WILLIAM LORR, WG6SAI STUART 9. COWAN, W2LCopyright © 1972 by William |. Orr and Stuart D. Cowan All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be repro- duced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying or recording using any information storage or retrieval system, without the express written permission of the publisher Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 82-80282 ISBN 0-933616-03-1 Third edition, third printing, 1988TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER ONE. THE STORY OF THE CUBICAL QUAD ANTENNA. Early history of the Quad wmcnna. Concept of che open dipole. The installstion of the first Quad at Radio HCJB in Ecuador by WOLZX. CHAPTER TWO, THE QUAD: HOW DOES IT WORK?... ‘The Quad driven element. Impedance and power gain of the square loop. Pattern of the Quad loop. Adding a parasitic element to the Quad loop. CHAPTER THREE. CHARACTERISTICS OF THE QUAD ANTENNA. Antenna terminology, Direc gain measurements. Cubical Quad parameters. Power gain and patterns. ‘The Quad antenna with parasitic director. Dimension chart for the Quad. y, aud aperture, The dveibel. Antenna CHAPTER FOUR. MULTLELEMENT AND CONCENTRIC QUAD ANTENNAS. The three clement Quad antenna. Power vain, bandwidth, and F/B ratio. A broad-band Quad. Polar plots of multi-clement Quad. Concentric Quad antennas. The three band! Quad. Karasitic stubs. Dimension chart and dat CHAPTER FIVE. THE EXPANDED QUAD (X-Q) ANTENNA... Half wave antenna arrays. Derivation of XQ antenna from Lexy H. XQ reflector element. Matching the X.Q ta the feedline. Coaxial feed the X-Q array. Adjustment procedure. Dimension chart for X-Q. array. CHAPTER SIX, FEED SYSTEMS FOR QUAD ANTENNAS.......... ‘The balanced Quad antenna. Transmission line radiation, Simple feed sys- tems, Pisnctwork operation, Coaxial feed systems, The trombone matching system, High impedance cosial lines. The gamma match, Data charte CHAPTER SEVEN. THE TRIGAMMA MULTIBAND QUAD ANTENNA ‘The Tri-gamma match. Building the Tri-gamma system. Interlocking effets, A test setup, Adjusting the Tr-gamma match. Complete dimension data. CHAPTER EIGHT, BUILD YOUR OWN QUAD ANTENNA... The wood and bamboo frame. Waterproof bam Assembling the antenna. The alurainuim frame. Fi arms with Fibreglase al ascemly of the Qua CHAPTER NINE. QUAD TUNING AND ADJUSTMENT Antenna adjustment, Using your receiver and test signal to align the Quad. Antenna installation, Antenna evaluation. Antenna maintenance, CHAPTER TEN. QUAD ROUND-UP. ‘The Quad clement. Expanded Quad. Delta Quad beam, The Swice Quad. The Birdcage Quad. Miniature Quads. Low Frequency MiniQuads, The 1% Wavelensth Quad loop. The "Monster Quad”, Quad Versus Yasi. The WESAI Theory of Antenna Gain. 20 41 53 7s 89FOREWORD Born high in the South American Andes many years agd, surrounded by a civilization thousands of years old, the Cubical Quad antenna has caught the interest of amateurs the world over and has taken its place beside the more sophisticated antenna arrays conceived in the electronic laboratories ot the world. The concept of the famous “Quad” was a stroke of original thought, conceived by an amateur in one of the little known areas of the world in an attempt to solve a problem that could not be solved! The success of the Cubical Quad—the brainchild of W9LZX—in overcoming the myriad difficulties of antenna design for a tropical shortwave broadcasting station is worthy inspira- tion for any amateur. The story of the Quad spells out the true ham radio spirit of “make do’ when confronted with a problem that cannot be solved This, then, is the story of the Quad antenna; its humble begin- ning, what it does, how it works, and its speclacular success in the world of amateur radio. The third edition of this Handbook provides updated informa- tion on the Quad antenna derived through additional on-the-air tests and recent field strength measurements made on model test ranges. Gain of the Quad loop has been reevaluated in light of these tests and new gain figures derived for various Quad configurations, confirming independent measurements made by other experimenters. Grateful thanks are extended to those many amateurs for their help and assistance in the preparation of this Handbook.CHAPTER I The Story of the Cubical Quad Antenna The Cubical Quad is an unusual antenna, and it has a unique and inter- esting history. ‘The development and growth of the ordinary amateur antenna follows a rather stereotyped story. The theory of the antenna usually makes its first bow in come technical publication, such as the Proceedings of the LE.E.E, Next, the antenna is used and tested by some radio engineer who is also an ardent amateur. Soon, by word-of-mouth, the story of the antenna spreads and eventually it is publicized in some amateur journal. During the growth and development of the antenna, the story is embellished with tales of fantastic gain, unbelievable front-to-back ratio, and other magical attri- utes possessed by this antenna which no other antenna can lay claim to. Over a periad of years after the hue and ery has dimmed a bit, the antenna cither falls into limbo and is forgotten, or it takes its rightful place in the great group of popular amateur equipment. Meanwhile, some other new development has probably surpassed the antenna in the interest of the amateur. An cxecption to this story is the Cubical Quad antenna, Springing full- grown, as it were, into popularity with no formal engineering ancestry, the Quad has been simultaneously hailed as the greatest antenna development of the age, and damned as the greatest hoax of the century. Naturally, the truth lies somewhere between these two violent extremes, In order to arrive at an unbiased opinion of the antenna, it is necessary to examine its past history, determine the method of operation, and arrive at a proper method of feeding the array.6 QUAD ANTENNAS Karty History of THE Quap In the year 1939 a group of radio engineers from the United States travoled to the South American republic of Ecuador to install and maintain the Missionary Radio Station HCJB, at Quito, high in the Andes mountains. Designed to operate in the 25 meter shortwave broadcast band with a carrier power of 10,000 modulated watts, the mission of HCIB was to transmit the Cospel to the Northern Hemisphere, and tw tell of the missionary work in the wilds of Ecuador. To insure the hest possible reception of HCJB in the United States a gigantic four clement parasitic beam was designed, built, and erected with great effort and centered upoa the heartland of North America. The enthusiasm of the engineers that grected the first transmission of Radio HCJB was dampened after a few days of operation of the station when it became apparent that the four element beam was slowly being destroyed by an unusual combination of cirenmstances that were not under the control of the worried staff of the station. It was truc that the big beam imparted a real “punch” to the signal of HCJB and that listener reports in the path of the beam were high in praise of the signal from Quito, This result had heen expected. Totally unexpected, however, was the effect of operating the high-Q beam antenna in the thin evening air of Quito. Situ- ated at 10,000 feet altitude in the Andes, the beam antenna reacted in a strange way to the mountain atmosphere, Gigantic corona discharges sprang full-blown from the tips of the driven element and directors, standing out in mid-air and burning with a wicked hiss and crackle. The heavy industrial aluminum tubing used for the elements of the doomed beam glowed with the heat of the arc and turned incandescent at the tips. Large molten chunks of aluminum dropped to the ground as the inexorable fire slowly consumed: the antenna, ‘The corona discharges were so loud and so intense that they could be seen and heard singing und burning a quarter-mile away from the station, The music and programe of HCJB could be clearly héard through the quiet night air of the city as the r-f energy gave fuel to the crowns of fire clinging to the tips of the antenna elements. The joyful tones of studio music were transformed into a dirge of doom for the station unless an immediate solu- tion to the problem could be found. Jt fell to the lot of Clarence C. Moore, W9LZX, one of the engineers of HCJB to tackle this problem, It was obvious to him that the easily ionized air at the Iwo mile elevation of Qnito could not withstand the high voltage potentials developed at the tips of the beam elements, The awe-inspiring (toTHE STORY OF THE CUBICAL QUAD ANTENNA 7 The studios of HOB located in Quite, Ecuador, the birthplace of the Cubical Quad ‘The simple Quad war used lor many years whan the fransmitters of = located in the city. A fow years ago the txanemitiers were moved 19 ¢ 48 acre site at Pilo about 18 miles east of Quito. Programs originating in the studio are sent via frequency modulation link to the transmitting site, The old ‘Quad antenna has been replaced with « steel tower that supports the FM antenna. the uutives) corona discharges would probably disappear if it were possible to operate HCJB at a sea level location. This, however, was impossible. The die was cast, and HCJB was permanently settled in Quito. What to do? Moore attacked the problem with his usual enerey. He achieved # partial solution by placing sixinch diameter copper balls ob- tained from sewage flush tanks on the tips of each element. An immediate reduction in corona trouble was noted, but the copper orbs detuned the beam, and still permitted a nasty corona to spring forth on the element tips in damp weather. Clearly the solution to the problem lay in some new, dif- ferent approach to the antenna installation, The whole future of HCJB and the Fvangelistic effort scemed to hinge upon the solution of the antenna problem. The station could not he moved, and the use of a high-gain beam antenna to battle the interference iu the crowded 25 meter international shortwave broadcast band was mandatory. It was distressingly apparent to ‘Moore that the erux of the matter was at hand.8 QUAD ANTENNAS Tue Bintw or ree Quap In the words of WOLZX, the idea of the Quad antenna slowly unfolded to him, almost as a Divine inspiration, “We took about one hundred pounds of engineering reference books with us on our short vacation’ to Posoraja, Ecuador during the summer of 1942, determined that-with the help of God we could solve our problem, There on the floor of our bamboo cottage we: spread open ull the reference books we had brought with us and worked for hours on basic antenna design. Uur prayers must have been answered, for gradually as we worked the vision of a quad-shaped antenna gradually grew from the idea of a pulled-open folded dipole, We returned to Quito, afire with the new concept of a loop antenna having no ends to the elements, and combining relatively high transmitting impedance and high gain.” ‘A Quad antenna with reflector was hastily built and erected at HCJB in the place of the charred four element beam, Warily, the crew of tired builders watched the new antenna through the long operating hours of the station, The vigil continued during the evening hours as the jungle exhaled its moisture collected during the hot daylight hours. The tension of the onlookers grew as a film of dew collected on the antenna wires and struc- ture, but not once did the new Quad antenna flash over or break into a deadly corona flame, even with the full modulated power of the Missionary station applied to the wires. The problem of corona discharge seemed to be solved for all time. The new Quad antenna distinguished itself in a short time with the listeners of HCJB. Reports flooded the station, attesting to the efficiency of the simple antenna and the strength of the signal. In his spare time, Moore built a second Quad antenna, this one to be used in the 20 meter band at his ham station, HCLJB, in Quito. Ata later date, alter Moore had returned to the United States, he applied for a patent covering the new antenna. ‘The fact that the Quad-type antenna radiated perpendicular to the plane of the loop was deemed by the Patent Office to be of sufficient importance to permit the issuance of a patent to Clarence €. Moore covering the so-called Cubical Quad antenna. Other shortwave broadcasting stations in the Central American area soon heard of this new, high gain, corona-proof antenna, and Moore built several Quads on order, including # large rotating giant for 49 meter shortwave broadcast work at station TGNA in Guatemala City, Guatemala. This an- tenna has been used for years with success at an altitude of 5,000 fect. ‘The outstanding signal of HCLIB in the 20 meter amateur band quickly flooded Moore with inquiries about his new antenna, Soon, Quad antennasTHE STORY OF THE CUBICAL QUAD ANTENNA 9 ‘The new tansmitters of HCIB ero located at Pifo, Ecuador. The arrays range from six to twenty-four ele- ments, depending upon the desired direction of transmission. Herb Ja- cobson, ex-transmitter engineer of HOB pays tribute to the Quad saying, "We found tho Quad « very uaoful antenna for locations with limited space and it served us well for many years. were being used by amateurs on both the 10 and 20 meter band, and the amazing success story of the Quad came into being. How successful is the Quad antenna? In 1948 WOLZX said: “Well, we love the little antenna! In addition to solving the corona prob- Jem at HCJB and other tropical broadcast stations, the antenna has other Gormendable attributes. It is very quiet for reception, and gives litle trouble from rain static which often plagues three element parasitic beams. ‘The Quad fits into a smaller space than the conventional three element heam, and exhibits a power gain that surely is comparable to a parasitic array of equal or greater size. In addition, the Quad can be matched to a coaxial transmission line, or it may be directly fed with an open wire line. Finally, it is extremely inexpensive to build and simple to assemble. You know, it is not easy to obtain aluminum tubing in many parts of the United States, and practically impossible in some areas of the world, For the amateur wilh little money or no source of supply of aluminum tubing for a parasitic array, I cam’t sce how he can beat the Quad antenna, It’s a honey! We've used it for over a decade, and we know!” That is the story of the birth of the Quad antenna and its spectacular rise from the wilds of Ecuador to use in radio stations throughout the world. The fame of this unusual afitenna has literally spread by word of mouth until it is “topic number one” wherever amateurs discuss antennas and DX,CHAPTER IL The Quad: How Does It Work? Many hard questions remain to be answered concerning the Quad antenna, as countless amateurs view it with a degree of skepticism. How does the Quad work? Thy does it work? Is it better than a three element beam—its chief rival? Does it really provide ten or twelve decibels of gain as some of its enthusiastic. hosters claim? How does one go about building a Quad? These and many other questions will be answered in the following chapters of this Handbook. Panasiric AND Driven Arrays The great majority of beam antennas belong to one of two families. That is, they are either described as parasitic arrays or driven arrays. The dif- ference between the two groups is the method by which the directive ele- ments are excited, A parasitic array is one wherein the directive elements are inductively coupled to the radiator. ‘The popular “three element beam” is an array of this type. A driven array is one that has all the elements directly excited by the ¥-£ source, A “Lazy-H,” or the well-known “W8JK” beam are examples of driven arrays. In addition, an array of arrays may be built combining the features of these two families in which some elements are driven directly, and others are parasitically excited. The Cubical Quad antenna falls into this latter category as it employs elements of both types.THE QUAD: HOW DOES IT WORK? un wo wine ouroue THREE wine O1POLE Foun wing o1ros FERN ah ae a or simbce oreaies** Oe lined oieore ‘or siete mous IMPEDANCE OF FOLDED DIPOLE 1S N2 TIMES RADIATION RESISTANCE OF SIMPLE DIPOLE Fig. 1 The ancestor of the Quad loop 1s the simple folded dipole, This antenna has the same field pattern as the single wire dipole, but presents « much higher value of radiation resistence to the transmission line, The actual value of radiation resistance is a function of the square of the number of conductors in the dipole, mulliplied by the radiation resistance of the single wire dipole. Thus, in the case of the two wire dipole, the radiation resistance is four times 72 ohms, of 208 ohms, This antenna may be directly fed with a non-resonant line made of "900 ohm" TV-lype ribbon, Tae Driven Enemenr oF THe Quap For purposes of this discussion, let us examine the driven element of the Quad, forgetting about the parasitic reflector for a moment. It is convenient to borrow the description of the Quad element given by WOLZX —‘“a pulled.open folded dipole.” This is a good starting point for investigation. A simple folded dipole is shown in figure 1, This antenna consists of two ‘or more closely spaced half-wave dipoles connected in parallel at their ex- tremities, One of the dipoles is broken at the center to permit attachment of a halanced tranemission line ‘The radiation resistance at the center of a single dipole is approximately 72 ohms at the frequency of resonance when the dipole is placed one-half wavelength above a conducting surfaee. As additional dipoles are brought in close proximity with the original one and are connected in parallel at the extremities, the radiation resistance at the center of the split dipole will tise sharply. A two wire folded dipole has a radiation resistance of four times the valne of a single element, or ahout 288 ohms. A three wire dipole2 QUAD ANTENNAS cob a A LAA oe [ Et e e » Fs @ _ELEENT LENGTH IN TERMS OF FREE SPACE WAVELENGTH « sooo, REACTANCE AT POINTS ALONG ELEMENT ‘ovme) co Ih soca} = == + a | A el Lf [ Z + + Fe ~ $e F. @® CLEMENT LENGTH IN TERMS OF FREE SPACE WAVELENCTH ARBITRARY VOLTAGE A” POINTS ALONG ELEMENT Fig. 2A plot of tha reaciance ond rf vollage at various points on an antenna. Tho points where the reactance curves of figure A cross the zero axls indicato the resonant lengths of the antenna. Because of the ond-effects and capacity to ground tho half-wave antenna is shorter than the tree-space hail-wavelength. This foroshortoning is increased In the case of the folded dipole as the effeciive diameter of the antenna is grealer. In addition the average impedance values of the antenna are lower. as shown by the curve. Rf voltage at the tips of the ‘clement is proportional to the impedance at this point, the folded dipole having a lower voltage for a given power. as compared to the single wire dipole.THE QUAD: HOW DOES IT WORK? 13 ias a radiation resistance figure close to nine times the impedance of a single wire dipole, or about 643 ohms, It can therefore be said that the radiation resistance of a multi-conductor “dipole is N? times the radiation resistance of a single dipole, where N is the number of separate dipoles It io interesting to note that the radiation pattern of the folded dipole agrees in all respects with that of the single wire dipole. The angle of radiation und radiated power for the two antennas are equal, providing external forces and fields are equal. An interesting side effect is apparent when the multi-wire dipole is compared to the single wire version. The bandwidth of the single dipole is quite narrow compared to the bandwidth ‘of the folded dipole. That is, the circuit “Q” of the folded dipole is low in comparison to the “Q” of the single dipole, The folded dipole may he thought of as a broad band, low “Q” system as compared to the character- istics of the normal dipole. This means that the impedance at the tips of the folded dipole is much lower than that value noted. at the tips of the single wire dipole (figure 2) This fact is an important consideration when the antenna is used in con- junction with a high powered transmitter. Generally speaking, for a given amount of impressed power, higher values of rf voltage exist at the high impedance points in any antenna that at the low impedance points, and the auuount of rf vollage at wny point is proportional to the antenna impedas at that point. The voltage distribution curves typical of these two types of antennas are shown in figure 2B. The folded dipole has a measurably lower value of rf voltage at the extremities, and is less susceptible to corona dischurge and other undersirable high voltage phenomena, The “Open” Dipole ‘The simple folded dipole antenna may be “pulled open” as shown in figure 3A to produce a diamond-shaped loop fed at the bottom point. A four wire dipole may be opened in a like manner, as shown in figure 3B. ‘The radiation patterns of the two diamond configurations will be identical, although the radiation resistance of the double loop will be much higher than that of the single loop. We will therefore confine the discussion to the single turn loop for the time being. If we continue to stretch the folded dipole past the arrangement of fig- ure 3A the antenna will ultimately become a two wire transmission Tine onehalf wave long, shorted at the far end, The input radiation resistance of the folded dipole is about 288 ohms, and the input resistance of the shorted transmission line is zero ohms, Tt would seem to be reasonable toUy QUAD ANTENNAS = = , * = T SENSES + I resume ate ® ® ig. 9 For purposes of illustration. the twa wire folded dipale may be “pulled open” to form a diamond-shaped loop fed at the bottom point. Ii this distortion of the loop is continued the antenna will become a shorted transmission fine. Corresponding points on the dipole are marked in the loop and transmissior: Tine cases. The same analogy may be applied 10 the four wire dipole, which produccs a two (um diamondhapo loop when it ie olongated. Thic loop pro duces the koma field pattam at that of tha single ium loop. although the radlae tion resistance is quite a bit higher. The line of maximum field strength of the loop is at tight angles to the plane of the loop. When the loop Is fed at tho hottom the field is Horizontally polarized.THE QUAD: HOW DOES IT WORK? 15 pe ata see ergy onrren Fig. 4 The folded dipole may be formed into a square loop having two parallel elements, one above the other. The pattern of this loop is horizontally polarized with toro small vertically polatized “ears at right angles to the main lobes. ‘This loop produces a power gain of about 1.4 decibel over the field of the dipole. antenna (9.5 decibel gain over isotropic). Loop impedance is about 125 ohms, assume that the radiation resistance uf the “pulled open” dipole to be some intermediate value in the neighborhood of 144 ohms. Measurements made on model antennas indicate this figure is very nearly correct. ‘This diamond shaped antenna exhibits the radiation pattern of the simple dipole antenna, It has a “igure-8” pattern and has « power gain of about 1.4 decibels over a dipole (3.5 decibels gain over isotropic) It is possible to distort the shape of the folded dipole in another manner, as shown in figure 4, A loop antenna is formed having two parallel elements, cone above the other. The square thus formed is fed by a balanced trans- mission line at the center of the lower element. Each side of the square is approximately one-quarter wavelength long, and the high impedance points of the loop fall at the mid-point of the vertical sides. It is important to note that a loop of this configuration exhibits almost 1.4 decibels power gain, equal to that gain provided by the diamond shaped loop of figure 3A. ‘The radiation pattern of the sqnare, horizontal loop is similar to that of horizontal dipole except for a slightly narrower lobe perpendicular to the plane of the loop, and slightly reduced radiation in the directions of a line passing through the center of the upper and lower conductors, In addition, a small vertically polarized lobe appears at right angles to the main lobe, caused by a small amount of radiation from the vertical wires of the loop. The radiation resistance of this type of loop is approximately 125 ohms, as measured at a height of 0.65 wavelength to the center of the loop.16 QUAD ANTENNAS iE [ atu over piPoLe LUE mine ‘oe bo SPACING 3) ® ® © Fig. 5 The power gain of two half-wave cloments operating in a vertical stack is shown in graph A. At a separation of one-quarter wavelength, the power gain is 1.8 decibel, A fraction of this gain is lost when the ends of the elements are folded towards cach other a» shown at C. Since there is no curxent flowing at the clement tipe, they may be connected together to form a elocod loop. The loop may be square or diamond shaped and is broken ct the boltom for feeding. Power Gain oF Taz Square Loop The square loop is an interesting antenna, since it also provides about 14 decibels power gain — equal to that gain provided by the diamond shape. This useful power gain obviously results from the coupled directivity provided by the upper and lower sections of the antenna which are operating in-phase. The power gain of two half-wave elements operating in phase in 4 vertical stack, expressed in terms of the vertical spacing is illustrated in figure 5. In this instance, the separation between the upper portion of the loop and the lower portion is 0.25 wavelength. Two hulf-wave elements spaced this amount would provide a broadside gain of about 1.5 decibel. A small fraction of gain may be lost hecause the ends of the half-wave elements are bent towards each other to form a closed-loop. The single square loop may therefore be thought of as a pair of vertically stacked, huri- zontally polarized elements spaced 0.25 wavelength, with their extremities connected for feeding purposes. The loop is excited at the center of the lower section at the point of maximum current, Variations of the Driven Loop ‘The simple driven loop antenna appears in various forms in the technical literature, although sometimes in clever disguises. A popular European forsnTHE QUAD: HOW DOES IT WORK? a7 of driven loop is the so-called “slot antenna” shown in figure 6A, Thought by many to be some form of slot-excited affair, this stacked beam employs two dipoles that are connected at their tips. In order to obtain greater stack- ing gain the separation between the upper and lower sections is increascd at the expense of the radialing section of the two driven elements, Another version of the quarter wavelength loop is the “Bruce antenna,” composed of quarter-wave loops connected together, as shown in figure 6B. The sides of the loup may be increased to one-half wavelength. Many forms of antennas can be constructed from loops of comparable size, and among them are the Lazy-H antenna and the Sterba curtain, All of these exotic antennas, however, are cousins under the skin to the simple square loop of the Cubical Quad antenna, Appinc 4 Parasiric ELement To THE Quap Loop It is possible to add a second Quad element functioning as a parasitically excited reflector or director in front of the Quad loop, as shown in figure 7. foe FL Ie honi zona are" SSLOT! ANTENNA BRUCE ANTENNA Fig, 6 Variations of the quarter-wave loop are shown above. At A is the so- called slot antenna which 1s basically a Quad loop having single element para- sitic reflectors und directors. The Ups of the driven element are folded towards ‘each other and connected at thelr fips. In order to obtain greater slacking gain the separation between the upper and lower sections is Increased at the expense of the radiating sections of the drivon elements. At B is shown the Bruce antenna. This beam is made of sections of quarter-wave loops arranged in line and fed at the conter, The vertical sections are out of phase, and the vertical radiation is luigely cancelled. Gain of the Bruce beam is low considering its length.1g QUAD ANTENNAS ® ® Fig. 7. The Quad antenna ts formed from two horizontal loops placed as show: in filustratlon A. Maximum radiation is in a line perpendicular to the plane o the loops. The loop serving es the parasitic element usually has a shorted stul in place of the feeding, The stub length may be varied to tune the array fo maximum gain al the operating frequency. Hi the driven loop is fed al ane wide ‘as shown at B the field of radiation is vertically polarized. This type of loop i often used at 2 and 6 meters. The size of the parasitic element may be suitabl altered so that the shorted stub shown above is not required. ‘When a parasitic clement is added to a simple dipole, the achievable powe gain is a function of the spacing and tuning of the parasite, and also function of the “Q” or inherent selectivity of the parasite. ‘The effectivenes of the parasitic element is proportional to the coefficient of the conplin, between the element and the radiator. In general, the higher the “Q” of th parasitic clement, the greater the coupling and the greater the power gai of the array, A low-Q reflector, such as a “billboard”-type screen provide a power gain of about 3 decibels, while a high-Q parasitic reflector, suel as a thin wire can provide a power gain close to 6 decibels. In all experi mental cases it has been found impossible to secure as high a forward gai figure with low-Q parasitic elements as with high-Q elements, In the case 0 long parasitic arrays having many directors, this means that antenna gah will be the highest when employing the thinnest possible parasitic elements until the point is reached where the surface conductivity becomes poo enough to materially affect the Q of the elements. By its configuration, the equare loop hae a rather high value of radia tion resistance and its Q is somewhat lower than that of an equivalent dipole Even so, the addition of a parasitic loop to the Quad element raises th overall gain figure by nearly 6 decibels. The maximum power gain of th two element Quad antenna is therefore the sum of the loop gain and thTHE QUAD: HOW DOES IT WORK? 19 parasitic gain, or 14 } 5.9 == 7.3 decibelo, as compared to a dipole. This is approximately equal to the power gain of a “three element” Yagi-type parasitic beam. The actual power gain of a typical Quad antenna may be some- what lower than the maximum theoretical gain due to r-f losses in the cou- pling network (if any) and in the wires of the array. Also, gain is dependent somewhat upon the tuning technique. Element spacing also plays a minor part in gain determination, as covered in the next chapter. In any event, the two element Quad turns out to be stiff competition for the three element Yagi. Atriband Quad, moreover, usually outperforme a tri-band “trapped” Yagi because of the lower r-f losses of the former antenna, Wave Polarization ‘When the Quad loop is fed at the bottom the points of maximum current ‘occur in the two horizontal wires. The current flowing in the vertical wires is considered to be out of phase, and the radiated field is correspondingly small. Even so, a small vertically polarized field exists around these wires. Hf the Quad loop is rotated through 90 degrees in its plane, the feed point will be in the middle of one side, and the wires that formerly were in the vertical plane are now in the horizontal plane, The main field of the loop is now vertically polarized, with a small field of horizontal radiation about the horizontal wires, as shown in figure 7B. Since the polarization of the radio wave is obscured after reflection from the ionosphere, either @ vertically or horizontally polarized Quad may be used with good results on the high frequency bands. The vertically polarized antenna, however, will be more receptive to man-made interference (auto- mobile ignition noise, for example) since such radiations are usually ver- tically polarized, The Closed Quad Loop The total loop length of a typical Quad element may be adjusted so that the tuning stub shown in figure 7A is not vequived, Stub tuning a Quad element is a good way to make preliminary adjustments, to be sure, but for lowest ind resistance and best current distribution in the element it is a good idea to dispense with the tuning stub and to make the loop slightly larger to com- pensate for the missing stub. Dimensional data for both methods of vonstruc- tion are given in various tables in this Handbook.CHAPTER III Characteristics of the Quad Antenna Any antenna serves as a coupling device to convert electronic energy supplied by the transmitter to electrostatic and electromagnetic waves which ace propagated through space, At the receiving station a similar antenna converts the received energy back to electronic energy which can be de- tected and demodulated by the receiving equipment. ‘The overall efficiency and operating parameters of the antenna may be expressed in terms of radiation resistance, directivity, power gain, and effective aperture of the antenn: Anrenna TERMINOLOGY Certain terms and characteristics peculiar to antenna systems in general should be defined, and the problems and hazards of determining antenna operating characteristics should be covered before definite gain figures and dimensions are given for the Quad antenna, Radiation Resistance ‘The radiation resistance of an antenna may be defined as that value of resistance which, when substituted for the antenna, will dissipate the same amount of power as is radiated by the antenna, The actual value of radiation resistance of any antenna is determined by the configuration and size of the antenna, and the proximity and character of nearby objects, The valueCHARACTERISTICS OF THE QUAD ANTENNA. 21 of radiation resistance bears no relation to the efficiency or power gain of the antenna, and the fact that one antenna has & different value of radiation yesistance than that of another antenna does not necessarily mean that the first antenna is better or more efficient than the second, or vice-versa. It is important to know the magnitude of the radiation resistance in order to match it to the nominal impedance value of the transmission line. Antenna “Q” and Resonance If a lond is connected to an antenna that is energized by a passing radio wave @ cerlain amount of power may be extracted from the wave and will be dissipated in the load. The current flowing in the load may be thought of as the sum of many individual currents flowing in the antenna, induced by the radio wave acting along the length of the antenna. When all the individual induced currents are in phase at the load the maximum amount of power may be extracted from the radio wave. The condition of proper phasing is called resonance. Resonance may be established by cutting the Iength of the antenna to some physical relationship with the size of the intercepted wave. In a simple antenna a resonant condition is usually found at multiples of one-quarter wavelength (1%, ¥, % wavelength, etc.). When the antenna is operated in an off-resonant condition the sum of the indi- vidual induced currents is reduced from the maximum value and the antenna exhibits reactance at its load terminals. The ratio of the reactance of the antenna to the radiation resistance is termed the Q of the antenna. When the Q of the antenna is low the reactance is small and varies slowly as the frequency of operation is varied from the resonant frequency of the an- tena, An antenna having a high value of Q will tend to be frequency selective and its operating elliciency and energy transfer will tend to be poor when the operating frequency is far removed from the resonant fre- quency. The antenna Q, therefore, is a measure of response of the antenna in terms of being “sharp” or “broad”, In general, the lower Q antenna is more tolerant of adjustment and is easier to place in operation with a minimum of fuss than the higher Q antenna, Either antenna is capable of operation over the relatively narrow segments of the amateur bands. Operating Bandwidth The operating bandwidth of the antenna is the frequency span over which the antenna performs in an efficient manner. This vague concept must take into recount the loss in power gain when the antenna is operated off-fre- quency, and the increase in SW (standing wave ratio) on the transmission line under such conditions. The operating bandwidth can therefore mean22 QUAD ANTENNAS exactly what the designer wishes it to, having little concept with actual antenna operation, Many amateur transinitters perform poorly when the SWR on the trans- mission line approaches a value of 2/1. In some instances, damage to the equipment may happen when attempting operation into antenna systems exhibiting this value of SWR on cu the operating bandwidth of the antennas described in this Handbook has arbitrarily been established as that frequency excursion that produces a SWR value of 1.75/1 on # coaxial transmission line. The actual operating range of the antenna is usually greater than these arbitrarily deGined limits, but the confining factor in most cases is the matching system employed to couple the antenna to the transmission line. It has heen the experience of the authors that at SWR values greater than 2/1 the front-to-back ratio of the antenna is usually poor and loading difficulties are often encountered, Operation of the antenna system at high values of SWR are therefore not encouraged. ial transmission lines. For this reason, DIRECTIVITY AND APERTURE, Directivity In the case of a transmitting antenna, directivity is defined as the ability of the antenna to concentrate radiation in a particular direction: All prac- tical antennas exhibit some degree of directivity. A completely nondirectional antenna (one which radiates equally well in all directions) ix known as an isotropic radiacor, and only exists as # mathematical eoncept. Such a radiator if placed at the center of an imaginary sphere would “illuminate” the inner surface of the sphere uniformly. Power Gain Power gain is a term used to express the power increase in the radiated field of one antenna over a standard comparison antenna. The comparison antenna is usually a half-wave dipole having the same polarization as the antenna under consideration. Power gain is measured in the optimum direc- tion of radiation from the antenna, Effective Aperture Effective aperture is closely associated with directivity and power gain, In a simplified analogy it may be thought of as the frontal area over which ing antenna will extract signal power fram the radio wave. Some- concept is referred to as capture area. Most high Q arrays, suchCHARACTERISTICS OF THE QUAD ANTENNA 23 ‘The hard work starts at sround evel! W8QQ. cracks the soil in his backyard in Columbus, Ohio as first slop in tower erection for fhe new Quad unleuna aay. as the parasitic heam and the Quad have an effective aperture considerably larger than the physical size of thc antenna. Front-To-Back Ratio ‘The power gain of an antenna may be thought of as being obtained by taking power radiated from unwanted directions and squirting it out the “front” of the array. Of great interest to the user of a beam antenna is the amount of power that atill escapes from the back and sides of the array. This power is wasted, and should be minimized as it contributes nothing to signal gain. The ratio of the power radiated in the forward direction of the antenna as compared to that amount radiated in the opposite direction is termed the front-to-back ratio (F/B ratio). Ratios of the order of 5 db to. 25 db may be obtained from simple beam antennas, such as the Quad- type. Front-to-back ratio measurements on amateur antennas will vary widely from these figures as a result of complex wave reflections from the ground and nearby objects. The Decibel Power gain and F/B ratio of beam antennas are usually expressed in terms of decibels. The decibel is not @ unit of power, but a ratio of power levels, In antenna work the decibel may be used as an absolute unit by24, QUAD ANTENNAS oecieets to jaln and frontte-back rallo of beam antennas are expressed in terms of decibels, Relationship bel and voltage or power ratio is shown in this chart, Most receiver Smeters have scale that is calibrated in decibels but which bears no relation to true measurement. fixing an arbitrary level of reference, If this reference level is taken as the power figure of a dipole antenna, another antenna may be said to have & gain figure expressed in decibels relative to the dipole. This is the reference level u:ed in this Handbook. One decibel unit equals ten times the common logarithm of the power gain over a dipole antenna, as shown in the accom panying illustration (figure 1). Antenna Gaty MrAsuREMENTS It has been proven on multi-million dollar experimental antenna range’ that data collected at low frequency (below 100 MHz) pertaining to gain; front-to-back ratio, and bandwidth of antennas are decidedly unreliable, Factors such as ground reflection, and the proximity of nearby objects obliterate reference factors and reduce the results to meaningless figures. | Accurate and reproducible figures pertaining to antenna arrays are only determined under exacting conditions, Measurements can be made in thé VHF region with model antennas carefully placed so that ground effects, and proximity effects of nearby objects are either absent, or are known and, computable, The standing wave ratio, bandwidth, and the impedance match: of such antennas are carefully controlled, and laboratory equipment is use by trained engineers to obtain results which are then carefully evaluated.CHARACTERISTICS OF THE QUAD ANTENNA, 25 against the environmental conditions prevailing during the test. Sad to state, the performance figures of antennas tested in this fashion tend to be lower than the figures given by aggressive antenna manufacturers and accepted by hopeful amateurs. A Reliable Test Procedure ‘The gain information, dimensional figures, and SWR curves to follow are based upon measurements made in the 144 MHz amateur band. It ha: been common practice for antenna adjustments and gain figures to be taken with the aid of a field strength meter located at some remote point. Such an arrangement can prove quite helpful when used properly, but any attempts to measure antenna gain or to compare two antennas by measuring field strength along a ground path are subject to extreme inaccuracies. Factors such ae ground reflection and the proximity effects of nearby objects oblit- ‘erate reference points and reduce the results to meaningless figures. Unless the test antenna and field strength meter are located many wavelengths above ground the effect of ground reflection will throw doubt on every measure- ment. This condition cannot be emphasized too strongly. Many published ‘measurements have been in error due to what is apparently a lack of under- standing of the pitfalls produced by ground reflection, ‘A reliable system of measuring antenna parameters has heen developed hy lie military and industry which utilizes scale models of the antenna under test operating in the very high frequency range. This technique involves plotting the radiation pattern of the antenna and determining the antenna gain from inspection of the pattern. This is done by rotating the antenna under test through 360 degrees and recording the change in relative field strength at a point 10 or more wavelengths away. By running this test in both the E and H planes of the antenna, it is possible to obtain a three dimensional view of the radiation pattern of the antenna which includes the spurious lobes and back radiation, Using this data the actual power gain may be calculated with the aid of formulas (5) and (6), figure 2. The relationships betweon power gain, effective aperture, and beam widths may be expressed in a simple nomograph, as shown in figure 3, Antenna gain and aperture figures may be derived from the E and H plane beam widths. The graph assumes that all spurious antenna lobes are reduced 10 decibels or more below the strength of the main lobe. Only the half-power beam widths in the E and H planes are required for this measurement. It is important that a calibrated field strength meter be used, since an accurate indication of the half-power points of the beam pattern must be26 QUAD ANTENNAS FIGURE 2 ME AREA OF AMELLIPSE (OMA CIRCLE) IS EQUAL 701 IFAB, SQUARE RADIANS A wanoianss 285 Bm enounss rwenerone: G2 —g2h = 4g2g2 = renee ware oven omen sain (0) = SBR = 220 [AN ILLUSTRATION OF HOW POWER GAIN IS THE RATIO BETWEEN THE SURFACE REA OF A SPHERE ILLUMINATED BY AN ISOTROPIC RACIATOR AND THE PORTION OF Tae SPHERE WHICH LIES BETWEEN THE Hal F-POWER ANGLES, fe AND Ph. OF THE DIRECTIONAL RADIATOR. a TERT @ a os «oHALE POWER SEAMWIOTH IY “H" PLANE, OFGREES. CHARACTERISTICS OF THE QUAD ANTENNA. fo re Exar Reweae x * g F| oe S peo _ < 3 + 8 “7 a - getad Fis --3 7 @ z ged ¢ : Be a are z E’ 2 g 2 5 8 g Bemot S z 27 FF FIGURE & NOMOGRAPH FOR DETERMING ANTENNA GAIN AND APERTURE SIZE2B QUAD ANTENNAS Fig. 4 Antenna measure ments can be made with accuracy at 144 MHz. Tey | aatenna is aimed upward Je] at a distant field sire: ‘el ground ‘nd gain figures are plotted made, A good signal generator with an accurate attenuator can be used for calibrating the field strength meter, A typical setup for measurement of this type is shown in figure 4, The field strength meter is placed atop a fifty foot TV-type “crank up” tower, and the antenna under test is placed a few feet above ground and pointed upwards towards the field strength meter. Ground reflections are thereby reduced to a minimum. The aecuracy of readings may be verified by moving the test antenna a few feet and repeating a set of known readings. Any variations in the two test runs indi cates that environmental factors are exerting undue influence upon the results and the validity of the: tests are open to question. By a trial and error process the optimum placement of the test antenna can be found and a test sequence established that will produce repeatable results regardles of the positioning of the antenna under test, The field strength meter may be passed through the main lobe of the antenna by changing the elevation of the tower, It was possible for the authors to have some’ of the tests verified on i commercial antenna range in the Los Angeles area, and the results obtained agreed closely with the information furnished in this Handbook, proving the validity of this method of testing. CusIcAL QUAD ANTENNA PARAMETERS A conventional Quad antenna is the hasis of the following data. The con: figuration of this test antenna is shown in Figure 5, The driven loop is split at the center of the lower segment to provide horizontal polarization,CHARACTERISTICS OF THE QUAD ANTENNA 29 5 Typical Quad antenna io Tonposed ol two vertical loop graced @ fraction of wavelength. Guo loop is split at center of the lower segment and is excited with @ balanced feed sysiom. Other loop has adjustable short. fag bar 10 permit tuning to the ect parasitic frequency. The tides of loop approximate a free nerccron space quarter-wavelength. cae The spacing between the two loop elements is adjustable, and the support- ing framework is made of wood to climinate spurious resonance effects in the structure, The parasitic element is broken in the same manner as the driven element permitting adjustment by means of a variable shorting bar. Field strength readings are taken at an extreme distance from the array and the height above ground of the field strength meter is adjustable. Power Gain and Element Spacing ‘The overall power gain obtainable with a single parasitic reflector placed behind the driven loop is shown in figure 6. At a spacing of approximately Yy wavelength the parasitic element provides an array gain of about 7.3 decibels when adjusted for maximaum gain figure, The gain curve is fairly constant for element spacings from 0.1 wavelength to U2 wavelength, with the peak of the curve falling near 0.12 wavelength spacing, The reduction of gain at spacings less than 0.1 wavelength is partially due to the loss resistance of the wires in the array. In this particular case the d.c. resistance value was less than 0.1 ohms. At each test point on the curve the parasitic clement was tuned for maximum indicated field strength with the result that this curve represents maximum obtainable gain for various element spacings, Radiation Resistance The radiation resistance at the center feed-point of the driven element Was measured at various spacings and the resnlts plotted in figure 7. A30 QUAD ANTENNAS aa “Space OVER DIPOLE (28) ° 1 L ELEMENT SPxCING (8) Fig. 8 The gain of a two clement Quad array is constant within one do: clement spacings of 0.08 wavelength to 0.22 wavelength. Maximum gain fig about 7.4 decibels oceurs nec the 0.12 wavelength spacing. As the Q of the Quai ‘oloment is low. the spacing is nol « critical factor in the design of the array. OWER GAIN OF QUAD ANTENNA Twenes spacing of 0.12 wavelength results in a radiation resistance of about 63 ohms, with the figure rising gradually in value until a radiation resistanel of about 140 ohms is reached at 0.25 wavelength. These values can hi shifted over a small range by detuning the parasitic element from the poi) of optimum gain, As in the case of the simple parasitic beam or other similar antenna, th radiation resistance of the Quad varies with the height above ground Values plus or minus 15 percent of the curve of figure 7 may be found a different heights above a nominal half-wavelength elevation, Below thi elevation figure, the radiation resistance drops to about one half of norma, value at a height of one quarter wavelength. Thus, impedance measurements made in a given location for one Quad antenna might not apply to a seconé antenna situated in a different environment. It would seem, therefore, thal impedance measurements might well have to he made on each installatios to determine a close value of radiation resistance, 3 ‘The degree of variation of radiation resistance of the Quad as comparel to a typical three element parasitic beam is shown in figure 8, Both the value of radiation resistance and the variation of ‘the radiation resistanct are larger for the Quad than for the parasitic beam, Angle of Radiation ‘The vertical angle sbove the horizon of the main Jobe of the Quad am tenna for various heights above ground is shown in figure 9. It can be seen that (as in the case of the parasitic beam) the angle above the horizaCHARACTERISTICS OF THE QUAD ANTENNA 31 Teak -o Shug Fuser se | RADIATION RESI DRIVEN GueMe Fig. 7 The radiation resistance of « two clement Quad varles between 40 ‘ohms and 140 ohms as element spacing increases from 0.07 wavelength to 0.25 wavelength. Radiation resistance of Quad may be adjusted to 52 chms by making spacing 0.08 wavelength, or 72 ohms with 0.13 wavelongth spacing. of the lobe of maximum radiation is a function of the height of the array above the ground, No adjustments made to the antenna (other than. chang- ing the height above ground) will influence the angle of radiation of the main lobe. Assence or Hicu AnciE Rapiation The term angle of radiation of any antenna may be taken to mean the angle above the horizon subtended by the axis of the main lobe of radiation. With practical amateur antennas the radiation lobe is not a knife-edge of sherry, nor is it even as sharp ay the light beam from an automobile head- Rea TA 8 Radiation resistance of d array varies ae the height above the ground changes. Meas- urements are made on Quad hav- ing element spacing of 0.15 wavelength, Parasitic array hibits the sume elfect but in a much milder form, oe Bk NEIGNT OF ANTENNA ABOVE GROUND PUT RESISTANCE OF ANTENNA fons)32 QUAD ANTENNAS © (we) © (wt) Fig. 9 Tho vertical radiation patie for a two element Quad antenna varie iu much the same manner as pulerus of parasitic bean as the height abort ground of the array le changed. Plot A: Al a hoight of one-quarter wavelengit Engle of maximum fadiation of main lobe is 40 degrees compared to 90 degrost fora dipole, As the height of Quad is raised to three-elghths wavelength, tht angle of radiation lowers to 32 degrees, as compared to angle of 42 degree! for-¢ dipole, Plot C: Angle of radiation of Quad is 26 degress at height of abou oneshall wavelength, four degrees lower than pattern of dipole, Flot D: A height of fiveeighths wavelength angle of radiation of Quad Is approximatel, same as that of dipole, but the large vertical lobe of the dipole pation suppressed into minor lobe of Quad shown at angle of 75 dearess. Plot E: Al lobes of Quad array oxhiblt lower radiation angle ot helght of three-quarién ‘wavelength, but the minor lobe grows in size. splitting into two lobes at heigh of soven-eighths wavelength (Plot Fl. A parasitic beam has almost the sam field pattems as those of Quad array. The actual reflection patterns of practica anlonnae vary somowhat irom these graphe bocause tho oarlh ls not a perfec conductor ar fellector. and is never smooth and uniform. Reflection from nearby metallic objects (utility wires, gutler pipes, TV antennas, ele.) tond to distor pailerns of any antenna. Even so, these plots emphasize importance of heigh for desirable low angle of radiation.CHARACTERISTICS OF THE QUAD ANTENNA 33 10 Angle of radiation of mnain lobe of Quad arruy 1s fune- Ton of the antenna height as jnocsured fo lower element. For best DX results Quad should be mounted at least one-half wave- engi above surface of ground. 8. % 3 Z Lose ABOVE HORTON VERT zt HEIGHT OF QUAD ANTENNA lamp. Rather it is a bulbous lobe, occupying a large area in front of the antenna array. Tf the antenna were to be suspended in free space the main lobe of radia- tion would be directly in line with the uperture of the antenna, When the antenna is located close to the surfave of the earth a vonflict takes place between the direct wave from the antenna and the wave that is reflected from the surface of the ground. A phase difference occurs between these two waves causing cancellation or reinforcement at various angles above the horizontal. The degree of cancellation or reinforcement is dependent upon the difference in path length between the direct and reflected signals and upon the phase difference caused by the reflection Shown in figure 9 are the vertical radiation patterns of a two element Quad antenna for various heights above ground. It can be seen that these patterns bear a resemblance to those of the dipole, except that the high aaiglo radiation present in the case of the dipole is absent in the Quad antenna pattern, ‘This absence of high augle radiation is probably caused by cancellation in the vertical plane by the ‘action of the upper and lower sections of the Quad loop. It is interesting to note that the Quad antenna exhibits approximately the same angle of radiation of the main lobe as the dipole except at the lower heights. At a height of 0.5 wavelength, for ex- ample, the angle of radiation of the main lobe of the Quad antenna is about four degrees below that of the dipole. At an elevation of 44 wavelength the angle of radiation of the Quad is almost ten degrees below that of the dipole. Ata height of one-quarter wavelength the dipole is almost useless as a shortwave transmitting antenna since most of the radiation is directed up. Wards, The Quad antenna, however, maintains its main lobe at an angle of 40 degrees above the horizon at the same height elevation. This points up34 QUAD ANTENNAS the fact that the Quad will stil give satisfactory performance under circum stances where the antenna cannot be elevated well in the air. The same effec is noted with a parasitic beam, The angle of radiation for various height is shown in figure 10. Generally speaking, the angle of radiation of the main lobe of the dipole the parasitic array, and the Quad antenna are identical for all hoights abow. ‘one half wavelength, This belies the claim that the Quad has a lower angh of radiation than other types of antenna arrays. Tus Hortzonran PATTERN oF ‘THE QUAD The horizontal radiation patterns of the Quad antenna measured at the vertical angles which produce maximum field strength are shown in Fig ure 11. The shape of the pattern is relatively independent of the height above ground of the array except for variations in the front-to-hack ratio which occur because of changes in induced reflector current, The horizontal pattern provided by the twa element Quad anterma has a half-power beam width of approximately 62 degrees which is comparable to the beam width of a two element parasitic beam. It is interesting to note that the Quad has a small amount of vertically polarized energy at right angles to the main lobe of the array. This field is a result of incomplete cancellation of radiution from the two vertical wires of the Joop. Paramerer VARIATIONS oF THE Quap Experience with simple parasitic beams has shown that beam performance quickly deteriorates when the operating frequency of the antenna approaches the resonant frequency of the parasitic clement, In the case of the two ele: ment beam, the power gain of the array falls off sharply as the operating frequency approaches that of the parasitic element, yet it drops off quite slowly as the operating frequency is shifted away from that of the parasitic, The shape of the gain curve, therefore, will yary depending upon whether the parasitic is a reflector or director (figure 12). ‘This relationship alsv holds true with the Quad. With an antenna using a reflector clement, the power gain of the array drops off quite sharply on the low frequency side of resonance, and drops off comparatively slowly on the high frequency side of the operating frequency. As a result, greater operating bandwidth may be achieved hy tuning the Quad reflector for operation at « lower than normal frequency. This process will increase the bandwidth at-the expenseCHARACTERISTICS OF THE QUAD ANTENNA. 35 Fig. 11 Shown above is the horizontal field patie measured at the vertical angles which produce maximum field strength. In this cazo. the plots wore taken at one-quarter, one-hall, three-quarters. and one wavelength elevation. Shape of patie is relatively independent of elovation except for variations in front- foback ratio which occur because of changes in the induced reflector Front-io-back ratio can be optimized at each elevation if the reflector is retuned in euch cuse, The horizontal pattern of « typical 2 element Quad antenna is about Ct t half-power points, which is comparable to the patlern of 3 clement parasitic (Yagi) bam. The sharpest pattern is obtained by omitting adjustment stub in the parasitic element and culting the clement to proper size that no stub is required. Current distribution is thus improved in the parasitic clement, and overall operation of the Quad is enhanced, resulting in slightly Detter gain and front-to-back ratio.36 QUAD ANTENNAS 34 sD ciefuecron Fig. 12 As operating frequency z of parasitic atray is varied tht 8 po power gain over dipole drop § {| 1 rapidly as the parasitic clomen 34 | hecomes resonant. The shape 0 z | ‘ thus depend: 3” T & 7 a1 ok 1 of the maximum power gain, The gain.vs.frequency characteristic of typical Quad antenna is shown in figure 13, F/B Ratio of the Quad The front-to-back ratio of a properly adjusted Quad reaches a maximun figure at the design frequency and decreases sharply as the operating fre quency approaches the self-resonant frequency of the parasitic element. Th decrease in F/B ratio is much less severe as the operating frequency i removed from the self-resonant frequency of the parasitic, Maximum F/I ratio at the design frequency is about 25 decibels, dropping to less than 1( decibels when the operating frequency is lowered 3 percent, At 3 per S| POWER GAIN OVER DIPOLE (os) L FREQUENCY CHANGE IN MH2 FROM ANTENNA RESONANCE AT Ko Mie Fig. 13 When Quad employs parasitic reflector greatest operational bandwidl occurs on high frequency side of resonant point. Quad may operate efficient! plus or minus 9% of design frequency as shown above if the rell fs retuned for offfrequenéy operation of the array.CHARACTERISTICS OF THE QUAD ANTENNA. 37 THN whe PSE FRONT TOGACK RATIO. {28) TEST FREQUENCY (MHZ) Fig, 14 Frontto-back ratio drops rapidly as the Quad antenna is operated olfirequency. Even 20, Quad qualifies aa "broad band” antenna, ax it retains good F/B ralio over epan of approximately 8% of design frequency. cent higher than the design frequency the F/B ratio is better, being in the neighborhood of 15 decibels. The F/B ratio of a typical Quad antenna designed for 21 MHz is shown in figure 14, During this series of tests it was noted that adjustments made to the reflector stub changed the fesonant frequency of the driven clement of the antenna. In fact, it was possible to tune the array by merely changing the length of the reflector stub. Experiments were conducted to determine the effect upon power gain and F/B ratio of variations in stub tuning. Measure. mieuts tended to show that the F/B ratio was critical as to stub tuning and that changing the stub length @ small amount would deteriorate the F/B ratio. The VHF measurements indicated that the power gain and the F/B ratio are dependent upon the length of the reflector‘stub—at least as much as in the case of the simple parasitic beam, It was also found that unless the reflector stuh was of proper length the frequency of maximum F/B ratio ‘was not coincident with the frequency of maximum gain, nor was it the same as the frequency of minimum standing wave ratio qn the transmission line, This deviation was most apparent when the reflector stub was too short. Tn this case (figure 15) the frequency of maximum F/B ratio and mini. tum SWR are sv far apart that the F/B ratio at the frequency of maximam gain is only 10 decibels! These results emphasize the fact that the maximum F/B ratio of the Quad antenna and the gain of the array can be determined by the length of the38 QUAD ANTENNAS L. [rem | 7, Ton v Tevcrn ier} 7,7 ‘ Anerson foe "i JO Ss STANDING WAVE RATIO. ON TRANSMISSION LINE, Cencrw csi \ fe i % uel | i a ee POWER GAIN OVER DIPOLE ;DFSIGN FREQUENCY : PNG poascuiser are 2 ss] 1 & i St £ i +f gy 7 a i ai b 7 T 7 Fl é je gL? 1 L ns Fig. 18 Frequancy of heat frontto-back ratio, maximum gain, and the best SWE re not the same unless side length and stub length are adjusted to optimum Proportions. Proper side dimensions ensure thal optimum F/B ratio, gain, and minimum SWR can be obtained by proper adjustment of the reflector stub: Improper side dimensions produce inferior results. as does the maladjustment ‘of stub, Experimental data proves that proper side dimension of the Quad Ie very neatly equal to olecttical quarter-wavelength in apace (Figure 16).CHARACTERISTICS OF THE QUAD ANTENNA. 39 reflector stub if the dimensions of the sides of the array are properly chosen. ‘The resonant frequency of the array, however, should be determined by Joop dimensions, If the array is the correct size to hegin with, it is possible to reach the condition of maximum gain by tuning the stub for array res- ‘nance at the operating frequency, or for the best F/B ratio, If the side dimensions of the Quad are incorrect, tuning the stub for ‘maximum F/B ratio or for array resonance will result in a gain figure less than optimum, ‘The important parameter, therefore, is the physical length of the sides of the Quad antenna, Once the correct dimensions have been determined, the antenna will perform in a satisfactory manner with only siraple preliminary adjustments. QUAD ANTENNA DIMENSIONS ‘The physical length of a half-wave dipole antenna is somewhat less than the length of an electrical half-wave in free space. This length reduction is caused by the so-called “end effects” of the antenna, and also because the antenna is not infinitely thin, A dipole element made of aluminum tubing having a diameter of 1/300 of a half wavelength is reduced in length by a factor of about 0.95. The Quad antenna, on the other hand, may be composed of wire having a very small diameter compared to the wavelength (about 1/2500), In addition, there is no “end” to the wire as the elements ‘of the Quad form a continuous loop. As a result, both of these shortening effects are absent, A lengthening effect is actually present, since the action of bending the wires into a square produces exactly the opposite effect, and le sides of the Quad antenna turn out to be slightly longer than a free space quarter wavelength. In actual practice the optimum side length of the Quad is very close to 0.257 electrical wavelength. A table of dimensions for the Quad antenna is given in figure 16. ‘Tue Qua Awrenna Wirt Parastric Direcrors “Quad antennas have been built with one or more director elements, much asin the manner of Yagi antennas, The director elements have sides averaging 56 to 7% smaller than the driven loop, depending upon whether oF not tuning stubs are used. Gain figures appreciably higher than Yagi antenuas having an equivalent number of elements may be achieved because of the vertical stacking gain of the Quad. Typically, a 3 element Quad will provide a gain of about 9.3 decibels, x 4 clement Quad a gain of about 10.2 decibels and 45 element Quad # gain of about 11.0 decibels (see Figure 6, Chap. 1V).40 QUAD ANTENNAS Hema nave sok gension 85 Hoe pimension TEN | Tee] wer Tar ETERS Fe eres) Fig. 18 The 10 meter Quad is cut for a conter frequency of 28.5 MHz. The 6 meter, ‘Quad is cut for a center frequency of $0.1 MHz. If « tuning stub is to bo used in the reflector, mukw L2 dimensions the same as Li. Approximate stub lengths are as, follows: 40 m, 70” (177 em), 90m. 45” (114 cm), 20 m. 35” (88 cm). 17 mn. 25” (69 em). 15m. 20" (80 em). 12-m. 18” (46 ex), 10 m. 16” (40 em). 6m. 10” (25 em). Adjust stub! length for best front-lo-back ratio. See Fig. 5.CHAPTER IV Multi-element and Concentric Quad Antennas It is possible to employ multiple Quad loops to form three element Quad ‘antennas, or to construct an array of concentric Quad antennas capable of operation at several unrelated frequencies. Quad-type arrays may also be formed having “legs” a half-wave in length instead of the usual quarter- wave configuration. The case of the three element Quad antenna will be discussed first Tae Trex Exement Quap ANTENNA The physical configuration of a three element Quad antenna is shown in figure 1. An additional loop is tuned so as to act as a director, and is placed on the opposite side of the driven element from the reflector. Both reflector and director are parasitically excited. Provisions are made for tuning the reflector to a frequency somewhat below the operating frequency by means ofa closed stub and for tuning the director to a frequency above the operating frequency by means of an open stub. The open stub is shorter than a quarter-wavclength and cxhibits capacitive reactance at points A-B on the director loop, Alternatively, the director loop may be tuned with a capacitor at points A-B or it might be made smaller in size than the other elements and tuned for optimum gain by means of a shorted stuh. Paramerers aN PATTERNS FoR THE THREE ELement Quap Test data were derived from a scale model three element Quad antenna operating at a design frequency of 144 MHz. Provisions were made for tuning, the parasitic loops and for varying the spacing between the elements of the array. Measurements were conducted as described in Chapter 3.42, QUAD ANTENNAS Fig. 1 Three element Quad mak use of open director stub to provi, seeseitre gesctemee (ase Fig. However. director may. nant, or undersized with closed sty See Fig. 6 for typical dimension elements and the driven element of |. The gain-vs.-spacing curve! Spacing between the parasiti three element Quad antenna relatively flat from 0.1—0.25 wavelength, with a slight peak in gain occu ing at spacings of about 0.15 wavelength. Employing this spacing, t maximum power gain curve relative to operating frequency is shown’) figure 2. At the design frequency a power gain of about 9.3 decibels) obtained. Shown also are the response curves for a two element Quad af a three element Yagi, It can be seen from the curves that the addition ¢ the director element to the two element Quad provides a boost of 2.0 dbi power gain at the design frequency. In the case of the simple parasitic “ty element beam,” the addition of a tuned director 1 form a “three elem beam” produces a boost in power gain of about 2.7 decibels. It is therefa interesting to note that adding an extra parasitic element to the two eleme Quad provides less addi 4 al power gain than adding au extra element { the usual “two element beam.” The reason the performance of the exit Quad clement is less than optimum is obscure, but it snay be due to fact that the loop-type parasitic element by virtue of its configuration is) low Q design, and it has been demonstrated that high Q parasitic elemen are mandatory for maximum signal gain. Careful antenna gain measurements have shown that the two element Qi closely approaches the power gain of the three clement Yagi and the element Quad surpasses the gain of the three element Yagi by about J: decibels. A check was made of these gain figures on a commercial antent range and the results agreed closely with experimental data gathered as di chapter IH.MULTI-ELEMENT QUADS 43, THREE CLEENT, POWER GAIN OF QUAD OVER OIPOLE ELEMENT SPACING (5) fig. 2 Three olement Quad shows power gain of about 9.8 decibels at clement inicing of 0.8 wavelength. Gain is Iairly constant for spacings of 0.19 to 0.22 wavelength and averages about 2 decibels better than 2 element Quad. Ai additional advantage accruing to the Quad antenna is that it is cheaper fo build than an equivalent Yagi, uses no aluminum tubing, has less “wing span” and less wind resistance. It also may be internally stacked to form inulti:band arrays. In many countries where aluminum tubing is hard to get or uiiobtainable, the Quad antenna is the only practical high gain array for most amateurs. ‘A chart of antenna power gain is shown in figure 3, placing the Yagi and Quad beams in position accors ld rule, “the higher the gain, the louder the signal” still applies to antennas today, and the chart tells the story. 1g 10 power gain over a dipole antenna. The Bandwidth and F/B Ratio The operating bandwidth of a three element Quad antenna adjusted for maximum power gain is quite limited. The reflector and director are in a near resonant condition and slight freqiency excursions will upset the balance of the antenna. The curve of figure 4 shows the bandwidth of this type of array at the 1.75/1 points of SWR is about 300 kilobertz at an. operating frequency of 21 MHz. The bandwidth figure expressed in percent of the operating frequency is 1.43%. This means that the SWR will remain less than 1.75/1 over a frequency region less than 143% as wide as thecry QUAD ANTENNAS ve ” Fig. 3 Gain “ladder” shows th eer Tine ‘pomer‘gcin, ia doce ar of popular antennas. Two eleme: ge Quad provides almost as muc 8 "o—— Two ELemenr vac! element Yagi. Tt 40 oe ect a Sectered asain en dipole antenna (Odecibel). operating frequency, This figure encompasses a 200 kHz span at 14 MI, 300 kHz span at 21 MHz and a 400 kHz span at 28 MHz, ‘the SWR curve is symmetrical, being steeper as the operating frequency approaches the 1 onant frequency of the parasitic director, The F/B ratio of the three element Quad antenna is better than 30 dk bels at a frequency’slightly higher than the design frequency, as shown figure 5.The F/B ratio drops off sharply as the frequency of operation removed from the design frequency, but stays better than 20 decibels 0 the operating bandwidth of the array, as defined by the standing wave ra on the transmission line, . 1 « 4e-f--b rij tJ g ‘ Le SOE a Faequeney (un) Fig. 4. Three element Quad array exhibits « narrow bandwidth whon elements tuned lor maximum gain and optimum front-to-back ratio, Expe Quad showed 300 kHz bandwidth over which the SWR on trans! mained below 1.75/1. SWR increases rapidly on high frequency side of resor frequency ae the parasitic director neara qt resonant condition.MULTI-ELEMENT Quaps 45, ‘proaa-banding” the Three Element Quad Greater uperational bandwidth may be achieved at a sacrifice in maximum onward gain by employing parasitic elements that are detuned from the cngths of optimum operation. For best broadbanding effect at 10 meters, the fflector stub is lengthened until forward gain drops about one-half decibel ind the director stab is lengthened until the gain drops an additional lecibel. The power gain under these conditions is approximately 5.3 lecibels over a bandwidth of 6%, centered on the design frequency. This sandwidth is eulficiont to completely cover the 28 MHz band, or the lower free megahertz of the 50 MUz baud. The maximum excursion of SWR on he transmission fine at the extremilics of bandwidth is slightly under 2.5/1. ‘The power gain of the broadband Quad compares with that of the two Jement Quad, but the advantage of the former ie that it hae a considerably eater operational bandwidth. PoLaR PLots or THE Turex Exemenr Quay Antenna Measurements of a three element Quad antenna tuned for maximum orward gain were made on a scale model operating at a design frequency if 144 MHz. The polar plots for this antenna are shown in figure 7. An pen: wire stub was used for the director element, and a closed stub for he reflector, Pattern A indicates that the array is operating at a fre- juency very close to the resonant frequency of the parasitic reflector, as he F/B ratio is very poor, The SWR on the transmission line is also very righ. In pattern B effective reflector action starts to take place and the a FRONT TO BACK RATIC ( FREQUENCY (ane) ‘ig. 5 I/D ratio of three-element 21 Milz Quad is better than 25 db across bund,REFLECTOR QUAD ANTENNAS DRIVEN ELEMENT DIRECTOR #1 t LL | | wi M8 ax Fone CET 4 0.30482 METERS oIRECTOR #2 t 4 bone {| “J organs ngs Bu _ [Pye eres [eer eens roMULTI-ELEMENT QUADS 47 ‘ig. 7. Polar plots of 3-element Quad show good F/B ratio at design frequency. rear lobe of the pattern diminishes in size. The SWR at this frequency is approximately 3/1 and the array cannot truly be said to be operating within its operating bandwidth. At the design frequency of 144 MHz. (pat- tern C) the SWR is 1/1 and the beam provides a good pattern, having jomnewhat better F/B ratio and gain than exhibited by the two element Quad antenna, © As the test frequency is raised, rear lobe splitting takts place and the SWR hegins to rise rapidly, The F/B ratio is maxicum in figure B (the frequency at which the rear lobe begins to divide) reaching a maximum figure of some 30 decibels. As the frequency of operation is further raised, the SWR climbs rapidly and the rear lobe of the pattern grows in size as the resonant frequency of the director is approached. As shown in pattern D the director begins to act somewhat as a reflector, and a large, distorted radiation lobe appears off the rear of the antenna, accompanied by a large degree of radiation in the plane of the loops.48 QUAD ANTENNAS Motrr-Etewenr Quan ANTENNAS ‘A second director element may be added to the three element Quad to fo a four element antenna array. The addition of the second director results an array gain of about 10.2 decibels as compared to a dipole. This represe a power gain of about 1 decibel or so over the three element Quad an gain of about 3 decibels over the simple two clement Quad. The bandwi and F/B ratio of the four element array compares favorably with the th element array, the curves being essentially the same. A five clement Quad (three directore, driven element and reflector) + tested al 50 MHz. A power gain of approximately 11 decibels was measur with an apparent F/B ratio of 30 db. The SWR curve was slightly shar than that of the four element Quad antenna. A six element test Quad, on other hand, only provided a power gain 0.5 db better than the five elem antenna. The law of diminishing returns seemed to be working at this po It can he noted from these figures that the power gain of the Q. array increases slowly as additional director elements are added to basic two clement array. However, because of the relatively low Q of parasitic loop elements the gain contributed by each loop is less than value provided by a high Q parasitic element such as found in the nom ic beam.” Whereas parasitic beams having twenty or thirty paras directors are efficient, high gain antennas, it would seem from these obs vations that the maximum practical number of parasitic loop elements the Quad array is limited to four or five. Additional experimental work a later date might tend to modify this assumption. ea oTeS Tilt over tower allows operater to pul the finishing touches on 4° element QuMULTI-ELEMENT QUADS 49 Concentric Quap ANTENNAS ‘A popular form of Quad antenna is one wherein various Quad loops for different amateur bands are strung on one framework, as illustrated in fig- ure 8 The most common arrangement is for use on the 20, 15, and 10 meter bands employing three concentric Quads, one for each band. Alterna- tively, two Quads may be interlaced for two of these bands. In general, results obtained from the concentric Quads compare closely with the opera- tion of widely separated individual arrays, although interlocking symptoms nay be observed between the concentric antennas, That is to say, adjust- ments made 1g one antenna will tend to alter the characteristics of the adjacent antennas, With careful design the results of this unwanted symptom may be reduced to a minimum, The Two Band Quad Interaction between the antennas of a two band Quad is quite low. No ‘observable alteration in power gain has been noted when the antennas are jnnterlaced as opposed to igolated operation. ‘The F/B ri Quad, however, drops a bit as compared to an isolated Quad, F/B ratios ‘of 20 db, or so have been measured on the inner array of a two band Quad, while the outer array held closely to the optimum F/B ratio of 25 db., vor better. ‘A second interlocking effect has been noted concerning the feed system of the antennas. Separate feed systems were used for each Quad under test, consisting of 50 ohm coaxial lines, balancing transformers, and matching networks. The feed systems were adjusted until a 1/1 SWR was obtained of the inner Fig. 8 The concentrle or “multi. band” Quad is popular antenna for 2015, and 10 meters: When prover dimensions are used, Hille taterae: |, — q ton is noted between the individusl steers Quads, F/B ratio of the middle Quad 1 / Je lowor then that of Inner ond | SLEMEST et ‘outer ntennas. Balemced feed sys- | (rreicad REE Aars, tems are used with se Quads, 1 | - Lie desc ape XT IL ae? SEES REARS PEAS oF ARRAY50 QUAD ANTENNAS on cach Quad antenna at its particular design frequency. Tests were the; run for each Quad, plotting the measured value of SWR against the op ing frequency of the transmitter. The curves coincided in all respects wi those obtained for separate single band antennas. Experiments showed, nevertheless, that the shape and slope of each curve could be varied mereh by changing the length of the coaxial line on the unused Quad array Additional tests indicated that the radiation resistance figure of one Quaj was also affected by manipulation of the transmission line of the other array, ‘The effects of interaction were reduced to a minimum by cutting ead transmission line to an odd multiple of an electrical quarter-wavelength, the “open” end of the line thereby reflecting a very low terminating ixj pedance across the input terminals of the unused antenna. Thi systems for Quad antennas which tend to reduce the effects of to a minimum are discussed in a later chapter. The Three Band Quad Interaction between the antennas of a three band Quad may also kk observed with adverse effects falling upon the secoud of the three antennas In the case of the 20-15-10 meter Quad, this means that the 15 mete section will exhibit inferior F/B ratio when compared to the other. tw antennas. Efferts of interaction upon the transmission lines may be ‘mini mized by properly cutting the lines tu odd multiples of an electrical quarter wavelength. The F/B ratio of the second Quad, however, will not be much better than 15 db. in any case and some pickup from the sides of the Qual will also be moted on the 21 MHz band, Gain of the second Quad seein! to be comparable to that of the larger and smaller arrays, the deterioratia: in F/B ratio and growth of side lobes being the only prices that must br paid for the convenience of three hand operation with a single structure! Radiation Resistance of Concentric Quad Antennas Three Quad antennas for operation on 20-15-10 meters may be inter: laced on a single framework having. an eight foot boom. Element spacing of the three antennas is such that gain figures for each antenns fall near the peak of the gain curve of figure 6, chapter ITI, Element spacing, relatively uncritical and may he chosen for a matter of convenience, Eight foot spacing is equivalent to 0.125 wavelength for 20 meters, 0.187 wavelength for 15 meters, and 0.25 wavelength for 10 meters. | Radiation resistance of cach separate Quad antenna is a function of the tuning of the reflector stub and can vary over a wide range, depending upon stub adjustment. In general, the value of radiation resistance, for #MULTI-ELEMENT QUADS 51 properly tuned Quad is proportional to the element spacing, being highest in the case of the 10 meter section (0.25 wavelength spacing), and lowest, in the case of the 20 meter section, with the 15 meter antenna exhibiting a radiation resistance value in between the other two. When tuned for maximum signal gain (coincident with maximum F/B ratio when the proper element dimensions are employed) the radiation resistance of the 20 meter section is about 75 ohms, the radiation resistance of the 15 meter section is about 100 ohms, and that of the 10 meter section is about 120 ohins. Front-to-back ratio drops slowly from optimum value as the element spacing between the front and back sections of the Quad is increased Action of the Parasitic Stubs ‘The parasitic reflector of the Quad array is self-resonant at a frequency lower than the operating frequency of the antenna. Conversely, the parasitic director is self-resonant at a frequency higher than the operating frequency. For optimum results, the parasitic loop should be trimmed to the exact size ‘which determines the correct self-resonant frequency. This may be done with a grid-dip meter. The simpler adjustment technique is to cut the parasitic ele- ments to the same physical size as that of the driven element and then to alter their self-resonant frequency by means of a tuning stub (figure 9). ‘The reflector element may employ a shorted stub (A) to lower the self. ® © ae Fig. 9 Parasitic olemont of Quad may bo resonated by shorling stub (A) and (). or by adjustable coil (C). Optimum adjustment is achieved by making the Parasitic element self-resonant (D). Adjustable open stub (E) or series tuning Sapacitor (F) are sometimes used for stub adjustment,52 QUAD ANTENNAS resonant frequency. Adjustment is made by sliding the shorting bar baci and forth along the stub. A fixed stub may be used (B) wherein the eleg trical length is varied by means of a small capacitor mounted at the to, of the stub. The shorted stub may he replaced with a tapped coit (C) whid is adjusted turn by turn to reach the correct self-resonant frequency, or ¢ self-resonant loop may be used as shown at D, The self-resonant parasit clement provides slightly higher gain than other configurations, but must i cut to exact size, Typical dimensions for self-resonant reflector loops are give in figure 10, with data for director loops in figure 6. A director stub is required to electrically shorten the parasitic element thus raising the self-resonant frequency. An open stub (E) may be ent ployed, or a variable capacitor placed in series with the loop as shown (F) can be used. In most installations, stubs are to be preferred over coil and capacitors because of the saving in weight and wind resistance. Concentric Quap Dimensions FIGURE 10 of DIMENSION CHART FOR MULTI-GAND QUAD ARRAYS (FIG.8) I Tyee oF |BANo| ORIVEN Loop | RADIATION |reFLEcToRLOOF| Fre ARRAY (S108) RESISTANCE (SIDE) fRALIOF tones) i FEET wETER reer were) | 20 [rer | sao 50 wear [sss | 2s ao-is to] 1s fro | ser ts woe fan | to | wer | a6a | 100 won [ars | an 17 [rs | 42a 50 tae fase | 2s | reietof 12 free | 3.07 15 toran | ats | te 10 | ase | 268 190 vo [ars | 204 a 30 wx fan [25 wstz~io} te fire | 3.07 7 oar [aus |e 10 |e 00 ‘00 vo [ar | 20] BOIS 10 ARRAY | 8°10" (2.09 m4) Boom LeNcTHs J iy-is-toannay: Soa Gish Lisciac io ARRAY: 49 (40M)CHAPTER V The Expanded Quad (X-Q) Antenna ‘As mentioned earlier in this Handbook, Quad-type arrays may be made up having sides a half-wave in length instead of the usual quarter-wave configuration. A simple example of an antenna of this type is the “Luzy-1I” array. shown in figure LA. ‘The gain of this array is about 5.5 db. and is the sum of the gain figures for both horizontfl and vertical stacking. The array is fed with a quarter-wave stub coupled to a half-wave phasing section which is transposed for proper phase relationships between the upper and ower bays of the array. . Like the simple Quad, the element tips of the “Lazy-H” array may be bent back upon themselves for ceding purposes and for size reduction (figure"1B). A high degree of field cancellation takes place around the vertical wires and the radiation from these folded portions of the upper and lower sections is thereby diminished. This cancellation effect reduces the gain of the loop from the 5.5 decibel figure of the “Lazy-H” antenna to approximately 5 decibels, This gain is still an impressive figure when compared with the 14 decibel gain figure of the quarter wavelength loop employed in the standard Quad antenna. “It is possible to remove the half-wave phasing section from the center of the loop of figure 1B, driving the upper section of the array by con- necting the outer tips of the upper and lower sections together as shown in figure 1C. The center of the upper scction is left open since the two top ‘wires of the array are out of phase with each other at this point, Addition of a reflector to this expanded half-wave loop produces an Expanded Quad (XQ) array (figure 1D) having an overall gain of about 9.5 decibels as compared against a simple dipofe antenna.St QUAD ANTENNAS be 3} 4 — » 4 Bodh od | 2 wore 3 -o-= pg gp wan 1 wi Feloray TERRE oy 3 repo ® t + i $ L cow 2 topo Gane 808 © Po SO Fig, 1 Expanded Quad (X.Q) antenna is derived from Lazy-H array (A), End: of “H” are folded back (B) and cross-over feed system is eliminated {C). Th X-Q loop provides a power gain of about 5 di over a relerence dipole, Tw: clement X-Q array provides power guin uf 9.5 decibels over a dipole. Desten oF THE X-Q Antena Annay ‘The points of maximum current in the X-Q. driven element are shows in figure 1C. For case of feeding, the antenna wire may be broken at om of these points and driven with a balanced transmission line of the propei impedance. Unfortunately, none of these points fall at. the center of the lower section of the array which is a handy place to attach a transmission line. It is possible, however, to connect a quarter-wave transformer (Q: section) at the high potential, low current point at the center of the lowet portion of the bottom section to provide a convenient low impedance feed point at the base of the transformer. By proper adjustment of this Q-sectionTHE X-Q ANTENNA 55 the X-Q array may he matched to a balanced transmission line having @ characteristic impedance in the range of 75-600 olins. The X-Q Reflector Element ‘The reflector loop of the X-Q array is identical to the driven element except that a shorted stub somewhat longer than a quaster-wavelength is used to tune the parasitic element Yor optimum forward gain (maximum F/B ratio). Because of the use of a tuning stub, it is possible to tune the asitic clement as a director by merely decreasing the length of the stub until itis shorter than a quarter-waveleugth, Array gain and F/B ratio are approximately equal for either case. Maximum array gain occurs with an element spacing of 0.125 wave- Ieugth with the gain curve holding to a variation of leas than 0.8 decibel for spacings over the range of 0.1-0,25 wavelength. Front-io-back ratios tend to be slightly higher at the closer values of element spacing. A F/B zatio of greater than 22. decibels is obtainable at the element spacing of 0.125 wavelength, which is comparable to the smaller Quad, but the for- ward radiation lobe is much sharper being approximately 45 degrees wide vat the half-power points. As in the case of the simple Quad or the parasitic beam the angle of radiation of the X.Q array above the horizontal is primarily 4 function of the height of the eouter of the array above the surface of the ground. ‘Advantages of the X-Q Array The X-Q array fs easy to construct, requires no expensive aluminum tubing, and provides a power gain figure equal to or slightly greater than ‘three element parasitic array of normal dimensions. A 10 meter X-Q array is no larger than a simple 20 meter Quad, and the construction of ‘4.15 meter or 20 meter X-Q antenna is not out of the question. Addition of an extra director element to the X-Q array to form a three element ‘expanded Quad has not been tried, but it is not unreasonable to expect a power gain figure of approximately 10 decibels for an array of this type. Matching the X-Q Array to the Feedline The impedance at the center of the bottom horizontal section of the X-Q driven element is very high, falling in the range of 2,000-4,500 ohms, the exact value depending upon the size of wire in the array and the physical construction and electrical alignment of the system. A balanced load impedance of this magnitude may be matched to a balanced low impedance transmission line by the use of a quarter-wave transformer (Q-section) whose characteristic impedance is the geometric mean between56 QUAD ANTENNAS Fig. 2 Law impedence points of th XQ array are located at the come: ‘f the loop making feeding proble: more difficult than In the case of th simple Quad. A simple and effectiv solution ts to feed X-Q loop at th center of the lower section (high ix pedance poin!) with a quarterway matching transformer. This perm @ balanced, low impedance tran mission line to be coupled to th sauna keene antenna. Balun or tuning unit | Tote ie usod at transmitter (unbalanced) pimetwork output circuits. the two impedances that are to be matched. Hf the Qsection has an im pedance of Zq vluus and is terminated by a load of Zy ohms, the impedance reflected to the opposite end of the Q-section is Zz ohms ani is defined by this equation: are Bat *f ‘As a practical example, a 75 ohm balanced transmission line (Zz) may be matched to an antenna {Z,) whose impedance is 3,300 chms by using a Qsection having a characteristic impedance of: 2evrnomue zee aes faa Zu son ons zort tae fawn zoe At the resonant frequency of this antenna a 500 ohm Q-section will prt vide almost a perfect 1/1 standing wave ratio on a balanced two wit 75 ohm transmission line (figure 2). Adjustments to the impedance of the Q-section will permit balanced lines of any reasonable impedance to used with the X-Q array. Data for designing Q-sections capable of us with the X-Q can be found in the “Radio Handbook” distributed by Editoy And Engincers division, Howard W. Sams & Co., Iuc., Ludianapolis, IN 4626 and available at large radio distribution houses, radio mail order hous and libraries,THE X-Q ANTENNA 87 Fig. 9 XQ array may be matched fo low impedance, balanced line by means of a quarter-wave stub tuned fp the operating trequency of the antenna. Stub is resonated by use of Giposcillater. Random length traus- fhission line is tapped onto tho tub | AATehomvel 31 600 ohm feed point. found with aid | 2108 st dip-oscillator or SWR meter. Short- ing bar may require minor adjustment aftr line is attached to stub. Matching Stub System A second matching system making use of a quarter-wave matching stub may be used with the X-Q array (figure 3). ‘The array and stub are resonated to the operating frequency by sliding the shorting bar up and down the stub. A dip-oscillator is coupled to the stub to provide a convenient indication of the resonant frequency of the array. Once the correct adjust- ‘ment has been found the shorting bar is soldered in place. The next step is to determine which point on the stub will match the 300 ohm impedance of the transmission line, Low impedance points will be found dose to the shorting bar and higher impedance points are found a corres- ponding distance up the tuned stub, A dip-oscillator and Antennascope may bo employed to find the desired impedance point on the stub. Con siruction and operating information for the Antennascope may be found in the previously mentioned “Radio Handbook.” Coaxial Feed Systems for the X-Q Array © Coaxial feed systems may he employed with the X-Q array as shown in figure 4. A half-wave balun transformer can be used to provide a balanced letmination point of 208 ohms (A-B, figure 4). A Q-section having a characteristic impedance of approximately 800 ohms will provide a good match between the balun and the X-Q array. On the other hand, the balun58 QUAD ANTENNAS Fig. 4 Q-section, half-wave baly Gnd coasiol ine provide unbedance ‘Seu syetem for practwork canon tore, Balun provides 208° chm tern 0 om ester ation point for 98 ohm tine, cy Zdhustable, “uvction” stops” ime dance up to several thousand chm > suitable for high impedance foe ee olnt of X-Q. may be attached to the 208 ohm point on a tuned stub in the same manner as the balanced two wire transmission line, The X-Q Array Adjustment Procedure A drawing of the X-Q array giving all important dintensions is shows in figure 5. This antenna is adjusted in much the same manner as the smaller Quad, The relationship between F/B ratio and power gain are sé, by employing the correct side dimensions and element spicing dusing von) struction, The remaining corrections necessary after the X-Q array i erected are resonating adjustments to he made to the parasitic reflector and driven clement. The first step is to attach a 75 chm balanced line and) 500 ohm Qesection to the driven loop of the XQ array and run the line to your receiver. ‘The X-Q array is placed in operating position and th. reflector (back of the array) is aimed at a nearhy transmitter that has a horizontally polarized antenna, The reflector stub of the X-Q array is nox, adjusted for minimum signal pickup as read on the S-meter of the receiver! This adjustment should be repeated with several local signals, Once the correct point has heen fond for the shorting bar on the reflector stub ii should be soldered in.fosition.THE X-Q ANTENNA 59 ‘The next step is to adjust the Q-scction of the driven clement. The 75 ohm feedline is removed and replaced with a shorting bar. The dip-oscillator is coupled to the bar which is moved up and down the stub an inch or so at @ time until the resonant frequency of the driven element falls at the chosen design frequency of the array, During this operation’ it may be possible to observe a secondary indication of resonance occuring somewhat lower in frequency than that af the driven element. This is the resonant frequency of the parasitic element and should be approximately 39 to 5% lower in fre- quency than the resonant frequency of the driven element. When the driven element has heen set to the proper operating frequency the shorting bar may be: 1) soldered in position to form a matching stub, or: 2) removed and replaced with a low impedance transmissiun line, thus changing the matching. stub into a Qsection. DIMENSIONS FOR X-0 ANTENNA b {ESE e aca Ree ver | on ben Le | we 100 mtg oe hand rede te , al i} / / [LE \ chr Niruo enscwe ot 9 memes Geer)CHAPTER VI Feed Systems for Quad Antennas A transmission line is required to transmit or guide electrical energ from the transmitter to any antenna, of from the anteum to the receiv Tn most franni Ise5, some sort of matching system murt be placed between thy line and the antenna to provide an efficient transfer of energy The reader is refered to the “Beam Antenna Handbook,” published by Radiv Publications Ine.. for a full discussion of transmission Ti mntenna matching techniques. The specific ease of matching balanced an to various forms of Quad antennas will bx anbalanced tausmission Li discussed in this. chapter THE BALANCED QuAD ANTENNA The simple Quad driven element is a quarter-wave loop, open at the center of the bottom section for feeding purposes. The loop is symmetrical and the current distribution on the wire is alsa symmetrical, as shown ib figure LA. The current is a minimum value at the centers of the vertical sides and reaches a maximum figure at the centers of the horizontal see tions. Hf the Quad loop is broken at point X and straightened out into two horizontal wites the current distribution in these wires would appear a shown in figure 1B. The current distribution in the lower wire resembles that of the simple dipole antenna, being a maximum at the center and minimum at the ends of the wire. This wire may be fed at the center with a halanced two wire transmission line connected to point AB. The ampli tude of the rf current in one leg of the line will be equal to the amplitude of the current in the other leg, and 180° out of phase with it, Equal, out-of-phase currents in the wires of the halanced transmission line are af prime importance because the Quad clement is a closed loop (unlike the simple dipole) and the current flowing at point A has to equal the curretl,FEED SYSTEMS FOR QUAD ANTENNAS 6L _ x ax gpousion une SIMPLE QUAD LOOP. OPEN QUAD Loop Tame, Le = pont oF maxians cunnewr 1 IH Ht I) Fig. | Current distribution is symmetrical in Quad antenna as it forms a closed sysiem (A), Unequal and improperly phased currents may flow in @ dipole GZulonna {C) ua no elecirical conueclion exists between dipole halves, flowing at point B as these two points are electrically connected together by the wire of the loop. On the other hand, unequal and improperly phased currents may low in the simple dipole (figure 1C) as there is no electrical connection between the halves of the antenna, A situation such as this arises when the balanced dipole is fed with an unbalanced (corxial) trans- mission line, Transmission Line Radiation Then an unbalanced transmission line is employed to transfer power to a balanced antenna a certain proportion of the line current flows on the outer surface of the coaxial shield. Under proper operating conditions, no electric or magnetic fields extend outside of the outer conductor of the line. All fields exist in the space between the center conductor and the shield.:‘Thus the coaxial cable is a perfectly shielded line. When current flows on the outer surface of the shield the shielding function of the line is lost,-as this current is not balanced with respect to the current flowing ‘onthe inner conductor of the line. As a result considerable power may be fadiated directly from the line. ‘This power does not reach the antenna and62 QUAD ANTENNAS is lost for all practical purposes. The field of radiation of the line bears no relationship to the antenna ficld and usually results in a deterioration of the front-to-back ratio and power gain of the untenna, Complaints that the Quad antenna exhibits no F/B ratio can usually be traced to an unbalanced feed system in which the transmission line is coupled to the antenna in some manner £0 a3 to alter the radiation pattern of the antenna. The use of some form of coupling transformer (balun) between the feed line and the antenng or the use of a balanced line are two solutions to this. 4 Tn most amateur antenna installations the transmission line drops down: ward from the antenna and under conditions of line radiation moy by compared to a long vertical antenna having a high angle of radiation, Since low angle radiation is required for effective antenna performancy: the field about the transmission line serves no useful purpose at all al only wastes power that otherwise might make the signal stronger an} more readable at some distant point of reception. i The first rule, therefore, for the design of an efficient feed system for s+ balanced antenna euch as the Quad is: ; 1-The transmission line system must deliver balanced, out-of- ower to the balanced feed points of the driven element of te array, Barancen Freep Systems ciate A balanced 75 ohm two-wire line may be used to feed the Quad antenna! As the radiation resistance of the Quad and the impedance of the line are nal too far apart in absolute value, the standing wave ratio ou the line will le reasonably low. If the line is removed from the immediate vicinity of me objects and the ground, if it docs not run parallel to the antenna elements. “a when a proper coupling cireuil is used at the station, the line currents will halanced and radiation from the lite will be at a minimum, The balances Jine may be connected to the transmitter by a simple antenna coupler, such ct ing type twin-lead is recommen nied for shown in Figure 2. Heavy duty transmi power levels up to the maximum legal limi When the balanced line is cut to multiples of an electrical halfswavelengl the line will resemble a series of transformer sections each having a Lol transformation ratio, reflecting the antema termiuating: impedance to tht input end of the line. An antenna coupler can then transform this value to’ nominal value of 50 ohms, suitable for an unbulanced coaxial output systeas such as used in the majority of modern transmitters, Antenna coupler taps ail tuning are adjusted for lovest value of SWR on the 50 nbm fine tothe tran mitter. Altering the length of the twin line to the antenna a foot or so help if difficulty is encountered in loading the transmitter properly while mai taining a fow value of SWR on the cousial Line. 4FEED SYSTEMS FOR QUAD ANTENNAS 63 Fig, 2 Antenna coupler for use wih balanced line. The coil is Bp" diameter, $ turns per inch RANDOM LENGTH BALANCED O fd wire, End sections axe SSSR Shorted at 4 turns for 80 motors. 36 tums for 40 meters, 28 turns {or 20 meters, 29 turns for 15 s:seerion co UL cand. 20. tums for 10 fe. ee “Radio Handbook tke t ake ben Te ae er ra ey 1 FanTes euniTTa™ ” Tape RF Tw Concenrnic TreBano Quan A balanced feed system may be used with a tri-band Quad element as shown jn figure 3. The loops are constructed to the dimensions given in Chapter IV, figure-10. The feed points of the luops are then connected in parallel. Using standard dimensions and reflector spacing, the impedance range presented at the feedpoint of the loops lies between 75 ohms and 140 ohms. The loops not res- ‘onant at the operating frequency present a rather high impedance across the loop Gig: 9. Tri-band Quad loops may be connected in parallel and fed 5 ‘wilh random length 75 ohm ribbon [Patiattins line to antenna tunor. Ifa rel Sly high value of SWR is accepted, ad line radiation not 1 problem, parallel lope may be fed dircelly ith, $0 ohm coaxial tranamission (ser Freoee 3)on QUAD ANTENNAS in use und each loop exerts a measureable detuning effect upon its companions. ‘As a result, the SWR on the twin-line system at the resonant frequency of the antenna on each band is somewhat higher than in the case of the single band array shown in figure 2. Typically, the SWR on the twinline feeder of the tricband Quad will run less than 240-1 at resonance. The use of the antenna tuner, however, will drop the SWR on the coaxial line to the station equipment to unity. This simple system is very effective and when used with an antenna tuner will provide good results with a tri-band Quad antenna. Unsatancen (Coaxtat) Prep Systems ror THz Quap ANTENNA In many instances it is convenient or necessary to feed the balanced Quad antenna with a coaxial line having single conductor which is unbalanced to ground. The Tine should not be directly connested to the driven element of the Quad, or a severe discontinuity will occur in the electrieal character- istic of the transmission system. This will create a high value of SWR on SINGLE OR MULTIPLE QUAD L0OP SINGLE OR MULTIPLE QUAD LOOP voeye ® ® FERRITE CORE BALUN LUMPED BALUN. ® ® Fig. 4 Quad loop is fod from coaxial lino and balun, Forrite core (A) is Indiant General CF-123 (0-1 material), 2.4” outside diameter. Information may be obtaines from Indiana General Corp., Crow Mills Rd., Keasby, N] 08892. Trililar air core coil balun (B) is shown in Figure 5.FEED SYSTEMS FOR QUAD ANTENNAS 65 the line and a loss of considerable energy by radiation will take place as a result of unbalanced line currents. No amount of adjustment to the antenna can completely remove the SWR on the transinission line created by this type of discontinuity. In addition, the current flowing on the outer surface of the coaxial shield will lead to erroneous SWR measurements when a simple SWR directional coupler is employed to examine the con- dition of the transmission line. In order to effect an efficient junction between the unbalanced transmission line and the balanced antenna system aline-balance converter (balun) must be used (figure 6), The outer surface of the shield of a coaxial linc is normally at ground potential, whereas the inner conductor is well above ground potential. Both conductors of the Quad driven element display the same potential to ground under ideal conditions. The object of the line-balance converter is to produce a high impedance to ground between the outer surface of the outer conductor of the coaxial line at the point where it connects to one terminal of the balanced antenna, thereby converting the end of the coaxial line to a balanced condition. Two Practicat Raruns ror Your Quan Two practical baluns that will do the job are shown in figures 4 and 5, Drawing A shows a r-f choke balun made of three turns of your coaxial trans- mission line wound about a small ferrite core, The choke is located about « quarter-wavelength down the line from the antenna and the portion of the line between the choke and the antenna forms a simple balun. The outer shield of the line from the choke to the antenna has r-f energy on it and this portion of the line should be brought away at right angles to the anteuna wires. Placement of the choke coil along the transmission line is not critical, The line is wound through the ferrite core which is taped into position. The coil must be fairly large as coaxial line should not be bent around too sharp a radius. A coil diameter of not less than 7 inches is suggested for RG-BA/U coaxial line, and not less than 4 inches for RG-58/U line. A lumped constant balun may also be used (figure 4B). Two suitable de- signa are shown in figure 5. At the left is an air core balun having an average power capability of hetter than 1000 watts over the range of 7 to 30 MHz, ‘The balun has a 1-to-1 ratio and provides good balance to either a 50 or 75 ohm transmission Tine. The unit consists of three coils of #14 Formar insulated wire, ten turns to cach coil. Formvar (polyvinyl formal-phenolic resin) is superior to enamel insulation because of its greater dielectric breakdown strength, The windings are placed on a 4-inch long piece of 1-1/16 inch out- side diameter gray palyvinylchloride (PVC) plastic tubing, cammonly used in many areas for water pipe.66 QUAD ANTENNAS Fig. S Air core balun at left is good for 1000 watts PEP powor lavel. Jumpers connect windings in proper sequence. Coil termination (A) is at lower right with termination (B) at lower left. Ferrite coro balun is at right, Three pieces of wire about 4 feet long ase needed. The wires are placed parallel to one another and the far ends held in a vise. The near ends are scraped clean of insulation and wrapped around three 4-40 bolts placed in the PVC form as anchor points. The three wires are then wound side by side on the form as one, until ten triflar turns are on the form, Wind under tension so that the coils adhere tightly to the form. The other ends of the windings are now scraped clean and attached ta the respective anchor bolts, as shown in the photograph. The last step is to interconnect the center, or balancing, winding. The coil is cross-connected across the outer coils at the ends by means of two short straps, the terminals reversed in physical poition from one end of the coil to the other. ‘The input terminals of the balun are non-symmetrical. Point A must be taken as ground and is connected to the shield of the coaxial line. Point B is c nected to the inner conductor of the line. At the output end of the balun, the terminals are symmetrical and halanced to ground, ‘A compact ferrite core balun is shown at the right of figure 5. It is useable over the range of 3.5 to 30 MHz. The average power capacity is 700 watts up to 14 MHz and 400 watts at 30 MHz. With intermittent yoice SSB operation, the power capacity probably can he doubled with safety. The balun is wound onFEED SYSTEMS FOR QUAD ANTENNAS oT a Ypinch diameter, Q-1 material ferrite rod having » permeability of 125 at 1 me, A suitable rod is the Indiana General CF 503, which is 744, inches Jong. Information about this material ean be obtained from Indiana General Corp. Crow Mills Rd, Keashy, NJ 08832. The inexpensive ferrite rod can be easily nicked with a file around the circumference at the desired length and broken with a sharp blow. ‘The balun winding consists of six turns of #14 Formvar wire closewound on the rod as described for the air core balun, When wound, the leads to the coils may he wrapped with string and the ends given a coat of epoxy resin. Keep the coil itself free of resin or other material, as the distributed capacitance of the winding must be held to a minimum for proper operation, WEATHERPROOFING THE BALUN Either type of balun must be protected from the weather without upsetting the electrical characteristics of the device, The balun may be placed in a cylindrical case made from a section of » polyethylene “cqneeze hottle” such as holds hair shampoo. ‘The ends of the bottle are cut off and plywood dises are substituted, held in place with very small wood screws through the hottle wall, The balun is suspended inside the bottle section by its leads which are connected to brass bolts passed through the plywood discs. When completed, tte end dises are given a coat of epoxy resin to waterproof the joints. An Ivexpensive Linear BaLun ‘The purpose of a balun is to decouple the outside shield of the transmission line {rom the effects of the antenna. An inexpensive linear halun may be used. The balun is made of flexible, metallic braided sleeving which is cut to length and slipped over the jacket of the coaxial line. The “top” (or antenna) end of the braid is terminated about an inch below the end of the coaxial line and is firmly taped in place. No connection is made betwean the balun and the coaxial line at this point. ‘The braid is now smoothed down along the line and trimmed to the correct length. To hold it in position it is necessary to wrap it with a few turns of vinyl tape every six inches or 40. The “bottom” end of the balun is tinned with a soldering iron and a short length of wire is suldered to the bottom of the braid before the end is taped. ‘The last step is to remove the vinyl jacket from the coaxial line about Y4,inch below the balun, exposing about Y4-inch of the flexible outer shield of the line, The wire from the balun is trimmed short and soldered to the shield of the line, The connection is wrapped with vinyl tape to prevent moisture from entering the line, Construction and installation of68 QUAD ANTENNAS this simple balun is straightforward, When completed, the braid should be wrapped with waterproof vinyl tape to reduce the effects of moisture in the atmosphere, Pi-Ne«work Operation Generally speaking, almost all pi-network circuits employed in modern transmitters will operate into nonreactive loads within the range of 50 to 150 ohms. The nature of the pi-network is such that as the external load impedance is lowered additional output capacity must be added to the net- work output section. A practical limit is reached in the neighborhood of 20 ohms or so, below which the value of output capacitance required to establish an impedance match between the amplifier tubes of the trans- mitter and the external load becomes inordinately large. The reverse is true, however, when the pi-network is called upon to match the trans- mitter to transmission line impedances greater than 50 ohms. In this case a smaller than normal value of output capacitance in the network is required. Jo any case, Quad antennas fed with balanced transinission lines may be coupled to pi-network circuits by the use of an auxiliary tuning unit and SWR meter. Fig. § Unbalanced coaxial line may be attached directly to Quad Joop with aid of balun placed at top end of line. and outer cos is quarter-war having a high the open end (top). of the coosial line are aolated from ground, yegeeeresen th BALUN SLEEVE