Mini - Windom Shortwave Receiving Antenna

Mini - Windom shortwave receiving antenna
The Mini - Windom is a low cost, passive broadband receiving antenna with minimal dimensions but
great reception capabilities. It can be used indoors- as well as outdoors in situations where a full-
size antenna cannot be placed due to space limitations or when an outdoor antenna is not allowed.
The Mini - Windom is the ideal low cost antenna for portable receivers, scanners with shortwave
coverage and computer controlled receivers.
Features
* Frequency range : 500 kHz - 30 MHz, usable down to 150 kHz
* Antenne length : only 4 metres !
* Reception pattern: omni-directional
* 50 ohms impedance, no antenna tuner required
* Fully weatherproof, for in- and outdoor use
* Coaxial cable between antenna and receiver
* Magnetic Transfer technology reduces interference from computers and other man-made noises.
* Comes completely assembled, ready to hang
In many situations it is not possible to mount a full-size outdoor antenna, either by space limitations or when
an outdoor antenna is not allowed. An active antenna can be a solution, but when costs are important, these
are out of the question. Very cheap active antennas which give no intermodulation, do not influence the
quality of reception and still give good results, don't exist! In many cases only the whip antenna of the
portable is used as antenna. Good to receive some stronger stations but not suited for weak signal reception.
First, because whip antennas respond to the electric field component of signals. This makes them very
sensitive for man- made noise, such as interference from computers and fluorescent lighting. Secondly:
because the counterpoise of small modern portables with their plastic cases is small, the efficiency of whip
antennas is very low. Less than 10% of the available field strength is fed as signal to the receiver circuitry,
which means that long distance, weak signals are not even noticeable.
The Mini - Windom is a quite remarkable antenna. It's passive, without electronics which can produce
intermodulation or other interferences, resulting also in a low-cost design. The length of the antenna wire is
only 4 metres, so it can be placed anywhere: on a small balcony, hanging out of the window or in a room.
The antenna wire maybe even bent if the antenna does not fit not stretched in the room. The lead -in cable is
coaxial and does not pick-up interference, for instance from nearby computers. The antenna can be
connected directly to the 50 ohms external antenna input of portables, wide-band scanners of computer-card
receivers. The Mini - Windom is a broadband antenna, no antenna tuner is required. As the antenna is
extremely small with respect to the wavelength of the receive signals, the reception pattern is omni-
directional.
The secret of the Mini - Windom is a special matching network. The off-centre fed antenna wire forms a
capacitive, high impedance signal source. Thanks to a new type of ferrite, developed at RF Systems, it was
possible to design a special wideband impedance matching network. The frequency dependent reactive
impedance of this matching network changes inversely with the changing capacitive impedance of the
antenna, resulting in equal sensitivity across the shortwave bands without antenna tuner. As in the situations
where the Mini - Windom is used a good earth connection is mostly not available, the antenna uses the 4
metres coaxial lead-in cable as counterpoise, resulting in a very high efficiency. For outdoor mounting the
lead-in cable can be extended up to 20 mtrs. Inside the matching network the received signals are
transferred to the receiver only by a magnetic field. This Magnetic Field Transfer technology of RF Systems
acts as a screen of Faraday, which gives a much lower noise level compared to a wire connected directly the
whip antenna of portables or to the Hi-Z antenna input of the receiver.
Construction
The Mini - Windom comes completely assembled, ready to hang. Its available in two versions: with a PL 259
connector which will fit on most communication receivers, and with a BNC connector, which is used on most
wide-band scanners and computer-card receivers. The antenna wire is flexible litze, covered with UV- and
air-pollution resistant black poly-ethylene. The coaxial lead-in cable is high-quality RG 174/u cable with a
length of 4 metres. On both ends of the antenna wire two Dacron span lines are mounted, each of 1,5 mtrs
length.
Options
Some computer-card receivers and wideband scanners have only one single antenna input for the total
frequency range. For reception of frequencies above 30 MHz another type of antenna is necessary. This
requires constant changing of plugs or an expensive coaxial switch with a frequency range up to 1000 MHz
or higher. In both cases scanning of mixed shortwave and VHF/UHF frequencies is not possible. For this
problem the RF Systems duplexer DPX 30 is the ideal solution. This optional device has two antenna inputs,
one for a shortwave antenna up to 30 MHz, the other for VHF/UHF from 30 to 2500 MHz. In the duplexer
both frequency ranges are combined to a single output, which can be directly connected to the wide-band
antenna input of the receiver. Both antennas don't "see" each other, so the signals of the VHF/UHF antenna
are not lost in the shortwave antenna and vice-versa.
On most portable receivers the external antenna input is not in use on long- and mediumwave. For these
frequency ranges the ferrite-rod antenna inside the portable is used. If you own such a receiver (see the
instruction manual) the RF Systems AA - 2 antenna coupler is a solution. This coupler will feed the receiver
with long- and mediumwave signals from the Mini-Windom or other external antenna. No direct connection of
the AA - 2 to the receiver is necessary, thanks to the magnetic field coupling to the ferrite-rod antenna in the
receiver. For more details, ask see the AA - 2 page on this site. If you own a portable without external
antenna input, RF Systems' AA - 1 antenna adaptor solves this problem. This little device is a special
matching transformer witch makes it possible to connect a broadband low impedance external antenna like
the Mini - Windom to the whip antenna of the portable. For more details, see the AA - 1 page on this site.
(photo) Mini-windom, AA - 2 (with click to AA 2 page) and AA

-1 with click to aa 1 page
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(photo) Mini-windom, AA - 2 (with click to AA 2 page) and AA

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