1) Designing PCB log periodic antennas involves many iterations to account for factors like the dielectric constant and thickness of the PCB material, which can affect element lengths and spacing at different frequencies.
2) A key design consideration is grounding the antenna at the back of the boom to eliminate low frequency problems and reduce susceptibility to interference.
3) The phase center location shifts along the antenna as frequency changes, following a pattern related to the number of elements, and is compressed compared to designs using low-loss dielectrics like Teflon.
1) Designing PCB log periodic antennas involves many iterations to account for factors like the dielectric constant and thickness of the PCB material, which can affect element lengths and spacing at different frequencies.
2) A key design consideration is grounding the antenna at the back of the boom to eliminate low frequency problems and reduce susceptibility to interference.
3) The phase center location shifts along the antenna as frequency changes, following a pattern related to the number of elements, and is compressed compared to designs using low-loss dielectrics like Teflon.
1) Designing PCB log periodic antennas involves many iterations to account for factors like the dielectric constant and thickness of the PCB material, which can affect element lengths and spacing at different frequencies.
2) A key design consideration is grounding the antenna at the back of the boom to eliminate low frequency problems and reduce susceptibility to interference.
3) The phase center location shifts along the antenna as frequency changes, following a pattern related to the number of elements, and is compressed compared to designs using low-loss dielectrics like Teflon.
1) Designing PCB log periodic antennas involves many iterations to account for factors like the dielectric constant and thickness of the PCB material, which can affect element lengths and spacing at different frequencies.
2) A key design consideration is grounding the antenna at the back of the boom to eliminate low frequency problems and reduce susceptibility to interference.
3) The phase center location shifts along the antenna as frequency changes, following a pattern related to the number of elements, and is compressed compared to designs using low-loss dielectrics like Teflon.
Grounding via at the back of the Log Periodic: Over the last few years, I have developed many PCB Designing a Log Periodic to be grounded at the back of the Log Periodic antennas from 400 MHz to 11 GHz. I wish I could boom helps solve many problems. The entire antenna is at DC say I have a secret design process, but there were many ground and many low frequency response problems are variations and small pieces of metal tape on the early models. eliminated. In high EMI areas, ungrounded LP's can look like a And while there are software programs such as IE3D and HFSS fat 1/4 wave ground plane to VHF signals and let in than can analyze a log periodic antenna on a dielectric surface, intermodulation sources. Removing the via will lower the I do not know of any programs that can design such an antenna. lowest usable frequency slightly, but introduce many new These antennas are the result of hours and hours of work on the resonance's into the antenna. Network Analyzer and out on the antenna range. Removing the back grounding via is not recommended. And now, a few of the problems designing PCB Log Periodics. Power: PCB Asymmetry: I wish I could test one of these antennas to destruction, but I just A Copper trace resting on a dielectric has a velocity factor. That do not have enough power. At 400 MHz, the antenna has a is, a 1/2 wave dipole is shorter resting on Fiberglas than it would relatively large active area and can easily take 100 watts. As be in free air. While the textbooks give you the velocity factor you go up in frequency, the active area gets smaller and smaller, for a stripline over a groundplane, the elements are not over a and the dielectric loss goes up. At 3.4 GHz one has been burned ground plane! But it turned out to be close to the velocity factor up with 40 watts of FM. At 10 GHz a 10 watt prolonged carrier of a normal stripline, about 60%. However that is in just one smoked another 2-11 GHz LP. I am expecting some feedback direction. While the elements are about half their expected on their power handling from local EME'ers. length, the element to element spacing is only reduced about Phase Center: 20%. So you cannot simply scale a freespace Log Periodic by The phase center is the point on the antenna that does the the PCB velocity factor and expect it to work well. radiating. On an LP style antenna, the phase center moves along As they say, "Been There, Done That" the antenna as the frequency changes. Counting Elements from PCB Dielectric Constant: the small end, the 3 cm phase center is about element #3. 6 cm I also learned the hard way that the dielectric constant of most is about element #6, and 13 cm is about element #12. One PCB materials varies with frequency. So while FR-4 type effect of the dielectric is the compression effect on the antenna, materials have a dielectric constant (Er) of 4.2 to 4.4 at DC, it making it physically smaller. The phase center does not move can drop to 3.9 at 2 GHz, and even lower at higher frequencies. as much as it would with a Teflon or air dielectric design. As you move up in frequency, the relative thickness of the Why didn't you build them on Teflon? material increased. At 900 MHz the PCB thickness (1.6 mm) is The short answer is money. If you know a PCB house that can about .5% the length of the element. By the time I was up to 11 make double sided PCB's with plated through holes from CAD GHz, the PCB material was up to 15% of the element length. files on Teflon board for less than $500 a panel, let me know! So the Fiberglas dielectric has an ever increasing effect on the Also, I cannot use the current artwork. The elements will get lengths of the elements, and companies just don't publish the Er about 20% longer, the element to element spacing will increase of their non-Teflon PCB material above 1 GHz. So there are about 10%, and the asymmetrical booms would change. The many factors in the PCB material that are distorting the 400-1000 MHz, the 900-2600 MHz, the 2.1-6 GHz and the 2-11 dimensions of a free space Log Periodic. GHz versions went though the PCB house 3 times before I was Booms: happy, and a Teflon version would probably make several trips The velocity factor of a stripline varies with its impedance. too. So a Teflon version would easily cost another $2000 to That is, the wave travels at different speeds for wide lines and develop. narrow lines. When the transmission line is soldered to the As a Dish Feed: antenna, that side of the antenna effectively has less inductance A Log Periodic is a compromise dish feed. How far down it is and a higher velocity factor. You really don't want the waves from an optimized feed depends on many factors, f/d, traveling at different velocities on the opposite sides of the frequency, etc. But in general, a 3ft dish with an LP feed has antenna! So the line trace on the transmission line side has been about as much gain as a 2.5 ft. dish with an optimized feed, and narrowed to allow for the effects of soldering on the coax. during contests you only have to carry one antenna. Mount the Coax: LP with the phase center of the highest frequency you plan to I recommend using either .085” semi-rigid coax on the 2.1-11 use at the focus of the dish. The lower frequencies are slightly GHz antenna or one of the Teflon RG-174 style coax with a beyond the best focus point, but the loss is usually less than a diameter of less than .1 inch, or 2.5mm. The coax only needs to dB. Also the dielectric compresses the antenna, so the phase be a millimeter longer than the antenna, and then you can center does not move as much as it would with Teflon or an air transition to 7/8" Heliax if you like. Keep the free tip of the dielectric Log Periodic. coax as short as possible, as shown in data sheet and the shield as close to the via as practical. This improves phasing, especially above 5 GHz.