Helical Antenna for the 2.

425GHz Wireless Networking Cards

How to Make a Simple 2.425GHz Helical

Aerial for Wireless ISM Band Devices
Introduction
As some of the readers may know, an effort by members of the Canberra Linux Users Group has been launched to set up a
Canberra-wide wireless LAN. This amateur experiment's existence is largely due to the acquisition of many cut-price old style Lucent
WaveLAN cards being superseded by the IEEE 802.11 standard cards. The cards were cheap but the tile antennas that came with
them are no good for long haul links of more than several hundred metres. On top of this, commercial aerials that can do the job are
expensive, can get rather large and are ugly, especially the conifers. My Mum would not want one on her roof.
Consequently, there is no reason why this aerial couldn't also be used with any other equipment that requires a broad bandwidth in
the 2.425GHz band such as the new 802.11 wireless network cards or video transmitters. If anyone does use the aerial with these
bits of equipment, please let me know!
The idea behind this aerial was for anyone to be able to make their own aerial for point to point links, and do it cheaply. The criteria
are cost effectiveness, ease of construction and durability. Durability is important as you don't want wind, beak cleaning magpies and
highly destructive nibbling cockatoos ruining your Quake III and Unreal Tournament sessions. Birds landing on the aerial have the
effect of severely diminishing the signal, too.
The aerial was derived from information on helical antennas in the ARRL Antenna book.
Any places and shops referenced are in Canberra, Australia.

Parts
To construct one aerial you will need:
q

1x0.55metrelengthof40mmPVCplumbingpipe(40mminner,about4243mmouterdiameter)

1x40mmPVCendcaps

1x150mmPVCendcapsORasturdythickpieceofplasticorwoodofsimilardimensions

2x25mmor35mmUbolts

8xextranutsforUbolts

8xextrawashersforUbolts

1x5/16"roundheadbolt(mustbeshortkind)andnutandwashertosuit

1xsheetof0.40.7mmthickbrassshim(sheeting)largeenoughtocuta130mmdiametercircleORasuitablylarge
pieceofaluminiumfromaSaraLee(orlike)applepietin.Plainoldaluminiumfoilistoothinandtearswhenyoudrill
andcutit..
Severalmetresof1mmenamelledcopperwire(canbegreaterbutnotmuchsmallerthan1mm)

1xpanelmountNconnector(thekindwithasquarebaseand4screwholes,DickSmithhasthem)

3xscrews,nutsandwasherstosuitNconnector

PrintoutsofthePDFfilesbelow

SlowdryingAraldite

Loctite424orsimilar(supergluecoulddoorahotgluegunwoulddo)

sealingsilicone

maskingtape

Tools needed are:

q

Hacksaw

Bigflatfile

Bigstrongwirecutters

Spannertosuit5/16"nuts

PhilipsscrewdriverfortheNconnectorscrews

Drill

Plethoraofdrillbitsfromsmalltoreallybig

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Helical Antenna for the 2.425GHz Wireless Networking Cards

q

Solderingiron

Scissors(butnottheGoodScissors,becauseyouwillwreckthoseandyourMumwillkillyou.)

Stanleyknifeorscalpel

The endcaps must have a completely flat base. Hardware House and BBC have these as do Tradesmans Warehouse in Fyshwick
(next to Dick Smith) where I got mine. Canberra Southern Plumbing had caps with big dimples in the centre right where they would
obstruct the placement of a bolt.
You can get the U-bolts and nuts and washers from Hardware House or BBC.
The brass shim is available in whatever length you need from Belconnen Metal Centre. They have cans of the stuff rolled up.
Tuggeranong Metal Centre should have it too.

Construction
PrintandcutoutthetemplatesinthePDFtemplatefile.circle.pdfandrhspiral.pdforlhspiral.pdfUserhspiralforright
handedspiralhelicalsandlhspiralforlefthandedspirals.Youwillneedthecircletomakethegroundplane(reflector),unless
youcanprescribeagood130mmdiametercircleyourselfwitharulerandcircumference.
UPDATE!DownloadHelixCalcfromthetheorysectionbelowtodesignyourowntemplates.
Cutalengthof40mmPVCto550mm(55cm).
WrapthewindingtemplatearoundthePVCtubeandtapetheseamtogether.Itdoesn'tmatterifyouusetheRIGHTorLEFT
handedtemplatesolongasthehelicalattheotherendisthesame.Makesurethespiralslineuptheattheseam.Asmallgap
attheseamisOK. If you combine a left handed aerial with a right handed aerial then you'll get virtually no usable signal.

Theendyoustartthetemplateatwillbetheendthatconnectstothebase.Note,youshouldstartwiththetemplate
protrudingaboutthethicknessoftheendcapovertheedge.Seediagrambelow.Thiswillcompensateforthethicknessofthe
40mmendcap.

Usingasharppointlikeascribe,perforatethetemplatealongthehelicallineatregularintervals,say5or6perrevolution.
ThiswillleavemarksinthePVCyoucanfollowwhenwrappingthewirearound.Slidethetemplatealonginstagesuntilyou
gaveacompletespiralrunningthelengthofthetube.Markthewheretheendofthespiralonthetemplatefinishes.You
shouldhaveafewmmoftubeleftover.ThisisOK.

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Helical Antenna for the 2.425GHz Wireless Networking Cards

Takethe1mmwirespoolandusingsomethinglikesuperglueorLoctite424attachtheendofthewiretowherethespiral
endsatthetube(theendpointdescribedabove.).Slowlywindthewirearoundthetube,followingthespiralindentations.At
fairlyregularintervalslikea1/2or1/3turnaddsomemoregluetoholdthewireinplace.
Asyouapproachthebaseenddon'tgluedownthelastturnandleaveplentyofexcesswire(10cmorso)hangingofftheend.
Letthegluedry.
CutoutfromthebrassshimorSaraLeepietinthe130mmdiametercircle(fromcircle.pdf).
Drillholesinthe150mmendcapand130mmsheettoallowforthecentreboltandNconnectorholestocomethough.I
markedthepositionsofeverythingbycentreingthebaseofthe40mmendcapontothebaseofthe150mmendcapanddrawing
thecircumferenceasyoucanseebelow.IthenpositionedtheNconnectorovertheoutlinetoseewhereitneededtofit,seeing
astheNconnectorstubhastoberightontheouteredgeofthe40mmtube.

Takethe40mmPVCendcapandcutoffasectionbigenoughtoallowtheNconnectorstubandthreenutholesroomtopoke
through.Thesketchbelowwillgiveyouanideaofhowmuchyouwanttocutofftoallowforthestubandboltholestofit
whenitallcomestogether.

Drillaholeintheendcapsuitableforthe5/16"bolt.Withthesidecutoffandholedrilleditshouldlooklikethus:

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Helical Antenna for the 2.425GHz Wireless Networking Cards

Allboltedtogetheryoushouldendupwith(thepicturedoesn'tshowthereflectororNconnectorinplace).

FortheUboltmountsI'llleaveituptoyouastowhatsizeUbolts,25mmor35mmorwhatever.Makesurethatwhenyou
drilltheholestoplacetheminthatit'sofftothesideandtheantennamastwon'timpedeyoufromplugginginthe
Nconnector.SeethepicturesbelowforhowIplacedtheUbolts.
Placethe130mmbrassoraluminiumcircularsheetonthebig150mmendcap,andboltonthe40mmendcap,makingsureall
theholesonthesheetandbigendcaplineup.
AttachtheNconnector.
Inordertomatchtheantenna(fromit'snominal150ohmstotheconnector'sandcables'50ohmimpedance)youneedastrip
ofcopperorbrassabout1520mmwide.Ihappenedtohavesomeadhesivecoppertapeatmywork.Youneedalengththat
willfollowthemarkedlinewherethespiralwindsalongthetubetotheend.Ithastospanfromonecornerofthestrip,
windingalongthespiraluntilthediagonallyoppositecornerwillpokeoutabovetheendcapwheneverythingisplaced
together.Cutthestripinhalfalongthediagonalsoyouendupwithatrianglethattaperstothecorner.Stripdimensionsof
theadjacentsides17mmand71mmrespectivelywiththehypotenuse73mmshouldwork.Aluminiumwon'tsoldersodon't
botherusingthat.Brassshimshoulddothetrickthough.Seethediagrambelowonhowtomeasureitupandplaceit.
Insertthetubeintothe40mmendcapandmarkwherethespiralmeetsthetopofendcap.Cutthewireoffatthispointbut
leaveafewmmofexcesswire.Withthesandpaper,scrapeofftheenamelofftheendofthewiretoleaveitshinyandeasyto
solder.
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Carefullysolderthenarrowpointyendofthetaperedstriptothewireandmatchupwherethelowercorneratthelargeend
willsolderneatlyontothestuboftheNconnector.Youmightneedtouseglueorstickytapetoholditinplace.Youmight
havetodosometrimmingtogetthestriptothecorrectlength.Thisstripineffectactsasanimpedancetransformer.Idon't
knowquitehowitworks,butI'vedoneitfourtimeswitheachstripofslightlydifferentlengthsandaccordingthetotwoport
analyseritworkswell.

Whenthetubeisfullyinsertedintotheendcapitshouldclickinplaceandholdfast.Besatisfiedthatthetaperisinplace
whenwoundaroundsothecornercanneatlysoldertotheNconnectorstub.
Takethetubeoutandwiththesandpaperroughentheinsideofthe40mmendcapandadjacentsurfacesonthetube.This
shouldhelptheglueholdbetter.Beforeyouglue,wipealltheroughenedsurfacesclean.
GetsomeSLOWDRYING(not5min)Aralditeandmixupabatch.ApplytheAralditetothetubeendsectionandinside
theendcap.Reinsertthetubeasdescribedabove,aligningthecopperstripcornerandNconnectorstub.Lotsofglueshould
oozeout.SolderthecornerofthetapertothecentrepinoftheNconnector.Makesurethereisplentyofgluefillingthesmall
gapbetweenthetubeandtheinnercircumferenceoftheendcap.
Letthegluedry(aboutaday).InstallontheUboltsandyouhaveyourselfahelical!Withthetaperinplaceandeverything
gluedupandboltedtogetheryoushouldhavesomethinglookinglikethepicturebelow.YoucanseetheNconnectorbolts
andcentrestubpokingthroughthebrassshim.Alsovisibleisthetapercornersolderedtothestubandeverythingcoveredin
globsofdriedAraldite.

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Thereasonforthebigendcapwassoalengthof150mmPVCpipecouldslideoverthewholeassemblyandsnuglyfitintothe
endcap.Withanotherendcapontheotherendcompletelysealingtheunit,waterandbirdswouldbekeptofftheaerialandit
shouldlastlonger.Ifyouaregoingtoleavetheaerialexposed,makesureyouputliberalamountsofsiliconearoundtheN
connectorwherethetapersoldersonandensurethatnowatercanelectricallyconnectthecentrewireoftheaerialtothe
groundplane(thesheet.)Experiencehasshownthatpoorperformanceinrainandfogduetocondensationontheconnector
kindofshortingoutthegroundandcentresignalpin.IhavenoticedthatthezinccoatingontheUboltwashersandbrass
shimhadgalvanicreactionshappeningsoplasticorrubberwashersmightbeneededinsteadheretopreventdeteriorationof
thebrass.
Hereisapictureofthefinishedproduct!

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Andfromtheback....

Kind of Important Stuff

ThePVCtubeIuseddidn'tgethotinthemicrowaveovenevenaftertwominutes,soitshouldn'tabsorbanysignalfromthe
WaveLAN.Testyourtube(orothertubeshapedmaterialsyouwilluseasanaerialwindingformer(notmetal))inthe
microwaveforaminute(withasmallglassofwatertoo)andmakesureitdoesn'tgetwarmorhot.Ifitdoes,it'snogoodfor
makinganaerialwith.
Thematchingsectiondescribedaboveworkedformeinseveralincarnations,allofwhichwereadhoc.Iwasamazedwhen
thetwoportanalysertoldindicatedhowwellthematchingcircuitworked.
UntilIdosomemoretesting,Iwon'tmakeanyclaimsthatthisaerialshouldworkto10Kms(thoughtheywellmightandit's
themaximumrangeintended).Theydoworkwellto34Kmwithagoodlineofsight(notmuchinthewayliketreesand
houseroofs).
Possiblevariationsonthisaerialdesignabound.You'llhavetouseyourimaginationtocomeupwithworkablevariations.
Usingsinglesidedunetchedprintedcircuitboardforthebackplaneisone,asthefibreglassboardisquitestrongandthe
copperisalreadybondedtotheboardwhichyoucanuseasthereflector.

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Theory
Thedesignforthisaerialwasderivedfromthegoodol'ARRLAntennaHandbook.Fromchapter19areabunchofhelical
designsandsomemathsdetailinghowtoparamteriseandgaugetheperformanceoftheaerial.
Ihavelostmyoriginaldesignnotes,soIamrederivingthisfromthePDFfilesandmeasuringtheaerialsImade.
Thefollowingformulaearefrompage1923oftheARRLAntennaHandbook.Iamrepeatingthemhereasnoteveryonehas
accesstothisbook.

circumference of winding
C =0.75to1.33
S =0.2126C to0.2867C axial length of one turn
diameter of ground plane / reflector
G=0.8to1.1
circumference is pi times the diameter
C =D
Thediameterofthewindingisfixed,withthePVCtubingbeing42mmindiameter.
Thecentrefrequency(2.425GHz)hasawavelength =0.123711metres.
C =*0.042m=0.13195m
=1.066
Lookingbackatthemeasurements,ImayhavescrewedupsomewherebecauseS seemstobe0.31830C ,whichisoutof
rangeofthespecifiedvalues.Idon'tknowhowthiscametobe,butitdoesn'tseemtobetoobiganimpediment.
S =0.3183*0.13195m=0.042m(strangelyenough,thediameterofthetubing.)
ThegroundplanediameterG=1.05 =0.130m
ThegainoftheaerialindBiisdefinedas:
Gain=11.8+10log10(C *C *n*S )wherenisthenumberofturns.
Gain=11.8+10log10(1.066*1.066*13*0.31830)
=18.5dBi
Thechartbelowshowstheamountofgaintobehadforthenumberofturns.Asyoucansee,togetabout3dB(twice)more
youhavetodoublethenumberofturnsanddoublethelengthoftheaerial.Thirteenturnshappenstofitinto0.55mandisa
goodcompromiseforlengthversusgain.

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Alotofthenewer802.11cardsallowforaselectionofcentrefrequencies(channels).Youmightwanttovarythewinding
dimensionsbyusingtheaboveformulaetocalculatenewC andS .
HelixCalc
Ihavewrittenalittleutilitytodesignandprinttemplatestosuitsoyouaren'trestrictedtothetemplatesIgenerated.Youcan
altervariousparameters(asdescribedabove)anditwillprintoutawindingtemplateandbackplane.Youcandoitin
centimetresorinches.Unfortunately,thereisabug(lesson:don'tdebugcodewhiledrinkingscotch).Thetotalantennalength
iswrong.ManuallycalculatethetotalantennalengthbymultiplyingthenumberofturnsbythesinglewindingSlambda
shownatthebottomoftheutil.Ihavelostthesourceandmaygetaroundtoredoingitsometime.Theprintedantennatemplate
isstillOKthough!HelixCalc
Performance
IhavemeasuredtheefficiencyoftheseaerialsbymeasuringtheS11parameters.BelowaremeasuremeantsforbothaerialsI
constructed.TheupperdiagramistheSWRmeasurement,andloweristhelogreturnmeasurement.Bothaerialsarevery
goodandhavethebroadbandrequiredforspreadspectrumcommunications(SWRof1:1.15orbetter!).Itwouldseemthe
adhocaerialmatchingstripactuallyworksextremelywell!Ihaveyettotesttheperformanceoverdistance.
Havealookhereforsomephotosofantennasthatmyselfandothershavemade.Ifyouhavemadeanantennabasedonthis
design,pleasesendmesomephotosandadescriptionsoIcanaddthemtothissection.
Aerial #1

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Aerial #2

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Beam Patterns
Belowaresomebeampatternmeasurements.UnfortunatelyduetothesetupIwasonlyabletomeasurethefrontside180
degrees.Thefirstbeampatternwassampledat5degreeintervalsfor40degreesandmirroredtogiveafullbeam.The3dB
pointsasmarkedagreewiththetheorythatthebeamisabout25degreeswide.Thesecondbeampatternswascoarserwith10
degreeintervalsusedover90degrees.Thisclearlyshowsthefirstnullatabout40degreesofftheboresight.Theratio
betweenthemainbeammaximumandsidelobemaximumwasabout10dB.Thefronttobackratiowasmeasuredat20dB.
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HalfPowerBeamWidth=52/(C *sqrt(n*S ))degrees

=52/(1.066*sqrt(13*0.31830))
=23.98degrees

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Helical Antenna for the 2.425GHz Wireless Networking Cards

(C)opyright 1999-2001 Jason Hecker jason@air.net.au

Updated: 24 March 2001

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Right Hand Spiral

Left Hand Spiral

Helical Antenna In Action

BelowarethreepicturesofahelicalantennaImadeforJoeMaher(joe@air.net.au)andhisWaveLAN.Heusesittocommunicatewith
theair.net.audomain.(Joetookallthepics.)
Thisisthefirstincarnationoftheantennawithonly11turnsofthehelix.Itgivesasignalstrengthof15,Iamtold,totheair.net.au
machinedomainwhichisabout2Kmawaylineofsightandhasthesameaerialattheotherend.
Thefirstpictureisyeoldeantenna.
Thesecondpicturehasamagpiesittingontheantenna.Itwouldappearmagpiesandotherbirdsroostingontheantennahavea
tendencytorendertheantennauseless.Joetookthispicafterhenoticedhiswebsurfingcometoanabrupthalt.Loandbehold,said
magpiewasthere.
Thethirdpictureshowstheinstallationofabasic486runningaversionoftheLinuxRouterProjectoffafloppydisk,translatinghis
databetweenthe2MblegacyWaveLANcardandhisethernetnetwork.Thewhitecableistheoriginallengthofcoaxoffthetile
antennathatcamewiththeWaveLAN.ThiswascutfromthetileandanNconnectorattachedtotheotherend.ThelegacyWaveLAN
hasafancy,damnedhardtogetantennaplugandsocketpairsotherewasnopointtryingtoremovetheplugfromthewhitecableand
attachittosomeothercable.AsyoucanseethePCisintheroofcavityrightundertheantennawhichismountedtoastockJmast.

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HerewehavesomepicturesofanantennamadebyMarioMurphyinSanFrancisco.He'sdoneaverynicejobwithwhatlookslike
plexiglassorplasticofsomesort.I'llpostsomeresultshereoncehe'stestedthem.

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HereisashotofanearlycompletedantennaafellownamedPredatorcompleted.

DarylClarksoninNewZealandmadetheseaerialsbelowprettymuchverbatimtowhatIdescribed.He'sgoneapeandmade15and22
turnversionsaswell!Hereckonstheyworkverywellona3.7Kmlinkhe'susing.Thefinalpictureistheaerialmountedandinuse!

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HaraldinAustriahasmadetheseforan800mconnectionthat'sbeenrunningforawhile.

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