Different style resonant antenna - 3:1 bandwidth
One ARRL stand (at Dayton) handed out small, black foam balls that are
intended to be stuck on the end of a whip antenna. Stops corona (maybe --
let us skip that discussion).
I do not normally have a transmitter in my truck, so I stuck the ball on my
standard truck radio antenna. (It is a 2003 Ford Ranger.) Since doing this
I have noticed that the antenna almost always vibrates a little -- even
after sitting stopped (engine off) in the garage for many minutes. The ball
on the top moves at least 1/8 inch; it is easily seen if I focus on it.
It appears I have a good resonant antenna to sustain this motion for long
periods, across an almost 3:1 range (the AM broadcast band) and a bonus VHF
range (the FM broadcast band). I assume that Hooke's law (if I remembered
the right name for it) applies instead of the
break-from-metal-fatigue-or-metal-work-hardening-law will apply such that
the antenna does not snap off sometime. Perhaps I should patent this
resonant antenna that is almost frequency independent!
Bill
W2WO
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