View Single Post
  #1   Report Post  
Old June 15th 06, 07:51 PM posted to rec.radio.amateur.antenna
 
Posts: n/a
Default Antenna Q as a useful measurement

I'm wondering about calculating antenna efficiency from the Q as
measured at the feedpoint.

I know the definition of antenna Q has been hashed out a bit on this
group, so let me be specific and say that I'm measuring Q by looking at
the half power bandwidth around resonance as I would with an LCR
circuit, or maybe I'm looking at the generalization for a different
voltage down from the maximum, so I can use the 2:1 SWR bandwidth as
per the description he

http://lists.contesting.com/_amps/2006-01/msg00179.html

Once you know the Q, you need to know the antenna's radiation
resistance using some method, so that you can figure out the loss
resistance.

Is seems reasonable to model the antenna in EZNEC with lossless
elements and use the feedpoint resistance at resonance as the radiation
resistance and then subtract that off from the R calculated from Q=X/R.

Then all the loss elements are empirically determined, ground losses,
bolted connections, traps, etc etc.

Any comments on this? It seems a good idea to me but I'd welcome some
holes poked in it. I know that accurately modeling things like
multiband verticals and so forth even in the lossless case might be
tricky.

73,
Dan
N3OX