Antenna Characteristics:
Gain:
An antenna that radiates poorly has low “gain”. Antenna gain is a measure of how strongly the antenna radiates compared to a reference antenna, such as a dipole. A dipole is similar to a whip, but the groundplane is replaced with another quarter-wave wire. Overall performance is about the same. An antenna that is 6 dB less than a dipole is -6 dBd. This antenna would offer one half the range, or distance, of the dipole. Compact antennas are often less efficient than a dipole, and therefore, tend to have negative gain.
Radiation Pattern:
Radiation is maximum when broadside, or perpendicular to a wire, so a vertical whip is ideal for communication in any direction except straight up. The radiation “pattern”, perpendicular to the whip, can be described as omnidirectional. There is a ”null”, or signal minimum, at the end of the whip. With a less than ideal antenna, such as a bent or tilted whip, this null may move and partly disappear. It is important to know the radiation pattern of the antenna, in order to insure that a null is not present in the desired direction of communication.
Polarization:
It is important that other antennas in the same communication system be oriented in the same way, that is, have the same polarization. A horizontally polarized antenna will not usually communicate very effectively with a vertical whip. In the real environment, metal objects and the ground will cause reflections, and may cause both horizontal and vertical polarized signals to be present.
Impedance:
Another important consideration is how well a transmitter can transfer power into an antenna. If the antenna tuning circuit on a transmitter (or receiver) is designed for a 50 ohm load, the antenna should, of course, have an impedance near 50 ohms for best results. A whip over a flat groundplane has an impedance near 35 ohms, which is close enough. The impedance changes if the whip is mistuned or bent down, or if a hand or other object is placed close to it. The impedance becomes lower as the antenna is bent closer to ground. When the whip is tilted 45 degrees, the impedance is less than 20 ohms. When the whip is bent horizontal to one-tenth of a wavelength above ground, the impedance approaches 10 ohms. The resulting impedance mismatch, a 5:1 ratio (VSWR) will contribute an additional loss of 2.6 dB.
Gain:
An antenna that radiates poorly has low “gain”. Antenna gain is a measure of how strongly the antenna radiates compared to a reference antenna, such as a dipole. A dipole is similar to a whip, but the groundplane is replaced with another quarter-wave wire. Overall performance is about the same. An antenna that is 6 dB less than a dipole is -6 dBd. This antenna would offer one half the range, or distance, of the dipole. Compact antennas are often less efficient than a dipole, and therefore, tend to have negative gain.
Radiation Pattern:
Radiation is maximum when broadside, or perpendicular to a wire, so a vertical whip is ideal for communication in any direction except straight up. The radiation “pattern”, perpendicular to the whip, can be described as omnidirectional. There is a ”null”, or signal minimum, at the end of the whip. With a less than ideal antenna, such as a bent or tilted whip, this null may move and partly disappear. It is important to know the radiation pattern of the antenna, in order to insure that a null is not present in the desired direction of communication.
Polarization:
It is important that other antennas in the same communication system be oriented in the same way, that is, have the same polarization. A horizontally polarized antenna will not usually communicate very effectively with a vertical whip. In the real environment, metal objects and the ground will cause reflections, and may cause both horizontal and vertical polarized signals to be present.
Impedance:
Another important consideration is how well a transmitter can transfer power into an antenna. If the antenna tuning circuit on a transmitter (or receiver) is designed for a 50 ohm load, the antenna should, of course, have an impedance near 50 ohms for best results. A whip over a flat groundplane has an impedance near 35 ohms, which is close enough. The impedance changes if the whip is mistuned or bent down, or if a hand or other object is placed close to it. The impedance becomes lower as the antenna is bent closer to ground. When the whip is tilted 45 degrees, the impedance is less than 20 ohms. When the whip is bent horizontal to one-tenth of a wavelength above ground, the impedance approaches 10 ohms. The resulting impedance mismatch, a 5:1 ratio (VSWR) will contribute an additional loss of 2.6 dB.