Chapter 16: Antenna

TRUE/FALSE 1. Antennas are considered to be active devices. ANS: F 2. Any antenna can transmit a signal as well as receive one. ANS: T 3. A half-wave dipole is an isotropic radiator. ANS: F 4. The "gain" of an antenna is often given as its performance relative to a half-wave dipole. ANS: T 5. A half-wave dipole is sometimes called a "Hertz" antenna. ANS: T 6. A "Hertzian Dipole" is a theoretical concept and not a real antenna. ANS: T 7. A half-wave dipole is actually 5% longer than half a wavelength. ANS: F 8. A half-wave dipole radiates uniformly in all directions. ANS: F 9. The horizontal radiation pattern of a half-wave dipole is symmetrical front and back. ANS: T 10. Compared to a point-source radiator, a half-wave dipole has gain. ANS: T 11. A half-wave dipole does not have directivity. ANS: F 12. In general, the near-field radiation pattern of an antenna is not the same as its far-field radiation pattern. ANS: T

13. The front-to-back ratio of a dipole is 0 dB. ANS: T 14. Antenna gain given in dBd is gain relative to a half-wave dipole. ANS: T 15. The input impedance of an antenna at resonance is infinity. ANS: F 16. A center-fed dipole antenna is a balanced load. ANS: T 17. The input impedance of a center-fed dipole increases as the separation between the cable connections is increased. ANS: T 18. The polarization of a dipole antenna is always horizontal. ANS: F 19. A folded dipole has a wider bandwidth than a simple dipole. ANS: T 20. A folded dipole has a higher input impedance than a simple dipole. ANS: T 21. There is actually no such thing as a "monopole" antenna. ANS: F 22. Vertical antennas typically need a ground plane. ANS: T 23. The earth itself can be a ground plane. ANS: T 24. The sheet-metal body of a car can be a ground plane. ANS: T 25. A helical antenna cannot receive vertically polarized radio waves. ANS: F

26. A helical antenna cannot receive horizontally polarized radio waves. ANS: F 27. A typical helical antenna can receive either clockwise or counterclockwise circularly polarized waves, but not both. ANS: T 28. An antenna must be resonant at the frequency it is transmitting or receiving. ANS: F 29. A nonresonant antenna can cause a high SWR in the transmission line connected to it. ANS: T 30. Any antenna will transmit radio waves as long as an RF current is flowing in it. ANS: T 31. A "loading coil" is used to make an antenna appear longer to a signal than its physical length. ANS: T 32. Antennas cannot be made to appear shorter to a signal than their actual physical length. ANS: F 33. A phased array is a driven array. ANS: T 34. A Yagi array is a "parasitic" array. ANS: T 35. A Yagi array is unidirectional. ANS: T 36. A Log-Periodic Dipole array is a "parasitic" array. ANS: F 37. A Log-Periodic Dipole array is unidirectional. ANS: T 38. A Turnstile array is unidirectional. ANS: F

39. Stacked Yagis form a phased array. ANS: T 40. A parabolic "dish" can be a reflector. ANS: T 41. A flat piece of metal can be a reflector. ANS: T 42. A piece of sheet metal bent at a 90 angle can be a reflector. ANS: T 43. A piece of thin metal tubing can be a reflector. ANS: T 44. Only certain types of antennas, such as "horns", can be used with a parabolic reflector. ANS: F 45. An anechoic chamber requires highly reflective surfaces. ANS: F MULTIPLE CHOICE 1. The real part of an antenna's input impedance is due to: a. the radiated signal c. the SWR b. the reflected signal d. all of the above ANS: A 2. A half-wave dipole is sometimes called: a. a Marconi antenna b. a Hertz antenna ANS: B 3. The end-to-end length of a half-wave dipole antenna is actually: a. one wavelength c. slightly longer than a half-wavelength b. one half-wavelength d. slightly shorter than a half-wavelength ANS: D 4. The radiation of energy from an antenna can be seen in the: a. standing wave pattern around the antenna c. radiation resistance of the antenna b. SWR along the feed cable d. I2R loss of the antenna ANS: C c. a Yagi antenna d. none of the above

5. Measured on the ground, the field strength of a horizontally polarized half-wave dipole antenna is strongest: a. in one direction c. in all directions b. in two directions d. depends on the number of elements ANS: B 6. The ability of an antenna to radiate more energy in one direction than in other directions is called: a. directivity c. active antenna b. selectivity d. resonance ANS: A 7. The front-to-back ratio of a half-wave dipole antenna is: a. 0 dB c. 10 dB b. 3 dB d. infinite ANS: A 8. An antenna's beamwidth is measured: a. from +90 to 90 b. from front to back ANS: C 9. ERP stands for: a. Equivalent Radiation Pattern b. Effective Radiation Pattern ANS: D 10. "Ground Effects" refers to the effects on an antenna's radiation pattern caused by: a. radio signals reflecting off the ground b. buildings and other structures on the ground c. fading d. faulty connection of the feed cable ground ANS: A 11. A 1-MHz monopole antenna must be: a. mounted vertically b. mounted horizontally ANS: A 12. The typical antenna in an AM radio is a: a. dipole b. folded dipole ANS: C 13. The polarization of plane waves received from a satellite is changed by: a. gamma rays c. helical rotation b. Faraday Rotation d. the distance traveled ANS: B c. ferrite "loop-stick" d. none of the above c. at least one half-wavelength long d. at least one wavelength long c. Equivalent Radiated Power d. Effective Radiated Power c. between half-power points d. between the minor side-lobes

14. A nonresonant antenna: a. will not transmit b. will not receive ANS: C

c. will cause SWR on the feed cable d. all of the above

15. At resonance, the input impedance to a lossless antenna should be: a. resistive c. capacitive b. inductive d. infinite ANS: A 16. An antenna can be matched to a feed line using: a. a shorted stub c. an LC network b. a loading coil d. all of the above ANS: D 17. As the length of a "long-wire" antenna is increased: a. the number of lobes increases c. efficiency decreases b. the number of nodes decreases d. none of the above ANS: A 18. Arrays can be: a. phased b. driven ANS: D 19. An array with one driven element, a reflector, and one or more directors is called a: a. Marconi c. Log-Periodic Dipole b. Yagi d. stacked array ANS: B 20. LPDA stands for: a. Low-Power Dipole Array b. Low-Power Directed Array ANS: C 21. The radiated beam from a parabolic "dish" transmitting antenna is: a. collimated c. dispersed b. phased d. none of the above ANS: A 22. The energy picked up by a parabolic antenna is concentrated at the: a. center c. focus b. edges d. horn ANS: C 23. Antennas are often tested in: a. an echo chamber c. a vacuum chamber c. Log-Periodic Dipole Array d. Log Power Dipole Array c. parasitic d. all of the above

b. an anechoic chamber ANS: B

d. an RF reflective chamber

24. Field strength at a distance from an antenna is measured with: a. a slotted line c. an EIRP meter b. a dipole d. a field-strength meter ANS: D COMPLETION 1. An antenna is the interface between the transmission line and ____________________. ANS: space 2. Hertz antenna is another name for a half-wave ____________________. ANS: dipole 3. The length of a half-wave dipole is about ____________________ % of a half-wave in free space. ANS: 95 4. The ____________________ resistance is the portion of an antenna's input impedance due to transmitted radio waves leaving the antenna. ANS: radiation 5. Input impedance at the center feed point of a resonant half-wave dipole is about ____________________ . ANS: 70 6. Input impedance at the center feed point of a resonant folded dipole is about ____________________ . ANS: 280 300 7. The vertical angle of radiation is called the angle of ____________________. ANS: elevation 8. Antenna radiation patterns are typically drawn on graphs with ____________________ coordinates. ANS: polar 9. As compared to a ____________________ source, a half-wave dipole has a gain of about 2 dBi. ANS: point

isotropic 10. Antenna gain measured in ____________________ is with reference to a half-wave dipole. ANS: dBd 11. ____________________ is the same as the gain for a lossless antenna. ANS: Directivity 12. The front-to-back ratio of a half-wave dipole is ____________________ dB. ANS: 0 13. The ____________________ of a directional antenna is the angle between its half-power points. ANS: beamwidth 14. ERP stands for ____________________ radiated power. ANS: effective 15. ERP is the power input to the antenna multiplied by the antenna's ____________________. ANS: gain 16. A ____________________ is required to connect a coaxial cable to a center-fed dipole antenna. ANS: balun 17. A horizontally mounted dipole will radiate waves with ____________________ polarization. ANS: horizontal 18. A folded dipole has ____________________ bandwidth than a standard dipole. ANS: wider greater more 19. A monopole antenna is typically mounted in the ____________________ direction. ANS: vertical 20. The length of a typical monopole antenna is ____________________ wavelength. ANS: one-quarter 1/4 21. A monopole antenna mounted high on a tower typically uses a ____________________ plane.

ANS: ground 22. A vertical antenna has an _________________________ radiation pattern for ground-based receivers. ANS: omnidirectional 23. The number of driven elements in a Yagi antenna is typically ____________________. ANS: one 24. The reflector on a Yagi antenna is called a ____________________ element. ANS: parasitic 25. An LPDA is a ____________________ dipole array. ANS: log-periodic 26. If an LPDA had five elements, the number of driven elements it had would be ____________________. ANS: five 27. All the waves that hit the surface of a parabolic antenna merge at the ____________________. ANS: focus 28. A ____________________ beam has all its individual rays parallel to each other. ANS: collimated 29. A microwave ____________________ antenna is essentially an extension of a waveguide. ANS: horn 30. An ____________________ chamber is often used to test microwave antennas. ANS: anechoic SHORT ANSWER 1. Calculate the physical length of a half-wave dipole for use at 300 MHz. ANS: 475 millimeters 2. How much power will a 95% efficient antenna radiate if driven with 100 watts? ANS: 95 watts

3. If an antenna has 10.14 dB of gain compared to a point source, how much gain does it have compared to a half-wave dipole? ANS: 8 dB 4. What is the ERP of an antenna with 10 dBd of gain and driven by one watt? ANS: 10 watts 5. A resonant antenna has an input impedance of 100 ohms and is driven by 100 watts. What is the RMS current in the antenna? ANS: 1 ampere 6. A resonant antenna has an input impedance of 100 ohms and is driven by 100 watts. What is the RMS voltage at the feed-point of the antenna? ANS: 100 volts