic, you can use television
wire antennas (they are real signals, after all) but antenna wire stand-off insulators screwed into a
the wire antennas don't amplify the mess. roof rafter or truss. Don't screw these into the
A false premise h eld by many fa ns of active roof itself, especially if it penetrates to the out-
antennas is that they will magically pick up side-the screw threads can serve as a "wick" to
 Odds and Ends "' 181

draw water into the attic, rotting the wood attic, then a route th rough the ceiling of a closet
around the screw. is an unobtrusive way to run th e coax or down-
The random length wire is probably the lead.
most common attic antenna. It can be installed Another popular form of attic antenna is th e
out of the way to p revent interference from mobile antenna. For years, hams have done this
people trying to stuff stuff into the attic, or trick. A pair of loaded whips, fed back to back,
balancing precariously on the rafters trying become a decent replacement for a short, loaded
desperately not to get fiberglass on your skin. dipole. Adjusting the coil values will make such
Be careful in the attic, by the way. Most antennas work on the shortwave broadcastin g
attics are not finished, and the only thing be- bands as well.
tween you and the floor below is a bit of half-
inch dry wall and a coating of paint. If there is Clandestine, Stealth, and
no floo r in the attic, then stay on the wooden Disguised Antennas
joists .. .or you might accidentally drop into the Some people are in a seemingly intractable
loo while someone ... errr .. . looses, so to speak. situation regarding receiving antennas. The home-
Attic antenna feed lines can b e routed owners association, the landlord, or some other
through the walls to your receiver if the correct Person of High er Authority just simply won't
path can be found . Avoid paths that also include (won't won't won't) let you put up an antenna.
the electrical wires. Not only is there a potential There are several approaches that can be taken:
electrical hazard, but the power wires sometimes 1. H ire a witch doctor to stick pins in a
carry loads of noise signals, and they can couple little doll that has a photo print of the offender's
into the receiver th ro ugh the antenna line. In face pasted on it.
cases where the receiver is on the floor below the 2. Wish fervently (the ferventer the better)
that they be visited by a thousan d cockroaches,
all of them the size of ducks .
3 . Ch eat. Put up an antenna that n o on e
Flog Pole2_____.
knows is an an tenna.
Of these, option num ber three seems to be
the most viable. It is quite possible to make an
antenna that either doesn't look like an antenna,
isn't easily seen, or is only used intermittently
and is retracted at oth er times.
One method for making a clandestine-sorta-
stealthy antenna is the old flagpole trick as
W ire shown in Figure 13-3. A flagpole is a deligh tful
vertical and can even be tuned at the base if the
tuning unit is unobtrusive. In some cases, the
flag pole is metal, so yo u can either shunt feed
the pole or insulate it from ground and feed it
the regular way. If the flagpole is fiberglass (or
other insulating m aterial), then pass a wire up
Figure 13- 3
through the center of it (see Figure 13-3 inset).
 182 .... Receiving Antenna Handbook

Another neat trick involves flower pots.

Some developments allow tall flowers and
plants- even artificial-on the balcony or patio.
/ Antenna
Some people make it a rather tall artificial plant,
maybe six or eight feet high. A th in wire woven
( Tie into the foliage can make a reasonable (not good,
but OK) antenna for shortwave receivers.
_,_-,,.T ie Alternative ly, wrap the fake stalk with a
lon g length of wire. It will work sim ilarly
to a helical wound vertical at some fre-
q uenc1es.
Drop WI re---.
Balcony/
Noise Bridges
One of the most useful instruments in ad-
justing antennas is th e noise bridge. It is a combi-
Figure 13-4 nation of an impedance bridge with a wideband
gaussian noise generator. An impedance bridge is
a device that allows yo u to m easure the imped-
ance of the antenna, and the noise generator
Another neat job is the ol' fishing pole trick supplies a signal to excite the impedance bridge
(Figure 13-4), which is popular with high-rise so an impedance measurem ent can be made.
apartment dwellers. Drop a thin (repeat- thin) Figure 13-5 shows how a noise bridge is
wire out the window, or from the balcony, while connected into an antenna circuit. To use the
you are listening to the shortwave radio. W hen n oise bridge, yo u first tune the receiver to a
you are finished , then reel it in and stow it in the frequency in the center of the desired band of
closet. Why not? After all military and civilian operation. Next, the noise generator section of
aircraft have been trailing HF wires for years. the noise bridge is turned on. When the noise
One caution, however. W hatever you do, generato r is on, you'll hear a " hiss" sound rang-
DON'T place a weight on the end of the wire. ing from about 56 to 59 from the receiver. T he
I know that the weigh t will make the antenna impedance bridge section of th e noise bridge
wire hang straighter, but there are at least two has two controls, "X" for the reactance compo-
dangers that I see from the practice. First, when nent of the anten na impedance and "R" for the
the wind blows the weight and wire become a resistive component of the impedan ce. The two
pendulum and will sway back and forth, pick- controls are adj usted until the best overall null
ing up distance on every gust, and then of the "hiss" n oise is fo und. The "X" and "R"
SMASSSSHHHH!!! right through the window controls interact, so some twiddling back and
on a floor below. Second, even a small weight fo rth between the two will be necessary until the
can badly injure or even kill if a pedestrian on maximum possible null is fo und. The setting of
the street if it falls far enough, and will make a the "R" and "X" controls at maximum null
real mess out of car roofs and windshields. Safety indicates the values of resistive and reactance
first! impedance p resent in the antenna circuit.
 Odds and Ends T 183

Antenna

Receiver
S- Meter
Noise Bridge
R X 11758 IAI
I====~ Ant Tune
Antenna
Connection 00
______ RCVR
.._ _, 0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0 0
Figure 13-5

,,
'

Figure 13-6

Figure 13-6 shows the "R-X Noise Bridge" An "SWL-Legal" VSWR Analyzer
from Palomar Engineers. This is a low cost Measuring VSWR is relatively easy for ama-
noise bridge that I've used for several years teur radio operators: they excite th e antenna with
and have found quite competent for its in- their transmitters and then measure the forward
tended applications. Other manufacturers of- and reflected power levels. They can either calcu-
fer noise bridges as well. If antenna building late the VSWR from a standard formula (or look
becomes your thing and you want to know it up on a nonomograph), or they can use a RF
just what the impedance of an antenna is, power meter calibrated for VSWR as well as in
then you'll need to add a noise bridge to your watts. But SWLs have a problem. They are not
set of tools. allowed to use transmitters, and most signal gen-
184 .._ Receiving Antenna Handbook

erators don't have sufficient output to drive

most VSWR or RF power meters. Luckily for
SWLs, there are instruments available, known
as SWR analyzers, that combine a VSWR meter
with a signal source. Figure 13-7 shows two
available from MFJ Enterprises. The unit on
the left, the MFJ-207, is used on frequencies
below 30 MHz while the unit on the right, the
MFJ-208 is intended for use above 30 MHz.
D etermining SWR with such units is a snap.
The idea is to adjust the frequen cy knob on the
analyzer until the SWR meter hits bottom (or
nulls). The meter reading is directly in terms of
SWR, so nothing further is needed . This tells
you the resonant frequency of the antenna and
the VSWR at that frequen cy. T he antenna and/
or its tuner can th en be adjusted to bring the
antenna to a point that is useful to you.
After having spent a few weekends using
these units, I am convinced that no SWL who is
serious about antenna experim entation can get
along without one of th ese instruments. Figure 13- 7
 185

Bibliography and
Further Reading
American Radio Relay League, ARRL Antenna Misek, Victor, The Beverage Antenna Handbook.
Handbook. American Radio Relay League Published by the author; 142 Wason Road,
(multiple editions) . Hudson, N H , 03051.

Bryant, John, "Beverage Antennas" in Fine Tun- National Radio Club, Beverage and Longwire
ing Proceedings 1989 (available from Fine Antennas: Design and Theory. Available from
Tuning Special Publications, c/o John Bry- National Radio Club Publications Center, P
ant, Route 5, Box 14, Stillwater, OK, 0 . Box 164, Mannsville, NY, 13661.
74074).
National Radio Club, Loop Antennas: Design and
Carr, Joseph J. , Practical A ntenna Handbook. Theory. Available from National Radio Club
TAB/McGraw-Hill, 1991. Publications Center, P 0 . Box 164, Manns-
ville, NY, 13661.
Eldridge, Bob, "The Wave (Beverage) Antenna:
D esign and Operation," in Fine Tuning Pro- Orr, William I., Radio Handbook. Howard W
ceedings 1991 (available from Fine Tuning Sams & Co., Inc. (multiple editions) .
Special Publications, c/o John Bryant, Route Wire Antennas for Radio Amateurs. Radio
5, Box 14, Stillwater, OK, 74074) . Publications, Inc., 1972.

Jasik, H enry, Antenna Engineering Handbook, Somerfield, A. , Electrodynamics. Academic Press,

McGraw-Hill, 1961. 1952.

Levintow, Mike, "Using Two Loop Antennas to Villard, 0. G., "Indoor Interference-Reducin g
Generate Asymmetrical Receiving Patterns," Antennas for Sh ortwave Listening" in News-
National Radio Club reprint # 13. Available letter of the Association of North American
from National Radio C lub Publications Radio Clubs, January, 1990.
Center, P 0. Box 164, Man nsville, NY, "Miniature Indoor Directional An tennas
1366 1. fo r Reducin g Sky-Wave and Gro und-Wave
Interferen ce in the Shortwave Bands" in
Marris, Richard Q., "Experimental Quadraform Newsletter of the Association ofNorth Ameri-
Ferrite Transmit/Receive Antenna" in Elek- can Radio Clubs, March, 1990.
tor Electronics USA, November, 1991. "Combating Interference in Shortwave
"Imp rovin g Portable Radio Pe rfor- Reception with Compact Indoor Directive
mance" in Elektor Electronics USA, February, Antennas" in World Radio-Television Hand-
1992. book, 1990.
 187

Index
formula for determining length, 57-58
impedance of, 60-61
Active antennas, 180
inverted-Vee, 66
Air core loops, 145-147 loaded, 66-68
Angle of arrival, 2 mulriband, 70-7 1
Angle of maximum response, 10 radiation patterns, 58-60
Angle of radiation and reception, 76, 121 rotatable, 131
tilted center-fed terminated folded, 68-69
Antenna patterns, 3, 8-10
trap, 7 1-72
Azimuth pattern, 3
Directional antennas, 5-8
Discone antenna, 176
D Diversity effect, 76
Beamwidth, 11
Double extended Zepp antenna, 109
Baluns, 64, 72-7 4
Double (stacked) dipole, 108
Base loaded antennas, 122
Beverage antennas, 92-1 01
Bobtail curtain arrays, 138-1 39 DI
Electrostatic discharge con uol, 102-103
Elevation pattern, 3
D
Capture area, 7
Cardioid pattern, 9 D
Ferrite core loops, 156-1 59
Center loaded antennas, 122
Folded dipole, 62-64
Characteristic impedance, 35
Coaxial cable, 43-46
Coaxial "Tee" antenna, 17 6 B
Gain, 3
Collinear "Franklin" array antenna, 11 O
Ground plane antenna, 123-1 24
Counterpoises, 123- 124
Ground systems, 14-16, 178
Ground wires, 14
El GSRV doublet, 105- 106
Decibels, 3-4
Delta fed antennas, 122
Dipole antennas: III
Half-delta sloper, 116
double (stacked), 108
folded, 62-64 Helically wound antenna, 177-178
188 • Receiving Antenna Handbook

1111 El
Impedance, 11 Marconi antenna, 53-56
Incident wave, 4-5 Multiband dipoles, 70-71
Indoor antennas, 180- 181
Installing antenna masts, 22-27
Insulators, 28-3 1
El
Noise bridges, 182- 183
Inverted-Vee antenna, 66 Noise considerations in antenna selection ,
Isotrop ic source, 3 21-22

Lazy- H antenna, 110- 111 Off-centerfed fullwave doublet antenna, 107

Limited space antennas, 18 1- 182 Off-centerfed nonresonant sloper, 108
Loaded dipoles, 66-68 Omnidirectional an tennas, 5
Longwire antennas:
antenna radiation of, 80-81
feed systems, 81-84
DI
Parallel conductor, 4 1-42
length , 77
Parasitic beam antennas, 132-134
nonresonant single wire, 78-79
Permits for antenna installation, 22
resonant single wire, 76
termination resistors, 85-86 Phased vertical arrays, 13 5- 138
Loop antennas: Polarization of radio waves, 1-2
air core, 145-1 47 Preamplifiers, 179-1 80
bi-square loop, 117 Preamplifiers for loop antennas, 166-168
ferrite core, 156-1 59
half-wavelength, 112-11 3
large wire, 111 ID
one wavelength , 11 4- 11 5 Quad antennas, 132-134
preamplifiers for, 166-168
sharpening tuning of, 169
shielded, 160-161
DI
Radials, 123
sh ortwave, 16 1- 164
Random length antennas, 51-52
testing, 164
transformer, 148 Reciprocity of anten nas, 3
tuning methods, 148- 150 Reflected wave, 4
usin g, 164- 16 5 Rhombic beams, 9 1-92
Low frequency antennas, 171 -1 74 Rotatable dipoles, 131
 Index ,, 189

IDI Triangulation, 144

Shielded loop antennas, 160-161 Twin-lead "Tee" antenna, 175
Shortened antennas, 12 1- 122 Twin-lead transmission line, 42-43
Site selection for antennas, 20
Standing wave ratio (SWR), 40
Steerable notch beverage antennas, 101 -102 Vee beams, 87-90
Velocity facto r, 40
a
"Tee" antenna, 52-53
Vercical anten nas:
construction of, 124-127
Termination resistors, 85-86 delta fed, 122
ground plane, 123-124
T horne arrays, 140-141
grounding fo r, 17- 18
Tilted center-fed terminated folded loaded, 122
dipole, 68-69 phased vertical arrays, 135-138
Top loaded antennas, 122 PVC pipe, 129- 130
Transformer loops, 148 traps, 127-129
Transmission lines: VSWR meters, 183-184
characteristic impedance of, 35
coaxial cable, 43-44
handling and installation of, 47-50 m
Wavelength, 1
parallel conductor, 41-42
single-wire, 3 5 Windom antenna, 106- 107
twin-lead, 42-43
Trap dipoles, 7 1-72 Ill
Traveling wave, 4 Yagi antennas, 132-134