A few years ago, we brought you a story about a guy building ham radio antennas from aluminum crutches. Now, he's using cable TV coax for his dipoles.
Phased arrays have been used for years in military radars for long range detection of missiles. They’re also widely used in military and commercial aircraft radars and some satellites. These phased arrays are expensive, but today thanks to new technology and higher frequencies, phased arrays are smaller and more affordable making them practical for new wireless devices. This article is an introductory tutorial on this special antenna type you need to know about.
Magnetic loop antennas are becoming popular today because they can be very efficient for their size, do not need radials (even though most designs are vertically polarized), have useful takeoff angles, and can be easily rotated to peak or null a signal. Here’s how I designed a convenient setup for myself.
Any conductor carrying an AC current can be treated as a transmission line. Here, we'll talk about a basic element of transmission lines: the standing wave ratio. Find out why it’s important and how to measure it.
If you really want to know what makes any wireless application work, it's the antenna. Here, we'll summarize some of the most common types and make you aware of what an antenna really is and how it works.
