7/6/2016 AntennasfortheShortwaveBroadcaster

SHORTWAVERADIOBROADCASTANTENNAS

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ANTENNASFORTHESHORTWAVEBROADCASTER
BYRICHARDRGREENE
Noothercomponentinashortwavebroadcaststationoffersasmanyoptionsin
termsofperformanceandcostastheantennasystem.Anoverviewoftheprincipal
antennatypesandtheircostswillhelpwithstationplanning.

AntennaParameters
Theantennaandfeedersystemmustsupportthecurrentsandvoltagesproducedby
thetransmitteratfullmodulation.Therelevantspecificationsareaveragepower
andpeakpowerwhichare,inturn,afunctionofthetransmitter'sratedcarrier
powerandthemodulationpercentage.With100%amplitudemodulation,averagepower
is1.5timescarrierpower,andpeakpoweris4timescarrierpower.Thus,a100
kWtransmitterrequiresanantennaratedfor150kWaverageand400kWpeak.

Theantenna'stargetareaisdeterminedbyitsdirectivityitsbeamwidthinthe
horizontalandverticalplanes.Itstakeoffangle(TOA),theangleabovethe
horizonatwhichmaximumradiationoccurs,mayrangefromlow(<20)tomediumto
straightup(verticallyincident,90).

Lowtakeoffsignalstravelhundredsoreventhousandsofkilometersbeforebeing
refractedbytheionospherebacktotheearth'ssurface;narrowvertical
beamwidthsalwaysaccompanylowtakeoffangles.Hightakeoffanglesareusedfor
localcoverage.

Thehorizontal(azimuthal)beamwidthisdefinedastheangleacrossthehorizon
betweenthe3dBpoints(referencedtogainatboresight).

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Antennagainisafunctionofdirectivity.Highgainisachievedbynarrowingand
loweringtheradiatedbeam,makinghighgainandwidebeamwidthmutually
exclusive.GainismeasuredindB'sreferencedtoatheoreticalradiatorhaving
equalgaininalldirections(isotropicradiator=0dBi).OnlygainattheTOA
requiredtoreachthetargetisofinterest;gainatotherTOA'siswasted.

Polarization:Verticallypolarizedantennasareoftenusedinshortwave
communications,particularlyformarinework,andusuallyatthelowendoftheHF
band.Todayvirtuallyallshortwavebroadcastantennas,however,arehorizontally
polarized.

Efficiency:Allmodernshortwavebroadcastantennasareessentiallyfully
efficient(I2R<1%).Anexceptionistherhombicrhombicsrequireresistive
terminationandhaveI2RlossesofseveraldB.

Size,FrequencyRange,Cost
Thesizeofafullyefficientshortwaveantennadependsonitslowestrated
frequency:lowfrequenciesmeanlargeantennas.A3MHzmodelwillalwaysbeabout
twiceastallandrequirefourtimesasmuchlandasa6MHzversionofthesame
design.Thechoiceoflowestoperatingfrequencyiscrucialwithrespecttocost:
asmastheightincreases,windloadsandotherfactorsincreaseevenfaster.For
mediumandlongrangebroadcastinginthetemperatezones,5.9MHzisthelowest
frequencythatneedbeconsidered.

Anantenna'stakeoffangleisalsoacostfactorsinceTOAvariesinverselywith
radiatorheightaboveground.TOAisoftenloweredbyincreasingmastheightto
enhancelongdistancetransmission.

ShortwaveAntennaTypes
Broadcastersusinglowpowercanchoosefromthebroadrangeofantennasusedfor
communications.Communicationsantennatypesincludelogperiodics,fandipoles,
cutdipoles,spirals,conicalmonopoles,whips,andmanyothertypes.Ofthese,
onlylogperiodicsfindwidespreaduseinlowpowerAMbroadcastapplications.

LogperiodicAntennas(LPA's):LPA'sareavailableinawidevarietyof
configurationsincludingshort,medium,andlongrangedirectional,
omnidirectional,androtatabletypes.Theirmostattractivefeatureisawide
frequencyrangelargemodelscanoperatefrom230MHz(almost4octaves)
withouttuning.

ThebasicLPAcurtainhasadirectionalpatternwitha70to80beamwidthand
gainofabout11dBi.TOAcanbecontrolledbyadjustingtheradiatorheightabove

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ground.Curtainscanbearrangedverticallytolowerthetakeoffangleor
horizontallytonarrowthebeam.A2wide/2highLPAcanhaveagainof17dBand
aTOAaslowas10.

Theinstalledcostofa5.9MHzlowpowerLPAcanrangefrom$20Kforashort
rangemodeltoover$100KforalowTOAmulticurtainversion.

FanDipoles:Thefandipolemaymeritconsiderationbythelowpowerbroadcaster
whoneedsanomnidirectionalradiationpattern.Itsfrequencyrangeislimitedto
approximately4to1,andatypicalmaximumpeakpowerratingis40kW(10kW
carrier),butitofferssmallersizeandlowercostthanothertypes.

Manyotherantennatypeswereonceusedinbroadcastapplications.Mosthavebeen
supplantedbylogperiodicsanddipolearrays,butafewdeservebriefmention:
CutDipolesareinexpensive,bidirectional,andshortrange;theyarelimitedto
fairlylowpowerandanarrowrangeoffrequencies.ConicalAntennasmaybeused
forlocalomnidirectionalgroundwavecoverage;theyareverticallypolarizedand
radiatedpowerisdiminishedbygroundlosses.RhombicsandSlopingV'saresimple
travelingwaveantennasthatcanhavesignificantdirectionalgainovera
relativelynarrowfrequencyrange;however,theyrequireconsiderablelandspace
andlose3dBormoreinterminatingresistors.QuadsandCornerAntennasare
sometimesusedforlocalworkovernarrowfrequencyranges.Loopsandwhipsare
generallynotsuitableforbroadcastpurposes.

BalunConsiderations
Allmoderncommunicationsantennashave50ohmunbalancedinputs.Mostare
designedforsinglesidebandorFSKtransmission,withcurtainsdesignedfor50kW
to80kWpeakpower.Theactualpowerratingsarelimitedbythedriveunit,or
balun.Acommunicationsantennaequippedwithastandard10kWbalun,forexample,
cannotbeusedwithanAMtransmitterrunning10kWofcarrierpower,becauseat
fullmodulationthattransmitterproduces15kWofaveragepower.Inthiscase,
thebalunwouldrequirearatingofatleast15kWave/40kWpeak.Above20kW,AM
transmittersproduceaverageandpeakpowersthatexceedtheratingsofmost
communicationsbaluns.

HighpowerShortwaveBroadcasting
Theinternationalbroadcastertypicallyusesacarrierpowerlevelof100to500
kW.Inthisrange,antennachoicesincludedipolearraysandlogperiodics,
Broadcastantennasaredesignedespeciallyforthepeakpowersproducedby
amplitudemodulation.Mosthave300ohmbalancedinputs,soconnectiontoa50ohm
transmitterrequiresahighpowerbalun.

DipoleArrays,alsocalledcurtainantennas,aretheantennatypemostusedin
internationalshortwavebroadcastingtoday.Dipolearraysconsistofrowsand
columnsofdipole"cages"arrayedinfrontofareflectingscreen.Thereare
usuallytwoorfourcolumns.Afourcolumnconfigurationhasabeamwidthofabout
24andcanbesteered,orslewed,typicallyby15and30,allowingthe
broadcastertodirectthebeamtodifferenttargets(refertoFigure2C).The
numberofrowscanbe1,2,3,4,or6.The6highcasepermitsthebeamtobe
steeredintheverticalplaneorswitchedtoa2highor4highmode;mode
switchingaltersthetakeoffangleandallowsthebroadcastertoreachtargetsat
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varyingdistances.

Dipolearraysarelimitedtooperationoveramaximum2:1frequencyrange.Low
bandarraysgenerallycoverthe6,7,9,and11MHzbands,whilehighbandarrays
coverthe11,13,15,17,19,and21MHzbands(orthe1326MHzbands).The
extensiveswitchfieldsassociatedwithslewingandmodeswitching,combinedwith
theirlargesize,maketheseantennasexpensive.Theinstalledcostofahigh/low
pairofHRS4/6/.5antennas(4wide,6high)onthreemastswithfullswitching
exceeds$1million.

ThehighpowerLPAcanoftenbecosteffectiveat100kW.TheLPA,whosebasic
characteristicsaredescribedabove,offersexcellentperformanceoverawide
frequencyrange.OmnidirectionalLPA'sdevelopedforuseinthetropicalbands
(downto2.3or3.2MHz)giveexcellentcoverageto1500kmradiuswith100kW
transmitters.DirectionalLPA'sareavailableforshort,medium,andlongrange
broadcastingupto300kW.Asingleantennatypicallycoversallfrequenciesfrom
5.9to26MHz.

A100kWLPAcanoftenbeinstalledforlessthan$200K.From250to500kWthe
costofanLPAapproachesthatofadipolearray,whichmaythenbemorecost
effectiveowingtoitsabilitytobeslewed.

MaterialsforShortwaveAntennas
Modernshortwaveantennasemploymaterialsthatareruggedandresistcorrosion.
Radiatorsandsupportelements(catenaries)aregenerallyofAlumoweldwirerope.
Alumoweldhasacoatingofaluminiumbondedtoasteelcore;thiscablehasthe
mechanicalpropertiesofsteelwiththeconductivityandcorrosionresistanceof
aluminium.Coppercableisweakerandheavierthansteel.Stateoftheart
antennasdonotusecopper,fiberglass,oranyothermaterialsthatcanstretch
overtimeordeteriorateinsevereenvironments.

FeederSystems
Thefeedersystemforalowpowerstationmayconsistonlyofarunofcoaxfroma
singletransmittertoasingleantenna.At50to500kW,however,ataperedline
balunisneededtoconvertthepowerto300ohmbalanced,sinceatthispower
leveltheantennawillnotincludeitsown"baluninacan".Coaxialline(rigid
orsemiflex)willrunfromthetransmitterthroughthebuildingwalltothe
balun;balancedtransmissionline(TML)providestheconnectiontotheantenna.
Rigidcoaxcostsmorethan$300/meter,whileTMLcostslessthan$100/meter,
includingsupportpoles.

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