Amateur Radio Stack Exchange
Amateur Radio Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [wire-antenna]

Anything to do with wire antennas, including how to build one, how different wire antennas perform, how to tune them or when to use a balun, and what types of wire work best in certain antennas.

Anything to do with wire antennas, including how to build one, how different wire antennas perform, how to tune them or when to use a balun, and what types of wire work best in certain antennas.

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Using a balun with a resonant dipole

I am preparing to construct a resonant, center-fed, horizontal dipole. I have seen people use baluns at the feedpoint of the antenna, and some people swear by them, but I have never gotten a satisfactory answer on why you would use/need a balun. All…
W5VO
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Good wire for wire antenna?

What properties should I look for in a good wire for building a wire antenna? Could anyone recommend something specific for me?
Timtech
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What is a "random wire antenna"?

Some antenna tuners claim to match any “random wire” to any HF frequency. Can one really use a random wire as a practical antenna system? From everything I have heard, the resonance of the antenna (length, material) is what defines its performance…
Ron J. KD2EQS
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What is the peak voltage at the tips of a dipole antenna?

What is the peak voltage present at the very end tips of half-wave dipole antenna in free space, and how might this peak voltage relate to transmitter type, transmitter power, RF frequency vs. antenna half-wave frequency mismatch, feed line, SWR,…
hotpaw2
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Protect rig from static charge on antenna

How can I continuously discharge static from my end-fed antenna? My Electraft K2/100's autotuner (schematics) has an SWR bridge using two 1N5711 pin diodes. These diodes get blown if any static builds up on the antenna. I've replaced them four…
Wayne Conrad KF7QGA
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Tuning a wire antenna by folding

Last weekend we tuned a quad loop for 80 m and 40 m. Instead of cropping, we folded the isolated wire using cable ties as shown in the picture below. After folding several quite large sections of the wire, we got the SWR under 1.2, so this approach…
koalo
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Could a weather balloon make a good antenna?

I can't afford a massive tower, but I can get a weather balloon. What kind of set up would work best to get the maximum efficiency out of altitude?
Muze
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How to design a rubber ducky antenna

I am attempting to design an antenna for a 162.4 MHz omni receive only application and am confident it is going to be difficult if not impossible. I have very tight specs on space(6" diameter by 3" deep cylinder) so the first antenna I came across…
Josh Cox
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What is the largest gauge (thinnest diametre) wire I may use as an antenna?

A follow-up to Good wire for wire antenna? I'm QRT at present - thanks to fooling around with just a couple of diodes and PVC capacitors instead of a well-regulated supply. The antenna I used earlier was a mono-bander inverted-vee for 20M. I may be…
VU2NHW
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Wire antenna slightly too long

Say I have a wire antenna that is slightly (a few percent) too long for the desired frequency (of resonance or lowest SWR). What are the options, other than cutting the wire(s) and very likely ending up with an antenna wire that is now too short…
hotpaw2
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Wider wire = picks up more energy, yah?

I have seen many discussions re: wire gauge, insulation, velocity factor and K-factor...unfortunately, statements from various sources are not always in agreement, but that is not the issue. The issue that I have never heard discussed seems like a…
Mein Tenah
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Simulating two antennas (transmitter and receiver) using 4nec2 tool

I am trying to find near field mutual coupling affects between two antennas - one being transmitter and other being receiver. The receing antenna is fed with very little voltage (I think, if I don't feed any source, then nec tool inserts default…
Shiva Mudide
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Can I use a helical ground plane radial in the same way that a loading coil works?

I'm working out the science behind mounting an antenna on a vehicle, and I came across the concept of ground planes. This answer says that longer is better but don't worry about it too much, but this article focuses on 1/4 wave ground planes, as do…
YetAnotherRandomUser
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How would you get an "I'm alive" message to family in another state using amateur radio?

I'm researching options for getting an "I'm alive" message during a disaster response out to family in another state that aren't HAMs. There are likely to be a lot of possible answers that are art and style rather than one "right" answer, so some…
Matthew Wetmore
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Practical 80m vertical wire antennas without radials?

We'd like to install an antenna for 80m at our club/contest station. Our club, OH2K, is housed at a school, and we can't fill the roof with a radial mesh. The roof is not metallic itself, either. We already have a horizontal dipole, but would like…
oh7lzb
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