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- resources analysis and news about all elements of antenna technology along with radio propagation, and radio spectrum issues.
Antenna technologies
Dipole antenna including folded dipole Discone Ferrite rod antenna Five eighths wavelength vertical Horn antenna J pole vertical antenna
Log periodic beam antenna Loop antenna overview Parabolic reflector Quarter wave vertical Yagi Satellite antennas
Meteor burst / meteor scatter communications Electromagnetic waves and propagation Ionospheric propagation basics Satellite propagation
Modelling antennas cutting out the clashes Cellular Spectrum Regulation in Europe Practical Applications for Distributed Antenna Systems
Radio signals are a form of electromagnetic wave, and as they are the way in which radio signals travel, they have a major bearing on RF antennas themselves and RF antenna design. Electromagnetic waves are the same type of radiation as light, ultra-violet and infra red rays, differing from them in their wavelength and frequency. Electromagnetic waves have both electric and magnetic components that are inseparable. The planes of these fields are at right angles to one another and to the direction of motion of the wave.
An electromagnetic wave
The electric field results from the voltage changes occurring in the RF antenna which is radiating the signal, and the magnetic changes result from the current flow. It is also found that the lines of force in the electric field run along the same axis as the RF antenna, but spreading out as they move away from it. This electric field is measured in terms of the change of potential over a given distance, e.g. volts per metre, and this is known as the field strength. Similarly when an RF antenna receives a signal the magnetic changes cause a current flow, and the electric field changes cause the voltage changes on the antenna.
There are a number of properties of a wave. The first is its wavelength. This is the distance between a point on one wave to the identical point on the next. One of the most obvious points to choose is the peak as this can be easily identified although any point is acceptable.
where lambda = the wavelength in metres f = frequency in Hertz c = speed of radio waves (light) taken as 300 000 000 metres per second for all practical purposes.
Field measurements
It is also interesting to note that close to the RF antenna there is also an inductive field the same as that in a transformer. This is not part of the electromagnetic wave, but it can distort measurements close to the antenna. It can also mean that transmitting antennas are more likely to cause interference when they are close to other antennas or wiring that might have the signal induced into
it. For receiving antennas they are more susceptible to interference if they are close to house wiring and the like. Fortunately this inductive field falls away fairly rapidly and it is barely detectable at distances beyond about two or three wavelengths from the RF antenna.
An electromagnetic wave
It is important to match the polarization of the RF antenna to that of the incoming signal. In this way the maximum signal is obtained. If the RF antenna polarization does not match that of the signal there is a corresponding decrease in the level of the signal. It is reduced by a factor of cosine of the angle between the polarisation of the RF antenna and the signal. Accordingly the polarisation of the antennas located in free space is very important, and obviously they should be in exactly the same plane to provide the optimum signal. If they were at right angles to one another (i.e. cross-polarised) then in theory no signal would be received. For terrestrial radio communications applications it is found that once a signal has been transmitted then its polarisation will remain broadly the same. However reflections from objects in the path can change the polarisation. As the received signal is the sum of the direct signal plus a number of reflected signals the overall polarisation of the signal can change slightly although it remains broadly the same.
Polarisation catagories
Vertical and horizontal are the simplest forms of antenna polarization and they both fall into a category known as linear polarisation. However it is also possible to use circular polarisation. This has a number of benefits for areas such as satellite applications where it helps overcome the effects of propagation anomalies, ground reflections and the effects of the spin that occur on many satellites. Circular polarisation is a little more difficult to visualise than linear polarisation. However it can be imagined by visualising a signal propagating from an RF antenna that is rotating. The tip of the electric field vector will then be seen to trace out a helix or corkscrew as it travels away from the antenna. Circular polarisation can be seen to be either right or left handed dependent upon the direction of rotation as seen from the transmitter. Another form of polarisation is known as elliptical polarisation. It occurs when there is a mix of linear and circular polarisation. This can be visualised as before by the tip of the electric field vector tracing out an elliptically shaped corkscrew. However it is possible for linearly polarised antennas to receive circularly polarised signals and vice versa. The strength will be equal whether the linearly polarised antenna is mounted vertically, horizontally or in any other plane but directed towards the arriving signal. There will be some degradation because the signal level will be 3 dB less than if a circularly polarised antenna of the same sense was used. The same situation exists when a circularly polarised antenna receives a linearly polarised signal.
When a signal source is applied to an RF antenna at its feed point, it is found that it presents a load impedance to the source. This is known as the antenna "feed impedance" and it is a complex impedance made up from resistance, capacitance and inductance. In order to ensure the optimum efficiency for any RF antenna design it is necessary to maximise the transfer of energy by matching the feed impedance of the RF antenna design to the load. This requires some understanding of the operation of antenna design in this respect. The feed impedance of the antenna results from a number of factors including the size and shape of the RF antenna, the frequency of operation and its environment. The impedance seen is normally complex, i.e. consisting of resistive elements as well as reactive ones.
Loss resistance: The loss resistance arises from the actual resistance of the elements in the aRF ntenna, and power dissipated in this manner is lost as heat. Although it may appear that the "DC" resistance is low, at higher frequencies the skin effect is in evidence and only the surface areas of the conductor are used. As a result the effective resistance is higher than would be measured at DC. It is proportional to the circumference of the conductor and to the square root of the frequency.
The resistance can become particularly significant in high current sections of an RF antenna where the effective resistance is low. Accordingly to reduce the effect of the loss resistance it is necessary to ensure the use of very low resistance conductors. Radiation resistance: The other resistive element of the impedance is the "radiation resistance". This can be thought of as virtual resistor. It arises from the fact that power is "dissipated" when it is radiated from the RF antenna. The aim is to "dissipate" as much power in this way as possible. The actual value for the radiation resistance varies from one type of antenna to another, and from one design to another. It is dependent upon a variety of factors. However a typical half wave dipole operating in free space has a radiation resistance of around 73 Ohms.
Efficiency
It is naturally important to ensure that the proportion of the power dissipated in the loss resistance is as low as possible, leaving the highest proportion to be dissipated in the radiation resistance as a
radiated signal. The proportion of the power dissipated in the radiation resistance divided by the power applied to the antenna is the efficiency. A variety of means can be employed to ensure that the efficiency remains as high as possible. These include the use of optimum materials for the conductors to ensure low values of resistance, large circumference conductors to ensure large surface area to overcome the skin effect, and not using designs where very high currents and low feed impedance values are present. Other constraints may require that not all these requirements can be met, but by using engineering judgement it is normally possible to obtain a suitable compromise. It can be seen that the antenna feed impedance is particularly important when considering any RF antenna design. However by maximising the energy transfer by matching the feeder to the antenna feed impedance the antenna design can be optimised and the best performance obtained.
Antenna resonance
An RF antenna is a form of tuned circuit consisting of inductance and capacitance, and as a result it has a resonant frequency. This is the frequency where the capacitive and inductive reactances cancel each other out. At this point the RF antenna appears purely resistive, the resistance being a combination of the loss resistance and the radiation resistance.
The capacitance and inductance of an RF antenna are determined by its physical properties and the environment where it is located. The major feature of the RF antenna design is its dimensions. It is found that the larger the antenna or more strictly the antenna elements, the lower the resonant frequency. For example antennas for UHF terrestrial television have relatively small elements, while those for VHF broadcast sound FM have larger elements indicating a lower frequency. Antennas for short wave applications are larger still.
Antenna bandwidth
Most RF antenna designs are operated around the resonant point. This means that there is only a limited bandwidth over which an RF antenna design can operate efficiently. Outside this the levels of reactance rise to levels that may be too high for satisfactory operation. Other characteristics of the antenna may also be impaired away from the centre operating frequency. The antenna bandwidth is particularly important where radio transmitters are concerned as damage may ccur to the transmitter if the antenna is operated outside its operating range and the radio transmitter is not adequately protected. In addition to this the signal radiated by the RF antenna may be less for a number of reasons. For receiving purposes the performance of the antenna is less critical in some respects. It can be operated outside its normal bandwidth without any fear of damage to the set. Even a random length of wire will pick up signals, and it may be possible to receive several distant stations. However for the best reception it is necessary to ensure that the performance of the RF antenna design is optimum.
Impedance bandwidth
One major feature of an RF antenna that does change with frequency is its impedance. This in turn can cause the amount of reflected power to increase. If the antenna is used for transmitting it may be that beyond a given level of reflected power damage may be caused to either the transmitter or the feeder, and this is quite likely to be a factor which limits the operating bandwidth of an antenna. Today most transmitters have some form of SWR protection circuit that prevents damage by reducing the output power to an acceptable level as the levels of reflected power increase. This in turn means that the efficiency of the station is reduced outside a given bandwidth. As far as receiving is concerned the impedance changes of the antenna are not as critical as they will mean that the signal transfer from the antenna itself to the feeder is reduced and in turn the efficiency will fall. For amateur operation the frequencies below which a maximum SWR figure of 1.5:1 is produced is often taken as the acceptable bandwidth. In order to increase the bandwidth of an antenna there are a number of measures that can be taken. One is the use of thicker conductors. Another is the actual type of antenna used. For example a folded dipole which is described fully in Chapter 3 has a wider bandwidth than a non-folded one. In fact looking at a standard television antenna it is possible to see both of these features included.
Radiation pattern
Another feature of an antenna that changes with frequency is its radiation pattern. In the case of a beam it is particularly noticeable. In particular the front to back ratio will fall off rapidly outside a given bandwidth, and so will the gain. In an antenna such as a Yagi this is caused by a reduction in the currents in the parasitic elements as the frequency of operation is moved away from resonance. For beam antennas such as the Yagi the radiation pattern bandwidth is defined as the frequency range over which the gain of the main lobe is within 1 dB of its maximum. For many beam antennas, especially high gain ones it will be found that the impedance bandwidth is wider than the radiation pattern bandwidth, although the two parameters are inter-related in many respects.
Antenna designs are often categorised by the type of polar diagram they exhibit. For example an omni-directional antenna design is one which radiates equally (or approximately equally) in all directions in the plane of interest. An antenna design that radiates equally in all directions in all planes is called an isotropic antenna. As already mentioned it is not possible to produce one of
these in reality, but it is useful as a theoretical reference for some measurements. Other RF antennas exhibit highly directional patterns and these may be utilised in a number of applications. The Yagi antenna is an example of a directive antenna and possibly it is most widely used for television reception.
RF antenna beamwidth
There are a number of key features that can be seen from this polar diagram. The first is that there is a main beam or lobe and a number of minor lobes. It is often useful to define the beam-width of an RF antenna. This is taken to be angle between the two points where the power falls to half its maximum level, and as a result it is sometimes called the half power beam-width.
Antenna gain
An RF antenna radiates a given amount of power. This is the power dissipated in the radiation resistance of the RF antenna. An isotropic radiator will distribute this equally in all directions. For an antenna with a directional pattern, less power will be radiated in some directions and more in others. The fact that more power is radiated in given directions implies that it can be considered to have a gain. The gain can be defined as a ratio of the signal transmitted in the "maximum" direction to that of a standard or reference antenna. This may sometimes be called the "forward gain". The figure that is obtained is then normally expressed in decibels (dB). In theory the standard antenna could be almost anything but two types are generally used. The most common type is a simple dipole as it is easily available and it is the basis of many other types of antenna. In this case the gain is often expressed as dBd i.e. gain expressed in decibels over a dipole. However a dipole does not radiated equally in all directions in all planes and so an isotropic source is sometimes used. In this case the gain may be specified in dBi i.e. gain in decibels over an isotropic source. The main drawback with using an isotropic source (antenna dBi) as a reference is that it is not possible to realise them in practice and so that figures using it can only be theoretical. However it is possible to relate the two gains as a dipole has a gain of 2.1 dB over an isotropic source i.e. 2.1 dBi. In other words, figures expressed as gain over an isotropic source will be 2.1 dB higher than those relative to a dipole. When choosing an antenna and looking at the gain specifications, be sure to check whether the gain is relative to a dipole or an isotropic source, i.e. the antenna dBi figure of the antenna dBd figure.
Apart from the forward gain of an antenna another parameter which is important is the front to back ratio. This is expressed in decibels and as the name implies it is the ratio of the maximum signal in the forward direction to the signal in the opposite direction. This figure is normally expressed in decibels. It is found that the design of an antenna can be adjusted to give either maximum forward gain of the optimum front to back ratio as the two do not normally coincide exactly. For most VHF and UHF operation the design is normally optimised for the optimum forward gain as this gives the maximum radiated signal in the required direction.
Antenna diplexer
An antenna diplexer or Rf diplexer is a unit that in one application can be used to enable more than one transmitter to operate on a single RF antenna. Sometimes these units may be called antenna duplexers. Typically an antenna diplexer would enable transmitters operating of different frequencies to use the same antenna. In another application, an antenna diplexer may be used to allow a single antenna to be used for transmissions on one band of frequencies and reception on another band. Antenna diplexers find many uses. In one common example an antenna diplexer or RF diplexer is used in a cellular base station to allow it to transmit and receive simultaneously. The antenna diplexer enables the same antenna system to be used while preventing the transmitted signal from reaching the receiver and blocking the input. In another application a diplexer may be used by a broadcast station transmitting on several different frequencies at the same time using the same antenna. The use of the diplexer enables a single antenna to be used, while preventing the output from one transmitter being fed back into the output of the other. Small antenna diplexers may be used in domestic environments to allow several signals to run along a single feeder. In one application this may allow a single feeder to be used for television and VHF FM radio reception, or to allow terrestrial television signals and this from a satellite low noise box (LNB) to pass down the same lead. These RF diplexers are normally relatively low cost as the specifications are not nearly as exacting as those used for professional RF diplexer installations.
frequency they use. The simplest way to implement a diplexer is to use a low pass and a high pass filter although band-pass filters may be used. In this way the diplexer routes all signals at frequencies below the cut-off frequency of the low pass filter to one port, and all signals above the cut-off frequency of the high pass filter to the other port. Also here is no path from between the two remote connections of the filters. All signals that can pass through the low pass filter in the diplexer will not be able to pass through the high pass filter and vice versa.
A further feature of an RF diplexer is than it enables the impedance seen by the receiver or transmitter to remain constant despite the load connected to the other port. If the filters were not present and the three ports wired in parallel, neither the antenna nor the two transmitter / receiver ports would see the correct impedance.
Summary
Although antenna diplexers are mainly used in specialised applications, allowing a single Rf antenna to be used by more than one transmitter or receiver, they are nevertheless a crucial element of many installations. For example cellular technology would be significantly different if they could not be used and the cellular RF antennas for base stations would be considerably more complicated. Similarly antenna diplexers are used in many broadcast applications allowing a single large RF antenna to be used by more than one transmitter.
Where D is the distance between the two conductors d is the outer diameter of the conductors Epsilon is the dielectric constant of the material between the two conductors
The most common type of antenna feeder used today is undoubtedly coaxial feeder or coax cable. Coax cable, often referred to as RF cable, offers advantages of convenience of use while being able to provide a good level of performance. In view of this vast amounts of coax cable, coax feeder are manufactured each year, and it is also available in a wide variety of forms for different applications.
an experimental coaxial cable was installed between New York and Philadelphia to relay television pictures. With the commercial use of RF coax cable establishing itself, many other used the cable for shorter runs. It quickly established itself, and now it is widely used for both commercial and domestic applications.
Centre conductor Insulating dielectric Outer conductor Outer protecting jacket or sheath
The overall construction of the coax cable or RF cable can be seen in the diagram below and from this it can be seen that it is built up from a number of concentric layers. Although there are many varieties of coax cable, the basic overall construction remains the same:
Centre conductor The centre conductor of the coax is almost universally made of copper. Sometimes it may be a single conductor whilst in other RF cables it may consist of several strands. Insulating dielectric Between the two conductors of the coax cable there is an insulating dielectric. This holds the two conductors apart and in an ideal world would not introduce any loss, although it is one of the chief causes of loss in reality. This coax cable dielectric may be solid or as in the case of many low loss cables it may be semi-airspaced because it
2.
is the dielectric that introduces most of the loss. This may be in the form of long "tubes" in the dielectric, or a "foam" construction where air forms a major part of the material.
3.
Outer conductor The outer conductor of the RF cable is normally made from a copper braid. This enables the coax cable to be flexible which would not be the case if the outer conductor was solid, although in some varieties made for particular applications it is. To improve the screening double or even triple screened coax cables are sometimes used. Normally this is accomplished by placing one braid directly over another although in some instances a copper foil or tape outer may be used. By using additional layers of screening, the levels of stray pick-up and radiation are considerably reduced. The loss is marginally lower. Outer protecting jacket or sheath Finally there is a final cover or outer sheath to the coax cable. This serves little electrical function, but can prevent earth loops forming. It also gives a vital protection needed to prevent dirt and moisture attacking the cable, and prevent the coax cable from being damaged by other mechanical means.
4.
Further reading
There are further articles and pages about coax cable on this site. Topics include the velocity factor, coax cable loss, coax cable power rating, and the environmental considerations for these RF cables. The menu can be seen at the bottom end of the left hand menu.
75 ohm coax cable is used almost exclusively for domestic TV and VHF FM applications. However for commercial, amateur and CB applications 50 ohms coax cable has been taken as the standard. The reason for the choice of these two standards is largely historical but arises from the fact that 75 ohm coax cable gives the minimum weight for a given loss, while 50 ohm coax cable gives the minimum loss for a given weight. These two standards are used for the vast majority of coax cable which is produced but it is still possible to obtain other impedances for specialist applications. Higher values are often used for computer installations, but other values including 25, 95 and 125 ohms are available. 25 ohm miniature RF cable is extensively used in magnetic core broadband transformers. These values and more are available through specialist coax cable suppliers.
Of all these forms of loss, the radiated loss is generally the least important as only a very small amount of power is generally radiated from the cable. Accordingly most of the focus on reducing loss is placed onto the conductive and dielectric losses.
Resistive loss: Resistive losses within the coax cable arise from the resistance of the conductors and the current flowing in the conductors results in heat being dissipated. The actual area through which the current flows in the conductor is limited by the skin effect, which becomes progressively more apparent as the frequency rises. To help overcome this multi-stranded conductors are often used.
To reduce the level of loss due in the coax cable, the conductive area must be increased and this results in low loss coax cables being made larger. However it is found that the resistive losses increase as the square root of the frequency. Dielectric loss: The dielectric loss represent another of the major losses arising in most coax cables. Again the power lost as dielectric loss is dissipated as heat. It is found that the dielectric loss is independent of the size of the RF cable, but it does increase linearly with frequency. This means that resistive losses normally dominate at lower frequencies. However as resistive losses increase as the square root of frequency, and dielectric losses increase linearly, the dielectric losses dominate at higher frequencies. Radiated loss: The radiated loss of a coax cable is normally much less than the resistive and dielectric losses. However some very cheap coax cables may have a very poor outer braid and in these cases it may represent a noticeable element of the loss. Power radiated, or picked up by a coax cable is more of a problem in terms of interference. Signal radiated by the coax cable may result in high signal levels being present where they
are not wanted. For example leakage from a coax cable carrying a feed from a high power transmitter may give rise to interference in sensitive receivers that may be located close to the coax cable. Alternatively a coax cable being used for receiving may pick up interference if it passes through an electrically noisy environment. It is normally for these reasons that additional measures are taken in ensuring the outer screen or conductor is effective. Double, or even triple screened coax cables are available to reduce the levels of leakage to very low levels.
cable becomes very important. If the incorrect type of coax cable is used, it can result in a failure of the cable, and possible damage to the transmitter. For most applications where the power is applied continuously, the limiting factor arises from the heat loss within the cable. If the power in the RF cable is to be pulsed, then it is necessary to check that the operating voltage is not exceeded.
The speed at which a signal travels within a coax cable is not the same as an electromagnetic wave travelling in free space. Instead it is affected by the dielectric that is used within the coax cable, and this has the effect of slowing the signal down. This can be of great importance in some applications, although for many purposes it does not need to be known.
Velocity factor
The speed at which the signal travels is normally given the designation Vp or Vg and this is the faction of the speed at which the signal travels when compared to a signal travelling in free space. Thus Vp for a signal travelling at the speed of light would be 1.0, and for one travelling at half the speed of light it would be 0.5. The velocity factor of the cable is found to the reciprocal of the square root of the dielectric constant:
Vp = 1 / SQRT (dielectric constant)
Dielectric materials
There is a variety of materials that can be successfully used as dielectrics in coax cables. Each has its own dielectric constant, and as a result, coax cables that use different dielectric materials will exhibit different velocity factors.
Material
Polyethylene
Dielectric constants and velocity factors of some common dielectric materials used in coax cables.
If resonant lengths of RF coax cable are to be used, then it is necessary to know the velocity factor of the coax cable. It is often possible to determine this to a sufficient degree of accuracy from a knowledge of the dielectric material.
1. Moisture entry through coax cable termination The most obvious method of humidity entering a coax cable is through the termination. One very good example is the small termination box provided with many TV antennas. When used externally these termination enclosures provide little protection against the elements and the coax will quickly deteriorate. Even when a connector is used to terminate the coax cable there will be problems if the coax is used externally. Very few connectors are weather proofed, and even if they are supposedly weatherproof, then it is wise to take additional precautions.
Normally the best method is to use self-amalgamating tape. This tape comes in the form of a roll and appears like thick PVC tape but it has a thin paper backing on one side to keep each layer separate and prevents it amalgamating with itself before use. It is used in a similar way to insulating tape. The backing strip is peeled off and then it is wrapped around whatever it is to be waterproofed - in this case a coax cable termination - overlapping each winding by about 50% of its width to ensure a good seal. When applying the tape keep it stretched so that it is applied under tension. Also it is best to start from the thinner end of the job, i.e. where the diameter of whatever it is being applied to is smallest. Where there is a connector on a cable, start on the cable and work towards the connector. Also when winding ensure that there are no holes of voids in which water could condense or enter. Keep the self-amalgamating tape in intimate contact with whatever it is to be waterproofed. 2. Moisture entry though pin holes in coax cable jacket Most coax cables have some small holes in their jacket along their length. It is therefore quite possible that moisture will enter through any imperfection in the coax cable jacket. If the pin holes are located externally where they can be affected by the weather then moisture will enter. Unfortunately it is very easy for small abrasions to occur during the installation of a cable and these can include small pin holes right through the jacket. Great care must therefore be taken when installing a cable, and in particular when the coax cable is passed trough a wall or other barrier. 3. Water vapour transmission through the coax cable jacket All materials exhibit a finite vapour transmission rate. Accordingly if a coax cable is constantly in contact with moisture, then this will permeate through the jacket. In view of this coax cable should never be buried directly in the ground. Either use some external protection such as a waterproof pipe, and ensure that no water enters it so that small patches of water form in it. Alternatively use the "bury direct" cables that are available. It is also found in airborne applications that the large temperature extremes encountered cause water condensation in the coax cables. This moisture can collect in low areas of the cable causing local areas of corrosion. One method of overcoming this is to fill any voids in the aircraft where coax cable are carried with non-hardening moisture-proof compound.
Coax cables are normally quite tolerant to being used in a variety of conditions. However to ensure the longest operational life it is best to ensure that they are not exposed to environmental conditions that would cause their performance to deteriorate. If they are then it is necessary to adopt a few precautions to ensure that the coax cable life is maintained for as long as possible.
Coax Type
Velocity factor
Comments
RG5/U RG6A/U RG9/U RG10A/U RG11A/U RG12A/U RG20A/U RG22 RG23 RG24 RG34 RG58C/U
0.66
RG59B/U RG62A/U RG63 RG79 RG108 RG111 RG114 RG119 RG120 RG122 RG213/U RG214/U RG223/U UR43 UR57 UR67 UR74 UR76 UR77 UR79 UR90
6.1 6.1 10.3 12.1 6.0 12.1 10.3 11.8 13.3 4.1 10.3 10.8 5.5 5 10.2 10.3 22.1 5 22.1 21.7 6.1
0.66 0.84
0.66 0.66 0.66 0.66 0.66 0.66 0.66 0.66 0.66 0.96 0.66
1.2 0.9 0.6 0.6 1.1 0.75 1.1 0.5 0.5 1.7 0.62 0.76 1.58 1.3 0.63 0.66 0.33 1.7 0.33 0.17 1.2
4.6 2.8 2.1 2.1 3.8 2.6 3.8 1.8 1.8 5.5 2.6 2.9 5.4 4.46 2.3 2.52 1.4 7.3 1.4 0.6 4.1
Data for attenuation figures are typical figures and measured in dB / 10 metres in mm
The RF cables described above are all flexible types. For microwave applications where very low loss is needed, semi rigid coaxial RF cable using a solid copper outer sheath may be used. This type of coax offers superior screening compared to RF cables with a braided outer conductor, especially at microwave frequencies. As the name implies, though, it is not particularly flexible and is not intended to be flexed after it has been formed to the required shape. This RF cable data has been presented as a guide and no liability can be taken for any errors or mistakes in the data. Naturally every care has been taken to ensure the data concerning these RF cables is correct.
important because many coax cable installations are external and need to withstand the rigours of the environment. While coax cable may perform perfectly well when first installed, factors such as the ingress of moisture may cause the performance to degrade over time. Accordingly this performance reduction may pass un-noticed until the performance has reduced to a point where it may not be usable. By adopting a few simple precautions, the performance of the RF coaxial cable installation can be preserved and a much slower rate of degradation seen.
Choosing the right coaxial cable Weatherproofing the coax General installation Terminations / connections for the RF cable
All cables have a bend radius. In order to prevent damage they should not be bent into curves tighter than this. If RF coax cable is bent beyond its limit then damage to the inner construction of the cable may result. In turn this can lead to much higher levels of loss. In a similar line, care should be taken to ensure that the cable is not crushed, or likely to be crushed. If the RF cable does suffer damage in this way, the dimensions of the cable will be changed and it will not maintain its characteristic impedance. Additionally if the dielectric between the two concentric conductors in the coax cable is damaged, then there is the likelihood of an increase in the level of loss. While on the subject of physical damage to the cable, it is necessary to ensure that the sheath of the cable remains intact. If it is broken in any place, then this may allow moisture to enter if it is used externally, and this will cause oxidation and moisture retention in the dielectric that will increase the level of loss. On some occasions it is necessary to bury coaxial cable. Ideally, normal cable should not be buried directly as this relies purely on the outer sheath for protection and it is not designed for these conditions. Instead it can be run through buried conduit manufactured for carrying buried cables. This has the advantage that it is easy to replace. However ensure that the conduit does not become water logged. Alternatively solution to using some form of conduit is to use a form of coax cable known as "bury direct". This is designed for being buried, and its outer sheath can withstand these conditions.
Antenna technologies
connected to a common source. In this way the DAS is able to provide wireless or radio coverage within a given area. The idea of a distributed antenna system is being adopted increasingly as it enables a number of advantages to be gained. However this is at the cost of a larger more complicated system. Nevertheless, distributed antenna systems are being used in a variety of areas to enable the right coverage to be gained for several applications. Although the concept of distributed antenna systems has been known about for many years, it is with the increased deployment of wireless systems within buildings and other difficult coverage areas that the idea of distributed antenna systems has come to the fore.
Better defined coverage Fewer coverage holes Same coverage using a lower overall power Lowers health risk as a result of using lower overall power levels Individual antennas do not need to be as high as a single antenna for the equivalent coverage Higher cost as a result of additional infrastructure required Possible greater visual impact in some applications as a result of greater number of antennas, although they are likely to be much lower in height.
MIMO antenna beamforming Multi-User MIMO, MU-MIMO Multiple-input multiple-output, or MIMO, is a radio communications technology or RF technology that is being mentioned and used in many new technologies these days. Wi-Fi, LTE (3G long term evolution) and many other radio, wireless and RF technologies are using the new MIMO wireless technology to provide increased link capacity and spectral efficiency combined with improved link reliability using what were previously seen as interference paths. Even now many there are many MIMO wireless routers on the market, and as this RF technology is becoming more widespread, more MIMO routers and other items of wireless MIMO equipment will be seen.
Time diversity: Using time diversity, a message may be transmitted at different times, e.g. using different timeslots and channel coding. Frequency diversity: This form of diversity uses different frequencies. It may be in the form of using different channels, or technologies such as spread spectrum / OFDM. Space diversity : Space diversity used in the broadest sense of the definition is used as the basis for MIMO. It uses antennas located in different positions to take advantage of the different radio paths that exist in a typical terrestrial environment.
MIMO is effectively a radio antenna technology as it uses multiple antennas at the transmitter and receiver to enable a variety of signal paths to carry the data, choosing separate paths for each antenna to enable multiple signal paths to be used.
General Outline of MIMO system One of the core ideas behind MIMO wireless systems space-time signal processing in which time (the natural dimension of digital communication data) is complemented with the spatial dimension inherent in the use of multiple spatially distributed antennas, i.e. the use of multiple antennas located at different points. Accordingly MIMO wireless systems can be viewed as a logical extension to the smart antennas that have been used for many years to improve wireless. It is found between a transmitter and a receiver, the signal can take many paths. Additionally by moving the antennas even a small distance the paths used will change. The variety of paths available occurs as a result of the number of objects that appear to the side or even in the direct path between the transmitter and receiver. Previously these multiple paths only served to introduce interference. By using MIMO, these additional paths can be used to advantage. They can be used to provide additional robustness to the radio link by improving the signal to noise ratio, or by increasing the link data capacity. The two main formats for MIMO are given below: Spatial diversity: Spatial diversity used in this narrower sense often refers to transmit and receive diversity. These two methodologies are used to provide improvements in the signal to noise ratio and they are characterised by improving the reliability of the system with respect to the various forms of fading. Spatial multiplexing : This form of MIMO is used to provide additional data capacity by utilising the different paths to carry additional traffic, i.e. increasing the data throughput capability.
As a result of the use multiple antennas, MIMO wireless technology is able to considerably increase the capacity of a given channel while still obeying Shannon's law. By increasing the number of receive and transmit antennas it is possible to linearly increase the throughput of the
channel with every pair of antennas added to the system. This makes MIMO wireless technology one of the most important wireless techniques to be employed in recent years. As spectral bandwidth is becoming an ever more valuable commodity for radio communications systems, techniques are needed to use the available bandwidth more effectively. MIMO wireless technology is one of these techniques.
SISO - Single Input Single Output SIMO - Single Input Multiple output MISO - Multiple Input Single Output MIMO - Multiple Input multiple Output
The term MU-MIMO is also used for a multiple user version of MIMO as described below.
MIMO - SISO
The simplest form of radio link can be defined in MIMO terms as SISO - Single Input Single Output. This is effectively a standard radio channel - this transmitter operates with one antenna as does the receiver. There is no diversity and no additional processing required.
SISO - Single Input Single Output The advantage of a SIS system is its simplicity. SISO requires no processing in terms of the various forms of diversity that may be used. However the SISO channel is limited in its performance. Interference and fading will impact the system more than a MIMO system using some form of diversity, and the channel bandwidth is limited by Shannon's law - the throughput being dependent upon the channel bandwidth and the signal to noise ratio.
MIMO - SIMO
The SIMO or Single Input Multiple Output version of MIMO occurs where the transmitter has a single antenna and the receiver has multiple antennas. This is also known as receive diversity. It is often used to enable a receiver system that receives signals from a number of independent sources to combat the effects of fading. It has been used for many years with short wave listening / receiving stations to combat the effects of ionospheric fading and interference.
SIMO - Single Input Multiple Output SIMO has the advantage that it is relatively easy to implement although it does have some disadvantages in that the processing is required in the receiver. The use of SIMO may be quite acceptable in many applications, but where the receiver is located in a mobile device such as a cellphone handset, the levels of processing may be limited by size, cost and battery drain. There are two forms of SIMO that can be used: Switched diversity SIMO: This form of SIMO looks for the strongest signal and switches to that antenna. Maximum ratio combining SIMO: This form of SIMO takes both signals and sums them to give the a combination. In this way, the signals from both antennas contribute to the overall signal.
MIMO - MISO
MISO is also termed transmit diversity. In this case, the same data is transmitted redundantly from the two transmitter antennas. The receiver is then able to receive the optimum signal which it can then use to receive extract the required data.
MISO - Multiple Input Single Output The advantage of using MISO is that the multiple antennas and the redundancy coding / processing is moved from the receiver to the transmitter. In instances such as cellphone UEs, this can be a significant advantage in terms of space for the antennas and reducing the level of processing required in the receiver for the redundancy coding. This has a positive impact on size, cost and battery life as the lower level of processing requires less battery consumption.
MIMO
Where there are more than one antenna at either end of the radio link, this is termed MIMO Multiple Input Multiple Output. MIMO can be used to provide improvements in both channel robustness as well as channel throughput.
MIMO - Multiple Input Multiple Output In order to be able to benefit from MIMO fully it is necessary to be able to utilise coding on the channels to separate the data from the different paths. This requires processing, but provides additional channel robustness / data throughput capacity. There are many formats of MIMO that can be used from SISO, through SIMO and MISO to the full MIMO systems. These are all able to provide significant improvements of performance, but generally at the cost of additional processing and the number of antennas used. Balances of performance against costs, size, processing available and the resulting battery life need to be made when choosing he correct option.
Where C is the channel capacity in bits per second, W is the bandwidth in Hertz, and S/N is the SNR (Signal to Noise Ratio). From this it can be seen that there is an ultimate limit on the capacity of a channel with a given bandwidth. However before this point is reached, the capacity is also limited by the signal to noise ratio of the received signal. In view of these limits many decisions need to be made about the way in which a transmission is made. The modulation scheme can play a major part in this. The channel capacity can be increased by using higher order modulation schemes, but these require a better signal to noise ratio than the lower order modulation schemes. Thus a balance exists between the data rate and the allowable error rate, signal to noise ratio and power that can be transmitted. While some improvements can be made in terms of optimising the modulation scheme and improving the signal to noise ratio, these improvements are not always easy or cheap and they are invariably a compromise, balancing the various factors involved. It is therefore necessary to look at other ways of improving the data throughput for individual channels. MIMO is one way in which wireless communications can be improved and as a result it is receiving a considerable degree of interest.
Where r1 = signal received at antenna 1, r2 is the signal received at antenna 2 and so forth. In matrix format this can be represented as:
[R] = [H] x [T]
To recover the transmitted data-stream at the receiver it is necessary to perform a considerable amount of signal processing. First the MIMO system decoder must estimate the individual channel transfer characteristic hij to determine the channel transfer matrix. Once all of this has been estimated, then the matrix [H] has been produced and the transmitted data streams can be reconstructed by multiplying the received vector with the inverse of the transfer matrix.
[T] = [H]-1 x [R]
This process can be likened to the solving of a set of N linear simultaneous equations to reveal the values of N variables. In reality the situation is a little more difficult than this as propagation is never quite this straightforward, and in addition to this each variable consists of an ongoing data stream, this nevertheless demonstrates the basic principle behind MIMO wireless systems.
When using space-time block coding, the data stream is encoded in blocks prior to transmission. These data blocks are then distributed among the multiple antennas (which are spaced apart to decorrelate the transmission paths) and the data is also spaced across time. A space time block code is usually represented by a matrix. Each row represents a time slot and each column represents one antenna's transmissions over time.
Within this matrix, Sij is the modulated symbol to be transmitted in time slot i from antenna j. There are to be T time slots and nT transmit antennas as well as nR receive antennas. This block is usually considered to be of 'length' T.
MIMO beamforming using phased array systems requires the overall system to determine the direction of arrival of the incoming signal and then switch in the most appropriate beam. This is something of a compromise because the fixed beam is unlikely to exactly match the required direction. Adaptive array systems are able to direct the beam in the exact direction needed, and also move the beam in real time - this is a particular advantage for moving systems - a factor that often happens with mobile telecommunications. However the cost is the considerable extra complexity required.
MU-MIMO exploits the maximum system capacity by scheduling multiple users to be able to simultaneously access the same channel using the spatial degrees of freedom offered by MIMO. To enable MU-MIMO to be used there are several approaches that can be adopted, and a number of applications / versions that are available.
MU-MIMO basics
MU-MIMO provides a methodology whereby spatial sharing of channels can be achieved. This can be achieved at the cost of additional hardware - filters and antennas - but the incorporation does not come at the expense of additional bandwidth as is the case when technologies such as FDMA, TDMA or CDMA are used. When using spatial multiplexing, MU-MIMO, the interference between the different users on the same channel is accommodated by the use of additional antennas, and additional processing when enable the spatial separation of the different users. There are two scenarios associated with MU-MIMO, Multi-user MIMO: Uplink - Multiple Access Channel, MAC: The development of the MIMO-MAC is based on the known single user MIMO concepts broadened out to account for multiple users. Downlink - Broadcast Channel, BC : The MIMO-BC is the more challenging scenario. The optimum strategy involves pre-interference cancellation techniques known as "Dirty Paper Coding", DPC - see below. This is complemented by implicit user scheduling and a power loading algorithm
The advantages of using multi-user MIMO, MU-MIMO come at a cost of additional hardware antennas and processing - and also obtaining the channel state information which requires the use of the available bandwidth.
MIMO-MAC
This form of MU-MIMO is used for a multiple access channel - hence MIMO and it is used in uplink scenarios. For the MIMO-MAC the receiver performs much of the processing - here the receiver needs to know the channel state and uses Channel Sate Information at the Receiver, CSIR. Determining CSIR is generally easier than determining CSIT, but it requires significant levels of uplink capacity to transmit the dedicated pilots from each user. However MIMO MAC systems outperform pointto-point MIMO particularly if the number of receiver antennas is greater than the number of transmit antennas at each user.
MIMO-BC
This form of MU-MIMO is used for the MIMO broadcast channels, i.e. the downlink. Of the two channels, BC and MAC, it is the broadcast channel that is the more challenging within MUMIMO. Transmit processing is required for this and it is typically in the form of pre-coding and SDMA, Space Division Multiple Access based downlink user scheduling. For this the transmitter has to know the Channel State Information at the Transmitter, CSIT. This enables significant throughput improvements over that of ordinary point to point MIMO systems, especially when the number of transmit antennas exceeds that of the antennas at each receiver.
- an overview, summary, or tutorial about the basics of smart antennas or the adaptive antenna array and smart antenna technology used with SDR, cognitive radio, MIMO, and other new technologies.
Smart antennas and smart antenna technology using an adaptive antenna array are being introduced increasingly with the development of other technologies including the software defined radio, cognitive radio, MIMO and many others. Smart antenna technology or adaptive antenna array technology enables the performance of the antenna to be altered to provide the performance that may be required to undertake performance under specific or changing conditions. The smart antennas include signal processing capability that can perform tasks such as analysis of the direction of arrival of a signal and then the smart antenna can adapt the antenna itself using beam-forming techniques to achieve better reception, or transmission. In addition to this, the overall antenna will use some form of adaptive antenna array scheme to enable the antenna to perform is beam formation and signal direction detection.
Both types of antenna are able to provide the directivity, although decisions need to be made against cost, complexity and the performance requirements regarding which type should be used.
Summary
With many applications including MIMO, Software Defined Radio - SDR, and Cognitive Radio CR requiring antenna systems to be more adaptive and provide greater levels of adaptivity, Smart antenna technology or adaptive antenna technology will become more widely used.
Dipole antenna
- overview, summary, tutorial about the basics of the dipole antenna or dipole aerial that is widely used on its own and as the basis for other RF antenna designs.
Dipole antenna tutorial includes: Dipole antenna Dipole length calculation Dipole feed impedance Folded dipole antenna
The dipole antenna or dipole aerial is one of the most important and commonly used types of RF antenna. It is widely used on its own, and it is also incorporated into many other RF antenna designs where it forms the radiating or driven element for the antenna. The dipole is a simple antenna to construct and use, and many of the calculations are quite straightforward. However like all other antennas, the in-depth calculations are considerably more complicated.
The current distribution along a dipole is roughly sinusoidal. It falls to zero at the end and is at a maximum in the middle. Conversely the voltage is low at the middle and rises to a maximum at the ends. It is generally fed at the centre, at the point where the current is at a maximum and the voltage a minimum. This provides a low impedance feed point which is convenient to handle. High voltage feed points are far less convenient and more difficult to use. When multiple half wavelength dipoles are used, they are similarly normally fed in the centre. Here again the voltage is at a minimum and the current at a maximum. Theoretically any of the current maximum nodes could be used.
If the length of the dipole antenna is changed then the radiation pattern is altered. As the length of the antenna is extended it can be seen that the familiar figure of eight pattern changes to give main lobes and a few side lobes. The main lobes move progressively towards the axis of the antenna as the length increases. The dipole antenna is a particularly important form of RF antenna which is very widely used for radio transmitting and receiving applications. The dipole is often used on its own as an RF antenna, but it also forms the essential element in many other types of RF antenna. As such it is the possibly the most important form of RF antenna.
Using these formulae it is possible to calculate the length of a half wave dipole. Even though calculated lengths are normally quite repeatable it is always best to make any prototype antenna slightly longer than the calculations might indicate. This needs to be done because changes in the thickness of wire being used etc may alter the length slightly and it is better to make it slightly too long than too short so that it can be trimmed so that it resonates on the right frequency. It is best to trim the antenna length in small steps because the wire or tube cannot be replaced very easily once it has been removed. Computer simulation programmes are normally able to calculate the length of a dipole very accurately, provided that all the variables and elements that affect the operation of the dipole can be entered accurately so that the simulation is realistic and therefore accurate. The major problem is normally being able to enter the real-life environmental data accurately to enable a realistic simulation to be undertaken.
The feed impedance of a dipole antenna is of particular importance. To ensure the optimum transfer of energy from the feeder, or source / load, the feed impedance of the dipole should be the same as that of the source or load. By matching the feed impedance of the dipole to the source or load, the antenna is able to operate to its maximum efficiency.
Three half wavelength wave dipole antenna showing feed point points /4 from either end could also be used The vast majority of dipole antennas are half wavelengths long. Therefore they are centre fed - the point of the voltage minimum and current maximum.
The basic half wave dipole antenna with centre feed point The dipole feed impedance is made up from two constituents:
Loss resistance: The loss resistance results from the resistive or Ohmic losses within the radiating element, i.e. the dipole. In many cases the dipole loss resistance is ignored as it may be low. To ensure that it is low, sufficiently thick cable or piping should be used, and the metal should have a low resistance. Skin effects may also need to be considered.
Radiation resistance: The radiation resistance is the element of the dipole antenna impedance that results from the power being "dissipated" as an electromagnetic wave. The aim of any antenna is to "dissipate" as much power in this way as possible.
As with any RF antenna, the feed impedance of a dipole antenna is dependent upon a variety of factors including the length, the feed position, the environment and the like. A half wave centre fed dipole antenna in free space has an impedance 73.13 ohms making it ideal to feed with 75 ohm feeder.
Simple half-wave folded dipole antenna One of the main reasons for using the folded dipole is the increase in feed impedance that it provides. If the conductors in the main dipole and the second or "fold" conductor are the same diameter, then it is found that there is a fourfold increase in the feed impedance. In free space, this gives an increase in feed impedance from 73 to around 300 ohms. Additionally the RF antenna has a wider bandwidth.
It is possible to implement different impedance ratios to the standard 4:1 that are normally implement using a folded dipole. Simply by varying the effective diameter of the two conductors: top and bottom, different ratios can be obtained.
Folded dipole with unequal conductor diameters In order to determine the impedance step up ratio provided by the folded dipole, the following formula can be used:
Where: d1 is the conductor diameter for the feed arm of the dipole d2 is the conductor diameter for the non-fed arm of the dipole S is the distance between the conductors r is the step up ratio When determining the length of a folded dipole using thick conductors, it should be remembered that there is a shortening effect associated with their use as opposed to normal wire or thin conductors.
Discone antenna
- overview, summary, tutorial about the basics of what is a discone antenna for wide band or bandwidth omnidirectional applications.
The discone antenna is widely used where an omnidirectional wide band or bandwidth RF antenna design is needed. It finds many uses, particularly for all type of radio scanning and monitoring applications from the commercial or military monitoring services to the home scanner enthusiast for frequencies above 30 MHz.
Discone overview
The discone antenna receives its name from its distinctive shape. The RF antenna design consists of a top "disc" formulated from a number of elements arranged in a disc at the top, and further elements pointing downwards in the shape of a cone. Although the RF antenna could be made as a full disc and a cone, this would considerably increases its weight and wind loading, which would not be advisable from mechanical considerations. This type of RF antenna design can operate over frequency ranges of up to 10:1 dependent upon the particular design, and it also offers a relatively low angle of radiation (and reception). This makes it ideal for VHF / UHF applications as its greatest sensitivity is parallel or almost parallel to the Earth. However towards the top of its frequency range it is found that the angle of radiation increases slightly. Although it is widely used for receiving applications, the discone antenna is less commonly used for transmitting. There are several reasons for this. Although it offers a wide bandwidth, it is not optimised for a particular band of frequencies and is less efficient than many other types of RF antenna design. Additionally the wideband with of the RF antenna means that spurious signals can be radiated more easily and the level of reflected power will vary over the operating range and may rise above acceptable limits in some areas.
Operation
The way in which the discone operates is relatively complicated, but it can be envisaged in a simplified manner. The disc and cone elements sufficiently simulate an electrically complete disc and cone from which the energy is radiated. As a result the greater the number of elements, the
better the simulation, although in reality there is a balance between performance, cost and wind resistance. Often around six elements are used, but the number is not critical. In operation energy from the feeder meets the RF antenna and spreads over the surface of the cone from the apex towards the base until the vertical distance between the point on the cone and the disc is a quarter wavelength. In this way it is possible for the energy to be radiated or received efficiently. The RF antenna radiates and receives energy that is vertically polarised, and the radiation pattern is omnidirectional in the horizontal plane. The antenna radiates most of the energy at a low angle which it maintains over the most of the operating range. Typically there is little change over a range of 5:1 and above this a slight increase in the angle. With the feed point at the top of the RF antenna the current maximum point is also at the top. It is also found that below the minimum frequency the antenna presents a very bad mismatch to the feeder. However once the frequency rises above this point then a reasonable match to 50 ohm coax is maintained over virtually the whole of the band.
The ferrite rod antenna is a form of RF antenna design that is almost universally used in portable transistor broadcast receivers as well as many hi-fi tuners where reception on the long, medium and possibly the short wave bands is required. Ferrite rod antennas are also being used increasingly in wireless applications in areas such as RFID. Here the volumes of antennas required can be huge. The antennas also need to be compact and effective, making ferrite rod antennas an ideal solution.
The ferrite rod antenna operates using the high permeability of the ferrite material and in its basic form this may be thought of as "concentrating" the magnetic component of the radio waves. This is brought about by the high permeability of the ferrite. The fact that this RF antenna uses the magnetic component of the radio signals in this way means that the antenna is directive. It operates best only when the magnetic lines of force fall in line with the antenna. This occurs when it is at right angles to the direction of the transmitter. This means that the antenna has a null position where the signal level is at a minimum when the antenna is in line with the direction of the transmitter.
very low. As they are very much more compact than other forms of low or medium frequency RF antenna, this can be an advantage, and as a result they are being used in applications such as RFID.
The Qs of the overall antenna may appear very high, and in fact the ferrite in a rod form has a much higher Q than the basic material as a result of the fact that the rod forms an open magnetic circuit.
loop antenna. In view of its size, the loop is much less than a wavelength in length and without the ferrite it would have a very low radiation resistance. Accordingly the losses due to the resistance of the wire would be exceedingly high. Placing the ferrite core in the coil has the effect of raising the radiation resistance by a factor of ^2, and thereby bring the value into more acceptable limits. While the introduction of the ferrite rod raises the radiation resistance of the antenna, and hence reduce the losses due to the resistance of the wire, it does introduce other losses. The ferrite itself absorbs power. This arises from the energy required to change the magnetic alignment of the magnetic domains inside the granular structure of the ferrite. The higher the frequency, the greater the number of changes and hence the higher the loss.
Summary
The ferrite rod antenna is a particularly useful form of RF antenna design despite its limitations and drawbacks in terms of efficiency, top frequency and the need for tuning. Nevertheless ferrite rod antennas are widely used, being used almost universally as the RF antenna in portable radios for long and medium waveband reception as well as being used in a number of RFID applications.
Development
The most straightforward vertical antenna is the quarter wavelength version. However it is found that by extending the length of the vertical element, the amount of power radiated at a low angle is increased. If a half wave dipole is extended in length the radiation at right angles to the antenna starts to increase before finally splitting into several lobes. The maximum level of radiation at right angles to the antenna is achieved when the dipole is about 1.2 times the wavelength.
RF antenna gain
When used as a vertical radiator against a ground plane this translates to a length of 5/8 wavelength. It is found that a five eighths vertical has a gain of close to 4 dBd. To achieve this gain the antenna must be constructed of the right materials so that losses are reduced to the absolute
minimum and the overall performance is maintained, otherwise much of the advantage of using the additional length will be lost.
Mechanical considerations
Five eighths wavelength vertical antennas are often used on automobiles. Accordingly one of the main constraints is to ensure that the coil at the base of the antenna is be kept rigid and does not bend as the antenna flexes with the movement of the car. If there is too much flexing then the match to the feeder will change and the operation will be impaired.
Horn antenna
- an overview of the basics of the horn antenna used in RF microwave applications.
The horn antenna is used in the transmission and reception of RF microwave signals, and the antenna is normally used in conjunction with waveguide feeds. The horn antenna gains its name from its appearance. The waveguide can be considered to open out or to be flared, launching the signal towards the receiving antenna. Horn antennas are often used as gain standards, and as feeds for parabolic or 'dish' antennas, as well as being used as RF antennas in their own right. One particular use of horn antennas themselves is for short range radar systems, such as those used for automotive speed enforcement. When used as part of a parabolic reflector, the horn is orientated towards the reflector surface, and is able to give a reasonably even illumination of the surface without allowing radiation to miss the reflector. In this way it is able to maximise the efficiency of the overall antenna. The use of the horn antenna also minimizes the spurious responses of the parabolic reflector antenna to signals that are not in the main lobe.
Summary
The horn antenna is a particularly useful form of antenna for use with RF microwave applications and waveguide feeder. Although it is not used below RF microwave frequencies because waveguides are not used at low frequencies as a result of the sizes needed, the horn antenna is nevertheless a very useful form of RF antenna design for use at high frequencies.
J Pole Antenna
- the J pole antenna is a vertical RF antenna that does not require radials
The J antenna or J pole antenna has found favour in many applications. The J antenna has a number of advantages over the standard vertical RF antennas such as the quarter wavelength vertical antenna and the five eights wavelength antenna. Unlike the other vertical RF antennas just mentioned, the J pole antenna does not require radials for its operation. In applications where radials may appear unsightly or where they may not be suitable for other reasons, the J pole antenna provides a useful alternative. Additionally its length means that the J pole antenna also provides some gain over a normal quarter wavelength vertical. These two attributes make the j pole antenna the ideal type for many applications. As a result the J Pole antenna is finding many applications, many of which are at
VHF and above. Here it forms a compact self contained RF antenna that can fit in many locations and can give a high level of performance without a large visual impact. Although the fact that the J antenna does not have any radials may make it appear that it will not work, it is a well established RF antenna design. It is a form of RF antenna design known as a Zepp or Zeppelin antenna that found favour in the 1930s as an HF antenna. This antenna gained its name from the fact that it was used on the Zeppelin airships. The Rf antenna design consists of a half wave radiating element which is end fed using a quarter wave stub of open wire or 300 Ohm balanced feeder used to match the impedance to the normal 50 Ohm coaxial feeder.
The diagram shows the development of the J pole antenna and its operation. This shows the RF antenna radiating element which is a half wavelength. Being end fed this presents a high impedance to the feeder and this is matched using a half wave matching stub. In the first form of the antenna, the radiating element is fed from the source, with the other leg of the stub providing a passive balance. It can also be seen that it is possible to feed the antenna using the other arm of the stub.
The final implementation of the J pole antenna uses the stub to provide a good match to 50 Ohm cable. The feed point is moved up or down the stub to provide the best match, and adjustment can be made once the antenna is in position if required. In this way any spurious changes resulting from the position, etc can be removed.
Construction
The J pole antenna is quite easy to construct and gives good results. The main disadvantage is that it can be a little more difficult to adjust than some other forms. The reason for this is that impedance matching has to be accomplished by altering the trimming length of the stub. The length of the half wave radiating stub for the j pole antenna can be determined using the same formula as used in calculating the length of a half wave dipole. The physical length of the balanced feeder will depend on the velocity factor of the feeder in use. For open wire feeder the velocity factor is nearly unity and the length will be very close to that of the free space quarter wavelength. If 300 twin feeder is used then the length required will be shorter because its velocity factor is about 0.85.
Summary
The J pole antenna is a very useful form of RF antenna design. It can be used in many applications and can be particualrly useful where an RF antenna desihgn is needed without radials. Also providing some gain, it provides an efficient radiator for the available space. Against this it can be detuned by nearby objects.
- overview, summary, tutorial about the log periodic antenna or aerial used for wideband RF antenna applications.
Log periodic antenna tutorial includes: Log periodic array basics Log periodic theory Feeder arrangements One of the major drawbacks with many RF antennas is that they have a relatively small bandwidth. This is particularly true of the Yagi beam antenna. One design named the log periodic antenna is able to provide directivity and gain while being able to operate over a wide bandwidth. In particular the log periodic dipole array is the most widely used version of this antenna family. The log periodic antenna is used in a number of applications where a wide bandwidth is required along with directivity and a modest level of gain. It is sometimes used on the HF portion of the spectrum where operation is required on a number of frequencies to enable communication to be maintained. It is also used at VHF and UHF for a variety of applications, including some uses as a television antenna.
Zig zag log periodic array Trapezoidal log periodic Slot log periodic V log periodic Log periodic dipole array, LPDA
The type that is most widely used is the log periodic dipole array, LPDA, and that will be described here.
The most common is the log periodic dipole array basically consists of a number of dipole elements. These diminish in size from the back towards the front. The main beam of this RF antenna coming from the smaller front. The element at the back of the array where the elements are the largest is a half wavelength at the lowest frequency of operation. The element spacing also decrease towards the front of the array where the smallest elements are located. In operation, as the frequency changes there is a smooth transition along the array of the elements that form the active region. To ensure that the phasing of the different elements is correct, the feed phase is reversed from one element to the next.
Basic log periodic dipole array Then as the signal progresses down the antenna a point is reached where the feeder reversal and the distance between the elements gives a total phase shift of about 360 degrees. At this point the effect which is seen is that of two phased dipoles. The region in which this occurs is called the active region of the RF antenna. Although the example of only two dipoles is given, in reality the active region can consist of more elements. The actual number depends upon the angle and a design constant. The elements outside the active region receive little direct power. Despite this it is found that the larger elements are resonant below the operational frequency and appear inductive. Those in front resonate above the operational frequency and are capacitive. These are exactly the same criteria that are found in the Yagi. Accordingly the element immediately behind the active region acts as a reflector and those in front act as directors. This means that the direction of maximum radiation is towards the feed point.
Feed arrangements
The log periodic dipole antenna presents a number of difficulties if it is to be fed properly. The feed impedance is dependent upon a number of factors. However it is possible to control this by altering the spacing, and hence the impedance for the feeder that connects each of the dipole elements together. Despite this the impedance varies with frequency, but this can be overcome to a large extent by making the longer elements out of a larger diameter rod. Even so the final feed impedance does not normally match to 50 ohms on its own. It is normal for a further form of impedance matching to be required. This may be in the form of a stub or even a transformer. The actual method employed will depend to a large degree on the application of the antenna and its frequency range.
Loop antenna
- an overview, summary, tutorial about the basics of the loop antenna, a form of RF antenna design that can be used in a varety of applications.
Loop antennas, or more correctly, closed loop antennas are widely used in many applications, often providing advantages over other types of RF antenna design. Loop antennas can be placed into two categories:
The terms refer to the size of the Rf antenna when compared to a wavelength of the frequency in use.
may have such a narrow bandwidth, on frequencies such as the medium waveband or even a little higher, that it may be insufficient to accommodate the carrier and its sidebands.
The RF antenna consists of a radiating system that is used to illuminate a reflector that is curved in the form of a paraboloid. This shape enables a very accurate beam to be obtained. In this way, the feed system forms the actual radiating section of the antenna, and the reflecting parabolic surface is purely passive. When looking at parabolic reflector antenna systems there are a number of parameters and terms that are of importance: Focus The focus or focal point of the parabolic reflector is the point at which any incoming signals are concentrated. When radiating from this point the signals will be reflected by the reflecting surface and travel in a parallel beam and to provide the required gain and beamwidth. Vertex This is the innermost point at the centre of the parabolic reflector. Focal length The focal length of a parabolic antenna is the distance from its focus to its vertex. Aperture The aperture of a parabolic reflector is what may be termed its "opening" or the area which it covers. For a circular reflector, this is described by its diameter. It can be likened to the aperture of an optical lens.
Antenna gain
The gain of the parabolic antennas is of paramount importance. Parabolic antennas or parabolic reflector antennas are often used solely for their gain and directivity. Accordingly the gains of the antennas need to be determined as part of the design. A full overview of the gain equations and calculations of the parabolic reflector antenna can be found via the "Related Articles" link on the left hand side of this page below the main menu.
Where f is the focal length D is the diameter of the reflector c is the depth of the reflector In addition to this the f/D ratio is important. As the f/D ratio is often specified along with the diameter, the focal length can be obtained very easily by multiplying its f/D ratio by the specified diameter D.
Feed systems
A parabolic antenna is designed around its feed system The design of the feed system is central to the design of the overall parabolic reflector antenna system. There are two basic forms of feed system that can be used for a parabolic reflector antenna:
1.
Focal point feed system: Using a focal point feed system the source of the radiation is placed at the focal point of the parabola and this is used to illuminate the reflector.
2.
Cassegrain reflector system: Here the radiation is fed through the centre of the reflector towards a hyperboloidal reflector which reflects the radiation back onto the paraboloidal reflector. In this way it is possible to control the radiation more accurately.
A full overview of the methods of feeding parabolic reflector antennas can be found via the "Related Articles" link on the left hand side of this page below the main menu. For most domestic systems a small reflector combined with a focal point feed are used, providing the simplest and most economical form of construction. This is the form that is most widely used for satellite television applications. These antennas may not always look exactly like the traditional full dish antenna. For mechanical and production reasons the feed is often offset from the centre
and a portion of the paraboloid used, again offset from the centre. This provides mechanical advantage. Nevertheless the principles are exactly the same.
Diameter for the parabolic reflector antenna reflecting surface Surface accuracy Quality of illumination of the reflecting surface Frequency or wavelength of the signal being received or transmitted
The parabolic antenna gain can easily be calculated from a knowledge of the diameter of the reflecting surface, the wavelength of the signal, and a knowledge or estimate of the efficiency of the antenna. The parabolic reflector antenna gain is calculated as the gain over an isotropic source, i.e. relative to a source that radiates equally in all directions. This is a theoretical source that is used as the benchmark against which most antennas are compared. The gain is quoted in this manner is denoted as dBi. The standard formula for the parabolic reflector antenna gain is: 10 log 10 k ( D) Gain G =
2
2 where G is the gain over an isotropic source in dB k is the efficiency factor which is generally around 50% to 60%, i.e. 0.5 to 0.6 D is the diameter of the parabolic reflector in metres &lambda lambda is the wavelength of the signal in metres From this it can be seen that very large gains can be achieved if sufficiently large reflectors are used. However when the antenna has a very large gain, the beamwidth is also very small and the antenna requires very careful control over its position. In professional systems electrical servo systems are used to provide very precise positioning.
The focal length f (distance of focal point from the center of the reflector) is calculated with the following equation:
D Focal length f = c
2
16
where: f is the focal length of the reflector D is reflector diameter in same units as wavelength c is depth of the reflector The radiation from the feed element induces a current flow in the conductive reflector surface which, in turn, re-radiates in the desired direction, perpendicular to the directrix plane of the paraboloid. The feed element can be any one of a multitude of antenna types. Whichever type is used, it must exhibit a directivity that efficiently illuminates the reflector and must have the correct polarization for the application -- the polarization of the feed determining the polarization of the entire antenna system. The simplest feed is a half-wave dipole which is commonly used at lower frequencies, sometimes in conjunction with a closely coupled parasitic reflector or "splash plate". At higher frequencies a horn-type becomes more feasible and efficient. To adapt the horn to a coaxial antenna cable, a length of waveguide is used to effect the transition. There are two dimensions for the parabolic antenna that are of particular importance. These are the focal length, f and the diameter, D. Typically one of the parameters used to specific parabolic antennas is the f / D ratio. As the f/D ratio is often specified along with the diameter, the focal length can be obtained very easily by multiplying its f/D ratio by the specified diameter D.
Diagram of a focal feed parabolic reflector or dish antenna with a Cassegrain feed
Vertical antennas are widely used at all frequencies from MF up to VHF and beyond. They exist in a variety of forms including the quarter wave vertical and ground plane antennas. They possess many advantages and are widely used for medium wave broadcasting as well as for mobile applications in areas including private mobile radio. The reason for this widespread use is the omni-directional radiation pattern that they give in the horizontal plane. This means that the antennas do not have to be re-orientated to keep the signals constant as the car moves it position. Single element vertical antennas posses an omni-directional radiation pattern (in the horizontal plane). This means that the antennas do not have to be re-orientated when used in mobile applications as the vehicle moves. This is obviously an essential requirement. A further advantage is that much of the radiation is at right angles to the antenna element, and as a result it travels close to the earth's surface where the receiving stations are located. Radiation directed upwards is wasted in many instances as VHF transmissions are normally not reflected by the ionosphere.,/p> For medium wave broadcast stations a particular advantage is that the radiation is vertically polarised. It is found that the vertically polarised transmissions propagate further via the ground wave that these transmissions use.
Basic element
Like the name suggests the antenna consists of a quarter wavelength vertical element. The antenna is what is termed "un-balanced" having one connection to the vertical element and using an earth connection or simulated earth connection to provide an image for the other connection. The voltage and current waveforms show that at the end the voltage rises to a maximum whereas the current falls to a minimum. Then at the base of the antenna at the feed point, the voltage is at a minimum and the current is at its maximum. This gives the antenna a low feed impedance. Typically this is around 20 ohms.
The ground is obviously an important part of the RF antenna. Many MF and HF installations use a ground connection for this. These ground systems need to be very effective fort he antenna to perform satisfactorily. They must obviously have a very low resistance, and often utilise large "mats" of radials extending out from the base of the antenna to ensure excellent RF performance. For VHF and UHF installations, height is obviously important and antennas need to be raised to ensure they are above the nearby obstructions. Also for mobile installations it is clearly not possible to use a true earth connection. In these cases a simulated earth is used. For mobile applications this consists of the body of the vehicle. The antenna mounting will normally enable a suitable connection to be made to the vehicle body, sometimes using a capacitive connection. However it is necessary to ensure that the vehicle body is metal, and not plastic in the vicinity of the antenna mounting. For fixed stations a set of radials simulating a ground plane is used. In theory the ground plane should extend out to infinity, but in practice a number of radials a quarter wavelength long is used. Typically for many VHF applications four radials is sufficient.
If the radials are bent downwards from the horizontal then the feed impedance will be raised. A 50 ohm match is achieved when the angle between the ground plane rods and the horizontal is 42 degrees. Another solution is to include an impedance matching element in the antenna. Normally this is in the form of a tapped coil that can be conveniently housed in the base of the antenna.
Folded element
In view of the low impedance presented to the feeder by the RF antenna, methods must be found of presenting a good match and some have already been outlined. Another is to use a folded element. In the same way that a folded dipole increases the feed impedance of the antenna, so a folded vertical element can be used. If the diameter of both sections is the same, then an increase by a ratio of 4:1 is achieved. This would bring the impedance to 80 ohms and will provide an acceptable match to 75 ohm feeder. By using a smaller diameter grounded element the feed impedance can be reduced so that a good match to 50 ohm coax can be achieved.
Summary
The quarter wave vertical antenna is widely used in view of its simplicity and convenience. To improve on its performance other types of vertical are available. It is also possilbe to use further verticals and feed them with different phases to provide gain to the overall antenna system.
The parasitic elements of the Yagi antenna operate by re-radiating their signals in a slightly different phase to that of the driven element. In this way the signal is reinforced in some directions and cancelled out in others. It is found that the amplitude and phase of the current that is induced in the parasitic elements is dependent upon their length and the spacing between them and the dipole or driven element. Using a parasitic element it is not possible to have complete control over both the amplitude and phase of the currents in all the elements. This means that it is not possible to obtain complete cancellation in one direction. Nevertheless it is still possible to obtain a high degree of reinforcement in one direction and have a high level of gain, and also have a high degree of cancellation in another to provide a good front to back ratio. To obtain the required phase shift an element can be made either inductive or capacitive. If the parasitic element is made inductive it is found that the induced currents are in such a phase that they reflect the power away from the parasitic element. This causes the RF antenna to radiate more power away from it. An element that does this is called a reflector. It can be made inductive by tuning it below resonance. This can be done by physically adding some inductance to the element in the form of a coil, or more commonly by making it longer than the resonant length. Generally it is made about 5% longer than the driven element. If the parasitic element is made capacitive it will be found that the induced currents are in such a phase that they direct the power radiated by the whole antenna in the direction of the parasitic element. An element which does this is called a director. It can be made capacitive tuning it above resonance. This can be done by physically adding some capacitance to the element in the form of a capacitor, or more commonly by making it about 5% shorter than the driven element. It is found that the addition of further directors increases the directivity of the antenna, increasing the gain and reducing the beamwidth. The addition of further reflectors makes no noticeable difference. The antenna exhibits a directional pattern consisting of a main forward lobe and a number of spurious side lobes. The main one of these is the reverse lobe caused by radiation in the direction of the reflector. The antenna can be optimised to either reduce this or produce the maximum level
of forward gain. Unfortunately the two do not coincide exactly and a compromise on the performance has to be made depending upon the application.
The Yagi antenna is a particularly useful form of RF antenna design. It is widely used in applications where an RF antenna design is required to provide gain and directivity. In this way the optimum transmission and reception conditions can be obtained.
Number of elements in the Yagi: One of the main factors affecting the Yagi gain, is the number of elements in the design. Typically a reflector is the first element added in any yagi design as this gives the most additional gain. Directors are then added. Element spacing: The spacing can have an impact on the Yagi gain, although not as much as the number of elements. Typically a wide-spaced beam, i.e. one with a wide spacing between the elements gives more gain than one that is more compact. The most critical element positions are the reflector and first director, as their spacing governs that of any other elements that may be added. Antenna length: When computing he optimal positions for the various elements it has been shown that in a multi-element Yagi array, the gain is generally proportional to the length of the array. There is certain amount of latitude in the element positions.
The gain of a Yagi antenna is governed mainly by the number of elements in the particular RF antenna. However the spacing between the elements also has an effect. As the overall performance of the RF antenna has so many inter-related variables, many early designs were not able to realise their full performance. Today computer programmes are used to optimise RF antenna designs before they are even manufactured and as a result the performance of antennas has been improved.
Number of elements 2 3 4 5 6 7
It should be noted that these figures are only very approximate. As an additional rule of thumb, once there are around four or five directors, each additional director adds around an extra 1dB of gain for directors up to about 15 or so directors. The figure falls with the increasing number of directors.
Yagi front to back ratio Front to back ratio = F / B The front to back ratio is important in circumstances where interference or coverage in the reverse direction needs to be minimised. Unfortunately the conditions within the antenna mean that optimisation has to be undertaken for either front to back ratio, or maximum forward gain. Conditions for both features do not coincide, but the front to back ratio can normally be maximised for a small degradation of the forward gain.
The solutions below are some of the main solutions used and applicable to many types of antenna. There also not the only ones: Balun: A balun is an impedance matching transformer and can be used to match a great variety of impedance ratios, provided the impedance is known when the balun is designed. Folded dipole: One method which can effectively be implemented to increase the feed impedance is to use a folder dipole. In its basic form it raises the impedance four fold, although by changing various parameters it is possible t raise the impedance by different factors. Delta match: This method of Yagi impedance matching involves "fanning out" the feed connection to the driven element. Gamma match: The gamma match solution to Yagi matching involves connecting the out of the coax braid to the centre of the driven element, and the centre via a capacitor to a point away from the centre, dependent upon the impedance increase required.
Balun for Yagi matching The balun is a very straightforward method of providing impedance matching. 4:1 baluns are widely available for applications including matching folded dipoles to 75 coax. Baluns like these are just RF transformers. They should have as wide a frequency range as possible, but like any wound components they have a limited bandwidth. However if designed for use with a specific Yagi antenna, this should not be a problem. One of the problems with a balun is the cost - they tend to be more costly than some other forms of Yagi impedance matching. They may also be power limited for a given size. Folded dipole The folded dipole is a standard approach to increasing the Yagi impedance. It is widely used on Yagi antennas including the television and broadcast FM antennas. The simple folded dipole provides an increase in impedance by a factor of four. Under free space conditions, the dipole
impedance on its own is raised from 75 for a standard dipole to 300 for the folded dipole.
The folded dipole is a from of dipole that has a higher impedance than the standard half wave dipole - in the standard version it has four times the impedance. However different ratios can be obtained by changing the mechanical attributes. Click for a Folded dipole tutorial Another advantage of using a folded dipole for Yagi impedance matching is that the folded dipole has a flatter impedance versus frequency characteristic than the simple dipole. This enables it and hence the Yagi to operate over a wider frequency range. While a standard folded dipole using the same thickness conductor for the top and bottom conductors within the folded dipole will give a fourfold increase in impedance, by varying the thickness of both, it is possible to change the impedance multiplication factor to considerably different values.
Delta match The delta match for of Yagi matching is one of the more straightforward solutions. It involves fanning out the ends of the balanced feeder to join the continuous radiating antenna driven element at a point to provide the required match.
Delta match for dipole - often used for Yagi impedance matching Both the side length and point of connection need to be adjusted to optimise the match. One of the drawbacks for using the Delta match for providing Yagi impedance matching is that it is unable to provide any removal of reactive impedance elements. As a result a stub may be used. Gamma match The gamma match is often used for providing Yagi impedance matching. It is relatively simple to implement.
Gamma match for dipole - often used for Yagi impedance matching As seen in the diagram, the outer of the coax feeder is connected to the centre of the driven element of the Yagi antenna where the voltage is zero. As a result of the fact that the voltage is zero, the driven element may also be connected directly to a metal boom at this point without any loss of performance. The inner conductor of the coax is then taken to a point further out on the driven element - it is taken to a tap point to provide the correct match. Any inductance is tuned out using the series capacitor. When adjusting the RF antenna design, both the variable capacitor and the point at which the arm contacts the driven element are adjusted. Once a value has been ascertained for the variable capacitor, its value can be measured and a fixed component inserted if required.