Quarter Wave Antenna

Marconi antenna Monopole antenna

Monopole Antenna
Vertical Half the length of a dipole (one-quarter wave approximately) Ground supplies the other half If installed above ground, a ground plane can be used instead For a car antenna, the car is the ground plane Input impedance half that of a dipole, about 35 ohms

1/4 wave monopole with ground plane for 144 MHz

Monopole Antenna
wavelength fed at one end Fed with unbalanced feed line with ground conductor connected to earth ground. In practice it usually requires an array of radials to develop a better ground plane. (Marconi antenna) When used at low frequencies the field should be vertically polarized and antenna could be a tower. The tower is ground insulated and fed at a point above ground with a Gamma match. Z increases upward.

Vertical Antennas
A vertical antenna is an antenna that consists of a single element mounted perpendicular to the Earth's surface. Most mobile antennas are verticals. Verticals usually require some sort of counterpoise to work their best. In a fixed station, a vertical may either be mounted on the ground or on a mast, and it may also have several radials for counterpoise. These radials may be laid out on the ground, as in the next slide, or mounted just underneath the vertical element, as in an elevated ground plane. In a mobile installation, the metal body of the car usually serves as the counterpoise. 6

Vertical (Marconi) Antenna

Vertical Antennas are used for frequencies under 2 MHz. It uses a conducting path to ground that acts as wavelength portion the antenna above the ground. The above ground structure represents a P/4 wavelength An advantage for vertical polarization because it can provide omnidirectional communications

Vertical (Marconi) Antenna contd

It radiates energy equally in all directions (omnidirectional) A quarter-wave antenna operates with one end grounded. Quarter-wave antennas are used both below and above 2 MHz

Vertical (Marconi) Antenna contd

The whip antenna provides an omnidirectional radiation pattern. It is a quarter-wave antenna used for man pack and vehicular operations The ground-plane antenna is a vertical quarter-wave antenna that increases the range of tactical FM radio sets. Its radial elements provide a counterpoise that simulates a ground.

Marconi Antenna
Monopole / Marconi Antenna a onequarter wavelength long, mounted vertically with the lower end either connected to ground or grounded through the antenna coupling network Advantage: long Disadvantage: Close to ground

Vertical (Marconi) Antenna contd

Poor grounding conditions of the earth/soil surrounding the antenna can result in serious signal attenuation. This problem is alleviated by installing a counterpoise

Counterpoise
Counterpoise is a grounding grid established where the earth grounding cannot satisfy electrical requirements for circuit completion. It is designed to be non-resonant at the operating frequency

Counterpoise-cont d
radius = P
antenna

supports

Radiation Pattern
Radiation pattern is an indication of radiated field strength around the antenna.

Radiation Pattern for Vertical Antennas

P/4

P/2

antenna

Vertical Antenna Design

Many vertical antennas are designed to be equal in length to one-quarter wavelength of the desired operating frequency. For a 1/4 wave vertical: 234 Length (feet) = ---------------------Frequency (MHz)
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Sample Problem
For example, suppose you want to know the approximate length, in inches, of a quarter-wavelength vertical antenna for 146 MHz. Using the formula in the previous slide: 234 Length = ------ = 1.6 feet 146 To get inches, multiply 1.6 times 12 (since there are 12 inches in a foot) to get 19.2 or about 19 inches.
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Antenna Element

Antenna Element
Antenna element - is an individual radiator, such as a half- or quarter-wave dipole. Individual antennas are called elements Types of Antenna Elements: 1. Driven 2. Parasitic (Nondriven)

Types of Antenna Elements:

Driven Elements are directly connected to the transmission line and receive power from or are driven by the source. Parasitic (Nondriven) are not connected to the transmission line; they receive energy only through mutual induction with a driven element or another parasitic element.
- some elements not connected to source - they re-radiate power from other elements

Parasitic cont d
Reflector longer than the driven element from which it receives energy. - it effectively reduces the signal strength in its direction and increases it in the opposite direction. Director - shorter than its associated driven element. - increases the field strength in its direction and reduces it in the opposite direction.