Ham Radio Antennas
A great antenna is integral to a ham radio setup. Even with an advanced base station and amplifier, without a decent antenna, you’ve ultimately accomplished nothing. Antennas are unique when it comes to ham radio equipment in that they can be expensive, or created for virtually nothing. For a nice shortwave antenna, simply shape thin, flexible wire and mount in an open space, such as a garden or on the roof. An antenna performs best when the length of the antenna matches the frequency being translated. However, as a 25MHz signal would translate to a 40 foot long antenna, sometimes it’s not always practical. In cases where the antenna is too long, hams usually choose to reduce it by a specific fraction, such as 1/2, 1/4, or 1/8. Yet, it is still unfeasible to have a specific antenna for every frequency, so in this case, most hams construct an antenna in the middle of their preferred operating spectrum. This ensures that the maximum number of channels will be accessed. However, by having an antenna of this design, some power is usually wasted as not all is converted into radio waves.
 |
