Antenna

Antennas are metallic structures designed for radiating and receiving electromagnetic energy. An
antenna acts as a transitional structure between the guiding device waveguide, transmission line and
the free space. In other word part of a transmitting or receiving system that is designed to radiate or
receive electromagnetic waves.

Simple Dipole Antenna

These antennas are the simplest practical antennas from a theoretical point of view; the current
amplitude on such an antenna decreases uniformly from maximum at the center to zero at the ends.

The dipole antenna is simply two wires pointed in opposite directions arranged either horizontally or
vertically, with one end of each wire connected to the radio and the other end hanging free in space.
Since this is the simplest practical antenna, it is also used as reference model for other antennas; gain
with respect to a dipole is labeled as dBd. Generally, the dipoleis considered to be omnidirectional in the
plane perpendicular to the axis of the antenna, but ithas deep nulls in the directions of the axis.
Variations of the dipole include the folded dipole,the half wave antenna, the groundplane antenna, the
whip, and the J-pole.The transmission line is often known as a feed element. When the waves reach the
antenna, they oscillate along the length of the antenna and back. Each oscillation pushes
electromagnetic energy from the antenna, emitting the energy through free space as radiowaves.
Ideally, a half-wave (λ/2) dipole should be fed with a balanced line matching the theoretical 73ohm
impedance of the antenna. A folded dipole uses a 300 ohm balanced feeder line.

Fig: Dipole Antenna

The Advantages and Disadvantages of the Dipole Antenna

Advantages:

1. Dipole antenna receiving Balance signal. When device enable the two-pole receive signal from
variety of frequinces.
2. Dipole antennas biggest advantages it’s many design, there are the half-wave dipole, the folded
dipole and the half-wave folded dipole. The half-wave dipole, the folded dipole and the half-
 wave the basic, television top dipole antenna, many other. Folded dipole antennas have ends
that turn back toward the center to help maximize the signal strength.
3. Increase in impedance.
4. Wide bandwidth.

Disadvantages:

1. If you're using a small, TV-top dipole antenna, you must try multiple combinations of pole
placements before finding the best reception position. Both poles typically rotate and extend,
making it a hassle to move one and then the other continuously while seeking maximum
reception. For outdoor antennas, there's the added hassle of having to climb on the roof or
stand in the elements while adjusting your antenna. Some outdoor dipole antennas have
forward directors that extend out from the main antenna at an angle, making adjustment that
much more complicated.
2. Although the indoor dipole antennas are usually small, the outdoor versions can be large and
difficult to manage. They often require more than one person to install, as the poles might be
tall and unwieldy. The size makes these outdoor versions difficult to transport, move and install
when necessary.

Radiation pattern and polar diagram

The radiation pattern of any antenna can be plotted. This is plotted onto a polar diagram.
A polar diagram is a plot that indicates the magnitude of the response in any direction.
At the centre of the diagram is a point of referred to as the origin. This is surrounded by a curve whose
radius at any given point is proportional to the magnitude of the property measured in the direction of
that point.

Antenna polar diagram concept

Polar diagrams are used for plotting the radiation patterns of antennas as well as other applications
like measuring the sensitivity of microphones in different directions, etc.
The radiation pattern shown on a polar diagram is taken to be that of the plane in which the diagram
plot itself. For a dipole it is possible to look at both the along the axis of the antenna and also at right
angles to it. Normally these would be either vertical or horizontal planes.
One fundamental fact about antenna radiation patterns and polar diagrams is that the receiving
pattern, i.e. the receiving sensitivity as a function of direction is identical to the far-field radiation pattern
of the antenna when used for transmitting. This results from the reciprocity theorem of
electromagnetics. Accordingly the radiation patterns the antenna can be viewed as either transmitting
or receiving, whichever is more convenient.

Half wave dipole radiation pattern

The radiation pattern of a half wave dipole antenna that the direction of maximum sensitivity or
radiation is at right angles to the axis of the RF antenna. The radiation falls to zero along the axis of
the RF antenna as might be expected.

Radiation pattern of a half wave dipole antenna in free space

In a three dimensional plot, the radiation pattern envelope for points of equal radiation intensity for a
doughnut type shape, with the axis of the antenna passing through the hole in the centre of the
doughnut

Directivity
Directivity is an important quality of an antenna. It describes how well an antennaconcentrates, or
bunches, radio waves in a given direction. A dipole transmits or receives most of its energy at right
angles to the lengths of metal, while little energy istransferred along them. If the dipole is mounted
vertically, as is common, it will radiatewaves away from the center of the antenna in all directions.
However, for a commercialradio or television station, a transmitting antenna is often designed to
concentrate theradiated energy in certain directions and suppress it in others. For instance,
severaldipoles can be used together if placed close to one another. Such an arrangement iscalled a
multiple-element antenna, which is also known as an array. By properlyarranging the separate
elements and by properly feeding signals to the elements, the broadcast waves can be more efficiently
concentrated toward an intended audience,without, for example, wasting broadcast signals over
uninhabited areas.The elements used in an array are usually all of the same type. Some arrays
havethe ability to move, or scan, the main beam in different directions. Such arrays areusually referred
to as scanning arrays.Arrays are usually electrically large and have better directivity than
singleelement antennas. Since their directivity is large, arrays can capture and deliver to thereceiver
a larger amount of power

Bandwidth
The bandwidth of an antenna is the range of frequencies over which it is effective,usually centered
around the resonant frequency. The bandwidth of an antenna may beincreased by 13 several
techniques, including using thicker wires, replacing wires withcages to simulate a thicker wire, tapering
antenna components (like in a feed horn), andcombining multiple antennas into a single assembly and
allowing the natural impedanceto select the correct antenna. Small antennas are usually preferred for
convenience, butthere is a fundamental limit relating bandwidth, size and efficiency.

Efficiency
Efficiency is the ratio of power actually radiated to the power put into the antennaterminals. A dummy
load may have a SWR of 1:1 but an efficiency of 0, as it absorbsall power and radiates heat but not
RF energy, showing that SWR alone is not aneffective measure of an antenna's efficiency. Radiation
in an antenna is caused byradiation resistance which can only be measured as part of total resistance
includingloss resistance. Loss resistance usually results in heat generation rather than radiation,and
therefore, reduces efficiency.
Gain
In antenna design, gain is the logarithm of the ratio of the intensity of an antenna'sradiation pattern in
the direction of strongest radiation to that of a reference antenna. If the reference antenna is an
isotropic antenna, the gain is often expressed in units of dBi(decibels over isotropic). For example, a
dipole antenna has a gain of 2.14 dBi. Often,the dipole antenna is used as the reference (since a
perfect isotropic reference isimpossible to build), in which case the gain of the antenna in question is
measured indBd (decibels over dipole)

Yagi uda antenna

The Yagi-Uda antenna or Yagi Antenna is one of the most brilliant antenna designs. It is simple to
construct and has a high gain typically greater than 10 dB. The Yagi-Uda antennas typically operate
in the HF to UHF bands (about 3 MHz to 3 GHz) and Covers 40 to 60 Km. A Directional Antenna
System Consisting of an array of Coupled Parallel Dipoles. This is commonly known as Yagi-uda or
Simply Yagi Antenna. Yagi-uda Antenna is familiar as the Commonest kind Of Terrestrial TV Antenna
to be found on the Roof tops of houses.
Yagi-uda antenna is an electromagnetic device that collects radio waves. An antenna tuned to a
particular frequency will resonate to a radio signal of the same frequency
The driven element of a Yagi is the feed point where the feed line is attached from the transmitter to
the Yagi to perform the transfer of power from the transmitter to the antenna. A dipole driven element
will be "resonant" when its electrical length is 1/2 of the wavelength of the frequency applied to its feed
point. The feed point in the picture above is on the center of the driven element
The director is the shortest of the parasitic elements and this end of the Yagi is aimed at the receiving
station. It is resonant slightly higher in frequency than the driven element, and its length will be about
5% shorter, progressively than the driven element. The directors lengths can vary, depending upon
the director spacing, the number of directors used in the antenna, the desired pattern, pattern
bandwidth and element diameter. The amount of gain is directly proportional to the length of the
antenna array and not by the number of directors used.
The reflector is the element that is placed at the rear of the driven element (The dipole). It's resonant
frequency is lower, and its length is approximately 5% longer than the driven element. It's length will
vary depending on the spacing and the element diameter The spacing of the reflector will be between
.1 wavelength and .25 wavelength. It's spacing will depend upon the gain, bandwidth, F/B ratio, and
side lobe pattern requirements of the final antenna design.

The Advantages and Disadvantages of the Yagi uda antenna

ADVANTAGES:
1. It has a Moderate Gain Of About 7 (dB).
2. It is a Directional Antenna. Can be used at High Frequency.
3. Adjustable from to Back Ratio.
DISADVANTAGES :
1.The Gain is not Very High.
2.Needs a large number of Elements to be used.

Radiation patterns
As you can see, the 8-Bay is a very directional antenna.If miss-aimed by 5° you can lose 1 dB of
signal.If the horizon is more than 5° above horizontal, you should tilt the antenna up to point at the
horizon
A Yagi also has some forward nulls that can be used as ghost killers. But a Yagi/Corner-Reflector acts
more like a corner reflector for most channels, and has no nulls.At channel 60 you can finally see the
Yagi pattern start to emerge
Yagi gain / beamwidth considerations
It is found that as the Yagi gain increases, so the beam-width decreases. Antennas with a
very high level of gain are very directive. Therefore high gain and narrow beam-width
sometimes have to be balanced to provide the optimum performance for a given application
Yagi-Uda antenna gain considerations
A number of features of the Yagi design affect the overall gain:

 Number of elements in the Yagi: One of the main factors affecting the Yagi antenna gain,
is the number of elements in the design. Typically a reflector is the first element added in any
yagi design as this gives the most additional gain. Directors are then added.
 Element spacing: The spacing can have an impact on the Yagi gain, although not as much
as the number of elements. Typically a wide-spaced beam, i.e. one with a wide spacing
between the elements gives more gain than one that is more compact. The most critical
element positions are the reflector and first director, as their spacing governs that of any other
elements that may be added.
 Antenna length: When computing the optimal positions for the various elements it has been
shown that in a multi-element Yagi array, the gain is generally proportional to the length of the
array. There is certain amount of latitude in the element positions.
The gain of a Yagi antenna is governed mainly by the number of elements in the particular RF antenna.
However the spacing between the elements also has an effect. As the overall performance of the RF
antenna has so many inter-related variables, many early designs were not able to realise their full
performance. Today computer programmes are used to optimise RF antenna designs before they are
even manufactured and as a result the performance of antennas has been improved.

Yagi Front to Back ratio

One of the figures associated with the Yagi antenna gain is what is termed the front to back ratio, F/B.
This is simply a ratio of the signal level in the forward direction to the reverse direction. This is normally
expressed in dB.
The front to back ratio is important in circumstances where interference or coverage in the reverse
direction needs to be minimised. Unfortunately the conditions within the antenna mean that
optimisation has to be undertaken for either front to back ratio, or maximum forward gain. Conditions
for both features do not coincide, but the front to back ratio can normally be maximised for a small
degradation of the forward gain.