On 7 mayo, 18:31, James186282 wrote:
I've been trying to understand the basics of HT radio antennas. *The
first part that puzzles me is the "ground" side of an antenna. *Or if I
can use a Dipole as an example one side of the dipole. *Or if we use a
groundplane the radials. *With an HT are we just "doing without"? *Or is
this just my dumbness in action?

My second question is in asking how effective is the typical rubber duck
antenna versus say a truly resonant antenna or even a 5/8th wave which
tries (if I understand it) to squish the pattern down from a sphere to a
doughnut so its hears and talks better out then "up and down"

In my mind I would simply like an antenna that was effective but
flexable. *Length is not "critical" as I plan to hang it up high on an
LB harness. *The idea is a rough and tumble antenna that can work in the
woods on a Search and Rescue mission but will give me the very best
range out (not so much up/dn)

Has anyone done any serious work with HT antennas? *Is there anyone
clued into how to match these properly? *And has anyone looking into
using spring steel (Such as Measuring tape) for the antenna as the
Military uses in many of their radios?

Thanks for any thoughts on this de Jay W0VNE

Hello James,

As you know, every mA that goes into the antenna, has to come from the
shield from the coaxial cable, or the jack on your HT. From there, the
current is pulled out of your hand (assuming VHF). Your had acts as
the counterpoise.

The lower the radiation resistance, the more current goes into the
antenna given same power. To reduce the current, and losses, in your
hand, a half wave resonating antenna is my preferred option. The only
"problem" with the HW antenna is that you need a descent match because
of that high radiation resistance (several hundreds to kOhms depending
on length/thickness ratio).

As others said, the sleeve dipole is an attractive option when you can
erect it into a tree. Because of the plastic sheet that is between the
shield and the folded back shield, the length must be less then a
quarter wave to have good choking function. To get the antenna in
resonance, the "radiator" section has to be bit longer. Note that the
folded back braid does radiate as much as the upper part.

The 5/8 lambda antenna only has its gain advantage when the image
antenna is present. As there is no image (as you don't have an
infinite ground plane), the HW antenna will perform better then the
5/8 lambda antenna.

I support Jeff's strategy, have a small easy to handle one for normal
use, and the good very flexible one for when it is really necessary.

Best regards,

Wim
PA3DJS
www.tetech.nl
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