Practical Antenna Handbook 5/e

Practical Antenna Handbook 5/e

Authors: Joseph Carr and George Hippisley

Published: October 2011

eISBN: 9780071639590 0071639594 | ISBN: 9780071639583

Contents

Preface

Acknowledgments

Part I: Background and History

1 Introduction to Radio Communication

Part II: Fundamentals

2 Radio-Wave Propagation

Radio Waves

The Electromagnetic Wave: A Brief Review

Isotropic Sources

The Earth’s Atmosphere

EM Wave Propagation Phenomena

Propagation Paths

Ionospheric Propagation

Propagation Predictions

The Magic of Radio

3 Antenna Basics

Circuit Fundamentals

Fields

The Hertzian Dipole

The Half-Wave Dipole

Standing Waves

Velocity of Propagation and Antenna Length

Antenna Resistance and Losses

Half-Wave Dipole Feedpoint Impedance

4 Transmission Lines and Impedance Matching

Types of Transmission Lines

Transmission Line Characteristic Impedance

Other Transmission Line Characteristics

Transmission Line Responses

Standing Wave Ratio

Impedance Matching in Antenna Systems

5 Antenna Arrays and Array Gain

All-Driven Arrays

Parasitic Arrays

Ground Effects

Part III: High-Frequency Building-Block Antennas

6 Dipoles and Doublets

The Dipole Feedpoint

The Dipole Radiation Pattern

Tuning the Dipole Antenna

Other Dipoles

Summary

7 Large Wire Loop Antennas

λ/2 Large Loops

1λ Large Loops

2λ Bisquare Loop Antenna

Near-Vertical Incidence Skywave (NVIS) Antenna

8 Multiband and Tunable Wire Antennas

Multiband Antennas

Tuned Feeder Antennas

Longwire Antenna

Off-Center-Fed Dipole

9 Vertically Polarized Antennas

Vertical Dipole

Grounded Vertical Monopole

Elevated Ground-Plane Antenna

Vertical versus Horizontal Polarization

Supporting the Vertical Antenna

Part IV: Directional High-Frequency Antenna Arrays

10 Wire Arrays

Longwire Antennas

Arrays of Longwires

Bobtail Curtain

Half-Square

20-m ZL-Special Beam

11 Vertical Arrays

Directivity and Phasing

Two-Element Array

360-Degree Directional Array

Four-Square Array

Receive-Only Vertical Arrays

Grounding

12 The Yagi-Uda Beam Antenna

Theory of Operation

Three-Element Yagi Antennas

Yagi Antennas with Four or More Elements

Yagi Construction

Wire Yagis

Multiband Yagis

Yagis with Loaded Elements

Feeding the Yagi

Moxon Beam

Stacking Yagi Antennas

Rolling Your Own

Further Reading

13 Cubical Quads and Delta Loops

Cubical Quad

Delta Loop

Diamond Loop

Concluding Thoughts

Part V: High-Frequency Antennas for Specialized Uses

14 Receiving Antennas for High Frequency

Beverage or “Wave” Antenna

Phased Beverages

Snake or BOG Antenna

Receiving Loops

The EWE Antenna

Pennants, Flags, and the K9AY Loop

Longwire Antennas

15 Hidden and Limited-Space Antennas

Hidden Antennas

Limited-Space Antennas

16 Mobile and Marine Antennas

Mobile Antennas for VHF and UHF

Mobile Antennas for HF and MF

Marine Radio Antennas

17 Emergency and Portable Antennas

Improving Radiator Efficiency

Reducing Ground Losses

Selecting the Right Polarization

Temporary Supports

Summary

Part VI: Antennas for Other Frequencies

18 Antennas for 160 Meters

Vertical Monopoles

Horizontal Antennas

Inverted-L Antennas

Receiving on the Transmit Antenna

19 VHF and UHF Antennas

Ground-Plane Vertical

Coaxial Vertical

⅝-Wavelength 2-Meter Antenna

J-Pole Antennas

Collinear Vertical

Grounds for Ground-Plane Verticals

Yagi Antennas

Halo Antennas

Quad Beam Antennas

VHF/UHF Scanner Band Antennas

VHF/UHF Antenna Impedance Matching

20 Microwave Waveguides and Antennas

Waveguides

Microwave Antennas

21 Antenna Noise Temperature

Noise Factor, Noise Figure, and Noise Temperature

22 Radio Astronomy Antennas

General Considerations

Listening to “Ol’ Sol”

Signals from Jupiter

Ring Antenna

DDRR

Helical Antennas

Multiple Helical Antennas

Interferometer Antennas

23 Radio Direction-Finding (RDF) Antennas

Field Improvisation

Loop Antennas for RDF

Sense Antenna Circuit

RDF at VHF and UHF

Fox Hunting

Shortwave and AM BCB “Skip” RDF

Doppler RDF Antennas

Wullenweber Array

Time Difference of Arrival (TDOA) Array

Switched-Pattern RDF Antennas

Summary

Part VII: Tuning, Troubleshooting, and Design Aids

24 Antenna Tuners (ATUs)

ATU Circuit Configurations

Transmatch Circuit

Baluns

Ferrite Core Inductors

25 Antenna Modeling Software

Under the Hood

A Typical NEC-2 GUI

Recently Added Features

Other Considerations

Terrain and Propagation Modeling Software

Summary

26 The Smith Chart

Smith Chart Components

Smith Chart Applications

27 Testing and Troubleshooting

A Review of SWR

Impedance Bridges

RF Noise Bridges

Dip Oscillators

RF Wattmeters and VSWR Meters

SWR Analyzers

Vector Network Analyzers

Dummy Loads

Documenting Antenna System Measurements

Part VIII: Mechanical Construction and Installation Techniques

28 Supports for Wires and Verticals

Antenna Safety

Wire Antenna Construction

Supporting the Wire Antenna

Installing Vertical Antennas

29 Towers

Types of Towers

Tower Fundamentals

Guyed Towers

Bracketed Towers

Foldover Towers

Crank-up Towers

Self-Supporting Towers

Tower Bases

Guy Wires and Anchors

Erecting the Tower

Rotators, Masts, and Thrust Bearings

Preowned Towers and Accessories

Required Reading

30 Grounding for Safety and Performance

Grounding for Lightning Protection

Grounding for Power Distribution Safety

Station Grounding

Grounds for Antenna Efficiency

31 Zoning, Restrictive Covenants, and Neighbors

Public Sector Restraints

Private Sector Restraints

Final Thoughts

For Additional Reading

Appendices

Appendix A: Useful Math

Appendix B: Suppliers and Other Resources

Index