Antenna Fundamentals
Antenna Fundamentals
Antenna Fundamentals
VHF/UHF mobile antennas can be very efficient, if regarding mounting style and installation technique. The
installed properly. This section presents the popular types material was revised and updated from previous editions by
of mobile antennas for VHF and UHF and discusses issues Alan Applegate, KØBG.
Glass Mounts
“Through-glass” or “on-glass” mounts such as the Larsen
KG2/70CXPL use adhesive to hold the base of the antenna
and cable fitting to opposite sides of a window, relying on
metal foil surfaces to create a capacitor and pass VHF/UHF
signals. The mount
must be clear of win-
dow heating strips and
cannot be used on tint-
ed (passivated) glass
that contains colloidal-
sized metallic particles
to provide protec-
tion from harmful
UVA and UVB rays.
(A)
Antenna performance
is somewhat of a com-
Figure 16.6 — (A) shows an adjust- promise because of the
able lip mount made by Diamond. lack of a ground-plane
(B) is a close-up of the mount show-
ing the set screws that hold the (B) but allows a permanent
mount to the vehicle and make an mount without holes,
electrical connection to the vehicle. clamps, or magnets.
Magnet Mounts
Mag (magnet) mounts Figure 16.8 — The mirror-mount style of clamp-on
bracket. This particular bracket is drilled for an SO-239 to
are very popular for VHF 3
⁄8-24 stud mount. The bracket can be mounted on
and UHF operation. They vertical or horizontal struts.
rely on capacitance to make
their electrical connection to
the vehicle ground plane, so bag around the magnet protects the finish against grit while
common-mode current on the still maintaining a solid attachment.
feed line shield can become a
problem. Nevertheless, mag Specialty Brackets and Adapters
mounts do deliver acceptable Because there are so many variations in vehicles there are
performance at VHF and UHF. many different types of brackets for mounting antennas. One
Mag mounts are avail- of the most common is the three-way mirror mount in Fig-
able with the antenna and ure 16.8 that is sold by many companies. This particular ver-
feed line attached as in Fig- sion is drilled to pass the shoulder insulator of the SO-239 to
ure 16.7 or as the mount by 3
⁄8-24 threaded stud-mount adapter shown in the foreground.
itself. There are mag mounts You can find a wide variety of brackets at hamfest flea mar-
for any of the popular antenna kets, from vendors of antenna accessories, online from manu-
bases — NMO, stud mount, and facturers and distributors, and at truck stops and CB shops.
SO-239. A spare dual-band mag The performance of the antenna depends on the size of
mount, a set of VHF and UHF what the bracket is attached to. Most mirrors mounts are just
whips, and several coax con- barely big enough to act as a counterpoise at UHF but if they
nector adapters are a valuable are securely mounted to a metal vehicle body, performance
addition to your emergency will be acceptable. The radiation pattern of the antenna
response capabilities. will rarely be omnidirectional due to the off-center antenna
Be wary of the fine grit placement.
that can work its way under the Adapters are also available that convert mounts such as
magnet and scratch the paint. the NMO to other types of bases and connectors, such as the
If you do use a mag mount for various stud mounts and SO-239 connector. This allows your
long periods of time, remove it antenna mount to accommodate other types of antennas but
Figure 16.7 — A typical and clean the magnet surface generally increases the length of the antenna by an inch or
dual-band VHF/UHF mag
mount with an integral occasionally. For temporary so, lowering the antenna’s resonant frequency. A few mount
antenna and feed line. installations, a plastic sandwich adapters should be included in your mobile equipment kit.
16-6 Chapter 16
16.3 Project: Mobile Whips for VHF and UHF
16.3.1 1⁄4-WAVELENGTH WHIPS
FOR VHF AND UHF
The ⁄4-wavelength vertical whip is simple to make and can
1
Construction
The antenna shown here is made from low-cost materi-
als. Figure 16.9 shows the base coil and aluminum mounting
plate. The coil form is a piece of low-loss solid rod, such
as plexiglass or phenolic. The dimensions for this and other
parts of the antenna are given in Figure 16.10. A length of
brazing rod is used as the whip section.
The whip should be 47 inches long. However, brazing
rod comes in standard 36-inch lengths, so if used, it is neces-
sary to solder an 11-inch extension to the top of the whip. A
piece of #10 AWG copper wire will suffice. Alternatively, a
stainless-steel rod can be purchased to make a 47-inch whip.
Shops that sell CB antennas should have such rods for re- Figure 16.9 — At top, a photograph of the 5⁄8-l
placement purposes on base-loaded antennas. The limitation vertical base section. The matching coil is af-
one can expect with brazing rod is the relative fragility of the fixed to an aluminum bracket that screws onto
the inner lip of the car trunk. Below is the com-
material, especially when the threads are cut for screwing the pleted assembly. The coil has been wrapped
rod into the base coil form. Excessive stress can cause the rod with electrical tape to keep out dirt and
to break where it enters the form. The problem is complicated moisture.
Tune-Up
After the antenna has been mounted on the vehicle,
connect an SWR bridge in the 50-W feed line. (An antenna
analyzer could also be used without the requirement of
transmitting a signal during antenna adjustment.) Key the
144-MHz transmitter and experiment with the coil tap
placement. If the whip section is 47 inches long, an SWR
of 1:1 can be obtained when the tap is at the right location.
As an alternative method of adjustment, place the tap at four
turns from the top of L1, make the whip 50 inches long,
and trim the whip length until an SWR of 1:1 occurs. Keep
the antenna well away from other objects during tune-up,
as they may detune the antenna and yield false adjustments
for a match.
Figure 16.13 — Relative current magnitudes on three different three element HPOD antennas.
16-10 Chapter 16
than an independent dipole composed
of the same material. The resonant im-
pedance (50 W) is lower than the usual
value for a standard dipole of about
70 W. The three dipoles in the triangle
do interact by virtue of both the prox-
imity of their feed points and the close-
ness of their tips. The dimensions of
the triangle are therefore quite critical
to successful operation of the array as
designed. However, in the triangular
form, they are not finicky, and cutting
errors of 1⁄8 to 1⁄4 inch will not materially
affect performance.
In fact, the relatively relaxed con-
ditions for the triangle prompted the
particular design that emerged. The
Figure 16.15 — Some details of the support structure used for the three-dipole prototype may be useful for field or
2 meter triangle. hilltop service, since the support struc-
ture and the elements and their cable
of disassembly in portable operation, the prototype used lugs come apart and store in a flat package for transport. Figure
under the screws. 16.15 provides a few of the support structure details and
Table 16-2 lists some dimensions for both 0.5- and Figure 16.16 shows the antenna disassembled for transport.
0.375-inch aluminum tubing, perhaps the two most likely For a permanent installation or for mobile use, you may
materials for this project. For the triangle, 146 MHz was prefer a circle of three dipoles as shown in Figure 16.17. The
used as the design frequency because the performance and circle has no loose dipole ends and is more compact than the
the SWR do not significantly change across the band. This triangle. Indeed, it is aesthetically more pleasing. However,
center-design frequency also provided a good view of the such pleasure comes at a cost. The construction and adjust-
antenna’s broadband properties. However, the table also lists ment of the elements are somewhat more critical, although
dimensions that are usable if the builder wishes to place the completely manageable.
performance center of the antenna at 144.5 MHz. The proto-
type used the half-inch-diameter material and the 146 MHz
dimensions for that material.
Note the length of the dipole. It is about 3.3 inches shorter
Figure 16.18 — The 6 meter halo design as originally published in the 1975 ARRL Handbook. The author substituted
copper tubing in his version.
16-12 Chapter 16
between the SO-239 and the main element of the antenna.
Use an anti-oxidation compound such as Noalox or
Penetrox for all unsoldered metal-to-metal connections to
avoid corrosion.