and

MindSpark 10
present

Introduction to the World of HAM

8th and 9th October 2010 at

College of Engineering, Pune

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION TO HAM

What is HAM?
Amateur radio, often called HAM radio, is both a hobby and a service in which participants, called
"hams", use various types of radio communications equipment to communicate with other radio
amateurs for public services, recreation and self-training. Amateur radio operation is licensed by an
appropriate government entity (for example, the Wireless Planning and Coordination Wing in India) as
coordinated through the International Telecommunication Union.
An estimated two million people throughout the world are regularly involved with amateur radio.
The term "amateur" does not imply a lack of skill or quality, but rather that amateur radio and its
operators work outside of an official, governmental or commercial capacity.
Throughout the history of amateur radio, amateur radio enthusiasts have made significant contributions
to science, engineering, industry, and social services. Research by amateur radio operators has founded
new industries, built economies, empowered nations, and saved lives in times of emergency.
Amateur radio is a hobby and, by laws, completely non-commercial. Individual amateur "ham" radio
operators pursue the avocation for personal pleasure through building their own radio stations and
communicating with their fellows globally and for self-improvement via study and practice of
electronics, computers, and radio/TV wave behaviour. Radio amateurs are, thus, "amateurs" in the true
sense of the word: pursuit of an activity only for the love of it. Radio amateurs cannot broadcast nor
transmit music and other general public entertainment programming. The amateur radio use of the air
waves is for personal satisfaction and for forwarding the "state of the art" of electronics and
communication techniques. Amateur radio operations can be detected in designated bands throughout
the radio spectrum, using a variety of modulation methods including Morse code, voice
and digital modes, and image modes such as television and facsimile.
Origin of HAM
The birth of amateur radio and radio in general was mostly associated with various amateur
experimenters. These include such great names like Tesla, Marconi and Maxwell to name a few.
Although its origins can be traced to at least the late 1800s, amateur radio, as practiced today, did not
begin until the early 1900s. The first listing of amateur radio stations is contained in the First Annual
Official Wireless Blue Book of the Wireless Association of America in 1909. This first radio call book lists
wireless telegraph stations in Canada and the United States, including eighty-nine amateur radio
stations.
By 1913 the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea was convened and produced a treaty
requiring shipboard radio stations to be manned 24 hours a day. The Radio Act of 1912 also marked the
beginning of U.S. federal licensing of amateur radio operators and stations. These were important
landmarks in HAMs history.
The development of HAM radio was hindered by the two world wars. All amateur radio activity was
prohibited during these periods.
In 1947 the uppermost 300 kHz segment of the world allocation of the 10 meter band from 29.700 MHz
to 30.000 MHz was taken away from amateur radio.

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During the 1950s, hams helped pioneer the use of single-sideband modulation for HF voice
communication. In 1961 the first orbital satellite carrying amateur radio (OSCAR) was launched. Oscar I
would be the first of a series of amateur radio satellites created throughout the world.
Ham radio enthusiasts were instrumental in keeping U.S. Navy personnel stationed in Antarctica in
contact with loved ones back home during the International Geophysical Year during the late 1950s.
At the 1979 World Administrative Radio Conference in Geneva, Switzerland, three new amateur radio
bands were established: 30 meters, 17 meters and 12 meters. Today, these three bands are often
referred to as the WARC bands by hams
Major contributions to communications in the fields of automated message systems and packet
radio were made by amateur radio operators throughout the 1980s. These computer controlled systems
were used for the first time to distribute communications during and after disasters.
For many years, amateur radio operators were required by international agreement to demonstrate
Morse code proficiency in order to use frequencies below 30 MHz. In 2003 the World radio
communications conference (WRC) met in Geneva, Switzerland, and voted to allow member countries of
the International Telecommunications Union to eliminate Morse Code testing if they so wished .
On December 15, 2006, the United States Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issued a Report
and Order eliminating all Morse code testing requirements for all American Amateur Radio License
applicants, which took effect February 23, 2007.
Rules and Regulations:
1. You cannot transmit on any HAM band without an amateur license.
2. You cannot exceed the perimeters of your license.
3. You cannot operate below 50MHz.
4. Do not go outside the band width of your plan.
5. Do not use voice or video signals on bands where they are not allowed.
6. Use call sign at the beginning, the end and at every 10th min of a contact.
7. Never declare an emergency where there is none.
8. Never transmit without declaring your call sign.
9. Never exceed the power limit.
10. Follow all regional rules.
Benefits of being a HAM user:
License of transmission
You can have your own Ground Station
Right to use your own Walky Talky legally
Right to use the allocated HAM frequencies Free of Cost
Beneficial for projects related to communication.

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CHAPTER 2: WHAT IS MORSE CODE?

Morse code:
Before Morse invention, signaling systems were not really efficient except in whistling or using wind
or percussion instruments. At the end of the 18th century, the French Claude Chapped invented the
semaphore or "optical telegraph" to transmit messages over long distance. The characters
constituting the messages were defined by the position of arms. Placed on top of towers or on distant
hills, the operators used flags or lights to send coded messages from one station to another. But the
system was limited. It was quasi inefficient at night or when there was fog or heavy showers.
In the 1800s the young American republic offered a prize of $30,000 to the inventor offering a more
efficient system able to cover the entire Atlantic coast.
Samuel Finley Breese Morse accepted the challenge. Morse didn't at all begin his professional life in
the field of electricity or any other related area. Born in 1791, he was a painter and sculptor
graduated from Yale College, and had opened an art studio in 1823. The legend tells that he had the
idea of using electricity to communicate over distance during a conversation aboard the
ship Sully when he was returning from Europe in autumn 1832. The ship's passengers were discussing
about the Michael Faraday's recently invented electromagnet, when Morse came to understand how
it worked, and began speculating that it might be possible to send a coded message over a wire.
Between 1835 and 1836 Morse invented a first code made of numbers associated to a dictionary to
use with a key to fasten communications. The message was recorded on a long moving strip of paper.
It was left to the operator's skills to decode and interpret the code in real time, and to transcribe it
into numbers and letters as he heard it. But this is not the Morse code yet but rather a telegraph code
that requested a dictionary to code words.
By December 1837, Morse had enough confidence in his new system to apply for the federal
government's appropriation, and during the next year he conducted demonstrations of his telegraph
both in New York and Washington. However, after the economic disaster of 1837 that caused a true
panic followed with a long depression, nobody was interested in his invention and Morse was forced
to wait for better times. In the meantime he visited Europe again and met in England Charles
Wheatstone, the inventor of a competitor electric telegraph system. After the meeting, Morse
realized that his system was far simpler, more efficient, and easier to use.
In January 1838, thanks to the help of Alfred Vail, Morse gave up his telegraphic dictionary where
words were represented by number codes to use a simpler solution, coding each character with one
or more dots and dashes. This method eliminated the need to encode and decode each word to be
transmitted. On January 6, using an electric conductor 5 km long, for the first time he transmitted
successfully the letters of the alphabet using his new code. The Morse code was born.
The Morse code invented in 1835 is a system of representing letters, numbers and
punctuation
marks by means of a coded signal sent intermittently like the two samples displayed below
demonstrates. These pure tones travel much easier than a modulated voice across QRM. Even weak
signals emitted at 5 W pass through interference or fading, hence the power of this mode of
communication. The characters sent were associated to abbreviations representing words or full
sentences to fasten communications in limiting the risk of error.

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The Morse code is listed below:

A
E
I
M
Q
U
Y
2
6

..
..
---...-.-..---....

B
F
J
N
R
V
Z
3
7

-...
..-.
.---.
.-.
...--..
...---...

C
G
K
O
S
W
0
4
8

-.-.
--.
-.--...
.-----....---..

D
H
L
P
T
X
1
5
9

-..
....
.-..
.--.
-...---.....
----.

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CHAPTER 3: COMMUNICATION BASICS

Importance of communication:
Communication is the basic process of exchanging information. It is what human beings do to convey
their thoughts, ideas or feelings to one another.
Although the bulk of human communication today is still oral, a huge amount of information is
exchanged by the means of written word. If anything, there is a glut of information in printed form.
Two main barriers to human communication are language and distance. When humans of different
tribes, nations come together, they often find that they dont speak the same language. This barrier
continues even today, but it can be overcome as humans learn the languages of others and can serve
interpreters.
Communicating over long distance is another problem. Most human communication in the beginning
was limited to face-to-face conversations. However, long distance attempts were made as tribesmen
signaled one another with drums or smoke signals. Other early forms of long-distance communication
were blowing horn or lighting a signal fire, or waving a flag (semaphore).
Human communication took a dramatic turn in the late nineteenth century, when electricity was
discovered and its many applications were explored. The telegraph was invented in 1844, and the
telephone in 1876. In 1887 radio was discovered, and it demonstrated in 1895. From that point on, the
exchange of information took a great leap forward.
An unexpected development is the role that computers play in communications. E-mail now allows
individuals with PCs to communicate with one another within and between messages transmitted over
networks with office buildings, nation-wide or world-wide.
The elements of a Communication system:
All electronic communication systems have the basic form shown in fig (a). The basic components are a
transmitter, a communication channel or medium and a receiver. In most systems, a human generates a
message that we call information, or intelligence, signal.
This signal is inputted to the transmitter which then transmits the message over the channel. The
message is picked up by the receiver and is relayed to another human. Along the way, noise is added to
the message in the communications channel. Noise is the general term applied to any interference that
degrades the transmitted information.
A. Transmitter:
The transmitter is a collection of electronic components and circuits designed to convert the
information into a signal suitable for transmission over a given communications medium.
Usually, the data generated by a source system are not transmitted directly in the form in which they
were generated. Rather, a transmitter transforms and encodes the information in such a way as to
produce electromagnetic signals that can be transmitted across some sort of transmission system. For
example, a modem takes a digital bit stream from an attached device such as a personal computer and
transforms that bit stream into an analog signal that can be handled by the telephone network.

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B. Communications channel:
The communications channel is the medium by which the electronic signal is sent from one place to
another. In its simplest form, the medium may simply be a pair of wires that carry voice signal from a
microphone to a headset. The communications medium may also be fiber-optic cable
Or light wave.
On the other hand, medium may be wireless or radio. Radio is the broad general term applied to any
form of wireless communication from one point to another. Radio makes use of electromagnetic
spectrum where signals are communicated from one point to another by converting them into electric
and magnetic fields that propagate readily over long distances.
Although the medium supports the transmission of information, it also attenuates it. Any type of media
degrades the signal and causes it to appear in much lower amplitude at the receiver. Considerable
amplification of the signal, both at the transmitter and receiver, is required for successful
communication.

C. Noise:
Noise is random, undesirable electric energy that enters the communication system via the
communication medium and interferes with the transmitted message. In some cases, noise is also
produced by the receiver.
Noise comes from the atmosphere (lightening), outer space, and from electrical interference created by
manufactured equipment. The electric ignition of cars, electric motors, fluorescent lights, and other
types of equipment generate signals that can also interfere with transmission of the message.
Also, some electronic components generate noise internally due to thermal agitation of the atoms.
Although such noise levels are low, they can often seriously interfere with extremely low-level signals
that appear greatly attenuated at the receiver after being transmitted over a long distance. In some
cases, noise completely obliterates the message. At some times it only causes interference, which, in
turn, means some of the message is completely missed or misinterpreted.
D. Receiver:
The receiver is another collection of electronic circuits that accepts the signal from the transmission
system and converts it into a form that can be handled by the destination device. For example, a modem
will accept an analog signal coming from a network or transmission line and convert it into a digital bit
stream.
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Fig (a) - basic elements of a communication system

Types of electronic Communications:

1. Simplex:
In simplex mode, the communication is unidirectional, as on a one-way street. Only one of the two
devices on a link can transmit; the other can only receive.
Keyboards and traditional monitors are examples of simplex devices. The keyboard can only introduce
input; the monitor can only accept output. The simplex mode can use the entire capacity of the channel
to send data in one direction.
2. Half-duplex:
In half-duplex mode, each station can both transmit and receive, but not at the same time: When one
device is sending, the other can only receive, and vice versa.
The half-duplex mode is like a one-lane road with traffic allowed in both directions. When cars are
traveling in one direction, cars going the other way must wait. In a half-duplex transmission, the entire
capacity of a channel is taken over by whichever of the two devices is transmitting at the time.
Walkie-talkies and CB (citizens band) radios are both half-duplex systems. The half-duplex mode is used
in cases where there is no need for communication in both directions at the same time; the entire
capacity of the channel can be utilized for each direction.
3. Full duplex:
In full-duplex mode both stations can transmit and receive simultaneously.
The full-duplex mode is like a two -way street with traffic flowing in both directions at the same time. In
full-duplex mode, signals going in one direction share the capacity of the link: with signals going in the
other direction.

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This sharing can occur in two ways: Either the link must contain two physically separate transmission
paths, one for sending and the other for receiving; or the capacity of the channel is divided between
signals traveling in both directions.
One common example of full-duplex communication is the telephone network. When two people are
communicating by a telephone line, both can talk and listen at the same time.
The full-duplex mode is used when communication in both directions is required all the time. The
capacity of the channel, however, must be divided between the two directions.
The following figures illustrate the modes of communication:

Frequency table:

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CHAPTER 4: BASIC ANTENNA THEORY

Definition: A radio antenna may be defined as the structure associated with the region of transition
between a guided wave and a free space wave or vice-versa.
i.
All antennas involve the same basic principle that radiation is produced by accelerated
(or decelerated) charges.
ii.
Time changing current and accelerated charge radiates - the radiation is perpendicular
to the acceleration.
Difference in a wire and transmission line:
i.
For a metallic object to radiate, it should satisfy free space boundary condition. The air
impedance is around 377 ohm. For the metal to radiate it should have output
impedance close to 377 ohm.
ii.
The wires which are sensitive, that is - which are sensitive to particular frequencies,
phase and stub parameters are called transmission lines. Constantly changing magnetic
and electric fields generate radiation.
iii.
The creation of a standing wave is required to cause a radiation at the ends. At the ends
of the wire, some part of the wave gets reflected, leading to a standing wave.
iv.
A simple wire cannot act as an antenna unless it is physically modified to radiate or
transmit a particular frequency.
The two transmission lines are connected to a radio-frequency generator. Energy is guided as a plane
transverse EMW with little loss. The spacing between the wires is a small fraction of the wave-length.
The transmission line opens out in a tapered position. As the separation approaches the order of wavelength or more, the wave tends to be radiated so that the opened out lines act like antenna which
launches a free space wave. The current on transmission line flow on the antenna and there, but the
fields associated with them keep on going. Refer fig (a).

Fig (a) -radiation from the antenna

The antennas appear to the transmission line as a resistance Rr called as radiation resistance. It is not
related to any resistance in the antenna itself but is the resistance coupled from space to the antenna
terminals. Fig (b) shows the equivalent circuit of a transmission antenna.

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Fig (b) -equivalent circuit of a transmission antenna

For a receiving antenna- passive radiation from distant objects or active radiation from other
antennas raise the temperature of Rr. For a lossless antenna the antenna itself is related to the
temperature of the distant objects that the antenna is looking at.
Therefore, a receiving antenna may be regarded as a remote sensing temperature measuring
device.
Fields from an oscillating dipole:
A charge with uniform velocity does not radiate. A charge in SHM along a conductor if acceleratedradiates.
Let us consider a dipole has two equal charges of opposite sign oscillating up and down in the SHM
with instantaneous separation l for clarity only a single electric field line is shown.
1. At time t=0, the charges are at maximum separation and undergo maximum acceleration as they
reverse direction. At this moment current I=0.
2. At a 1/8th period later, the charges are moving towards each other and at a 1/4th period. They
pass at the midpoint.

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3. As this happens, the field lines detach and new ones of the opposite signs are formed. At this
time the equivalent current I is maximum and the charge acceleration is zero.
4. As time progresses to a T/2 period the fields continue to move out as figures.
Input impedanceThe impedance presented by an antenna at its terminals or the ratio of the voltage to current at a pair of
terminals or the ratio of the appropriate components of the electric to the magnetic fields at a point.
The ratio of the V to I at the terminals a & b with no load attached defines impedance of the antenna
Za = Ra + j Xa
Za = antenna impedance at terminals a and b
Ra = antenna resistance at a and b
Xa = antenna reactance at terminals a and b
Ra = Rr + Rl
Rl = loss resistance of antenna
Rr = radiation resistance of the antenna

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Beam-width:
i.

ii.
iii.
Band-width:
i.
ii.

iii.

HPBW is defined as: In a plane containing the direction of the maximum of a beam, the
angle between the two directions in which the radiation intensity is one half the
maximum value of the beam.
The general term of beam-width is used to describe the angle between the two
directions.
FNBW is the angle between first nulls.

It is defined as the range of frequencies within which the performance of antenna with
respect to some characteristics conforms to a specified standard.
Can be considered to be the range of frequencies on either side of centre frequency
(usually resonant frequency for a dipole) where the antenna characteristics are within an
acceptable value of those at centre frequency.
For broadband antennas- bandwidth is desired as the ratio of upper to lower frequency
for narrowband antennae.

Polarization:
Polarization of a radiated wave is defined by as that property of an electromagnetic wave describing
the time varying direction and relative magnitude of the electric field vector. The polarization of an
antenna refers to the polarization of the electric field vector of the radiated wave.
In other words, the position and direction of the electric field with reference to the earths surface or
ground determines the wave polarization. The most common types of polarization include the linear
(horizontal or vertical) and circular (right hand polarization or the left hand polarization).
If the path of the electric field vector is back and forth along a line, it is said to be linearly polarized.
Figure (c) shows a linearly polarized wave. In a circularly polarized wave, the electric field vector remains
constant in length but rotates around in a circular path.
A left hand circular polarized wave is one in which the wave rotates counter-clockwise whereas right
hand circular polarized wave exhibits clockwise motion as shown in Figure (d).

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Fig (c) - linearly polarized wave

Fig (d) - circular polarization

Antenna aperture:
The antenna aperture can be defined as the area or part of the antenna which extracts power from the
wave, that is, which actually comes in contact of EMW falling on it.
Thus the EM horn may be considered having an aperture; the total power is extracted from a passing
wave being proportional to the aperture or area of its mouth.
But the field response of horn is not uniform across the aperture A because E at the side walls must be
equal to zero. Thus the effective aperture Ae of the horn is less than the physical aperture Ap as given
by:

Antenna aperture efficiency:

Eap =

Directivity:
The property of radiating more strongly in some directions than in others is called the directivity of the
antenna. In other words it is the maximum gain of the antenna as compared to its average gain of
antenna in other directions.
It can also be called as the ratio of the maximum power density to its average value over a sphere as
observed in the far field of an antenna.

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Where,
D is the directivity of the antenna
U is the radiation intensity of the antenna
Ui is the radiation intensity of an isotropic source
Pis the total power radiated

Gain:
The gain of an antenna is an actual or realized quantity which is less than the directivity due to ohmic
losses in the antenna.
Causes:
1. Losses involved power fed which heats the antenna structure.
2. mis-match in feeding.
Gain of an antenna can be expressed as follows:
G = kD, where k is antenna efficiency factor
Gain can be measured by comparing the maximum power density of the antenna of known gain. Thus,

Gain = G =

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CHAPTER 5: DIFFERENT TYPES OF ANTENNAE

There are four major types of antennae:
1. Wire antennae
2. Reflector antennae
3. Horn antennae
4. Patch antennae
Some of the basic antennae are Dipole, Monopole, Yagi, Helix, Dish antennae.
DIPOLE:

An antenna having a physical length that is one-half wavelength of the applied frequency is called a
Hertz antenna or a half-wave dipole antenna.
Half wave dipole antenna is the basic radio antenna.
Its length is equal to half the wavelength and hence named so.
It is generally center fed with different types of transmission lines.
It can be considered as an array of doublets. It is polarized in the direction of the axis and the
radiation pattern is obtained in a plane perpendicular to that of the axis.
A vertical dipole shows an omnidirectional pattern.

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During calculation of the length of this antenna end-effect must be considered that is due to
dielectric property of air which lengthens the antenna. The result of end-effect is to make a
wavelength/2 antenna wire act as if it were about 5% longer than it actually is. This will produce
interference between the exciting and oscillating currents and a lessening of the oscillation
amplitude with corresponding lessening of the radiated field.
Hence to counterbalance the end-effect the length of antenna is cut to approx. 95% of its length.
The high capacitance of the flat ends of the wire and the capacitance per unit length near the ends
over that of the middle sections of the wire combine to increase the length of the wire.
Due to high capacitance at the ends, current flows and the electric lines of force emerge out in a
form similar to that of the magnetic lines of force at the ends of a magnetic dipole. This is called as
fringing effect.
Thus, the current is max. at the center and voltages at the ends.
Types of feeds to a dipole antenna-coax and other two wire transmission lines
Advantages1. Simple construction.
2. Gain can be increased by using at as the feed to parabolic reflector.

Disadvantages1. Poor directivity and gain.

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MONOPOLE:
These antennas use a conducting path to ground that acts as wavelength portion the antenna
above the ground. The above ground structure represents a /4 wavelength

A monopole antenna is a type of radio antenna formed by replacing one half of a dipole antenna
with a ground plane at right-angles to the remaining half.
If the ground plane is large enough, the monopole behaves like a dipole, as if its reflection in the
ground plane formed the missing half of the dipole, except that the radiation from the reflected half
is added to that of the real half (see image antenna).
However, a monopole will have a directive gain of 5.19dB (gain is twice (3dB over) that for a halfwave dipole antenna)
Limitations of monopole:
Needs perfect ground
Doesnt work satisfactorily in bad weather conditions such as rainy weather or humid conditions
Doesnt have large range
Operate satisfactorily for low frequencies only

YAGI-UDA:

Introduction:

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1. It is a multi-element array consisting of a single driven element, directors and reflector

placed co-linear parallel to each other on a supporting boom. Fig. (1) A seven element
Yagi designed for 144MHz.
2. The parasitic elements work on the principle of induced currents. These currents depend
on the spacing between the elements and their individual tunings.
3. The gain and directivity of the antenna are decided by the relative amplitudes and phases
of induced currents.
Parts of the antenna:
1. Driven element: it is mostly a resonant half-wave dipole at the frequency of operation or
a folded dipole to which power from the trans-receiver is fed or which feeds received
power. The driven element radiates from front to rear.
Parasitic elements receive their excitation from voltages induced in them by the current
flow in the driven element.
2. Directors: it is not connected to the driven element; instead current from the driven
element induces in it and is placed in front of the driven element.
3. Reflector: placed behind the driven element. The induced currents are in a direction
opposite to that of the desired radiation.
4. Spacing between driven and parasitic elements is usually of the order of 0.10 to 0.15.
The reflector is 5% more and the director is 5% less which is /2 at resonant frequency.
5. A parasitic element of equal or greater length than /2 will be inductive while those less
than /2 will be capacitive. Hence: (> /2):- lag the induced voltage and (> /2):- lead
the induced voltage.
6. The distance between the two elements ranges from 0.1 to 0.3 . Closer spacing is
used for more excitation.
7. The greater the spacing between the greater the capacitive reactance needed to
provide correct phasing of parasitic elements.

Characteristic parameters:
1. There are three main parameters used to characterize the performance of a particular
Yagiforward gain, pattern and drive impedance and mechanical strength. These
parameters should be decided according to the frequency of interest in order to give a
meaningful result.
2. Gain: it is either compared to an isotropic antenna or a dipole antenna both placed at a
height of 1 above the ground. The gain is measured in dBd or dBi. dBd refers to
comparison to a dipole antenna while dBi refers to that with an isotropic antenna.

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Subtract 2.15 dB from gain in dBi to convert to gain in dBd. The gain also depends on the
antenna boom.
3. Drive impedance: Tuning of the driven element and spacing and tuning of the parasitic
elements affect the drive impedance of the antenna. This is also decided by the
reactance of the elements. The parasitic elements in conjunction with the driven
element cause the dipole impedance to fall below 73 ohm or may also fall to 25 ohm. To
increase the input impedance to suitable value, shunt feed or folded dipole can be
used.
4. Gain and boom length: more elements over the boom give an advantage to achieve
better spread frequency response. As the spacing between the elements decide the
phases of the induced currents, a parasitic antenna near the radiating antenna is placed
to either reflect or direct radiation for compact directivity. Additional gain is obtained by
using additional directors in beam direction.

Radiation Pattern of a Yagi-Uda antenna:

General characteristics:
1. Element tuning is a complex function of effective electrical length of each element.
2. It has a unidirectional pattern of radiation. Circular polarization can be obtained by
using two driven elements and the parasitic elements arranged in a cross manner
alternatively perpendicular to each other.
3. With a spacing of 0.1 and 0.15 , a frequency band-width of the order of 2% can be
obtained.

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4. Provides a general gain of the order of 8 dB and F/R of 20 dB. Its plus factor is its high
gain and beam-width per unit area of the array.
5. For the array for receiving case, place a transmitter of small power at some convenient
distance in the undesired direction. Then adjust the parasitic antenna until a minimum
response is indicated in the receiver associated with receiving antenna.
Applications:
Television antenna set.
Amateur radio operators (HAMS) for communication
On frequencies from short wave, through VHF/UHF and microwaves band.
Satellite Tracking.
Radar.
HELIX ANTENNA:
Introduction:Helix or Helical antenna is one of the basic antenna in which conductor is wounded in helical
shape.
Helix is broadband UHF and VHF antenna to provide circular polarization.
The antenna operates in many modes, however two principal modes are NORMAL mode
(Broadside Radiation) and AXIAL mode (Endfire mode).
Two modes of operation deepens upon D (Diameter of helix) and S (Spacing between two
turns).
Helix is used as antenna in conjunction with a flat metal plate called as ground plane (G.P).
Helix antenna is fed by coaxial cable, generally end of helix is connected to center core of coaxial
cable and outer wire mesh is connected to ground plane (G.P).
A ground plane at the driven end makes the radiation unidirectional from the far (open) end.
To increase gain helix can be fed by parabolic reflector.

Normal Mode:In normal mode radiation field is maximum in the direction perpendicular to the helix axis and is
nearly circularly polarized.
The dimensions of the helix are very small as compared to the wavelength.

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Bandwidth of antenna is narrow and the radiation efficiency is also low. But bandwidth and
radiation efficiency can be increased by increasing size of the helix.
Practically this mode of antenna is not in use.

Axial Mode:In axial mode radiation field is maximum in the direction along axis of helix hence helix is highly
directive antenna.
The dimensions of helix for this mode are not as critical hence its bandwidth is greater.
It is circularly polarized antenna i.e. it receives signal with arbitrary polarization.
To operate helix in axial mode circumference of helix should be in 3/4 < C/lambda < 4/3 (With
C/lambda = 1 near optimum).
Spacing S should be S = lambda /4 and pitch angle between 12 < a < 14 and ground plane should
be lambda/2.
The wide bandwidth, simplicity, highest directivity and circular polarization of helical antenna
used for tracking in satellite communication.
This mode is most practical as it can achieve circular polarization over a wider bandwidth and it
is more efficient

Advantages:
Wide Bandwidth.
Circular polarization.

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Highest Directivity.
High Radiation efficiency.
Disadvantages:
Very Expensive
Hard to Construct.
Applications:
Handheld satellite communication device such as radios, mobile.
Global positioning system.
For tracking in satellite communication.

PARABOLIC DISH ANTENNA:

Basics:Parabolic dish antenna gives high gain and sharp directivity.
This antenna uses a parabolic reflector and feed antenna.
Consider that a source of antenna is placed at the focus of parabolic reflector. Waves coming from the
source that are reflected by the parabola reflector will emerge as parallel beam. The rays that emerge
parallel to axis of parabola are said to be collimated.
In similar way waves coming parallel to axis of parabola are focused at a single point i.e. at focus.
Reflector provides high gain because like mirror of reflecting telescope, it collects radiation from large
area and concentrates at the focus.
The transmitter (Receiver) is placed at the focal point of the parabola; the configuration is usually known
as front-fed.
The disadvantage of the front-fed configuration is that transmission line from feed must be long enough
to reach transceiver which is placed behind reflector.
The directional pattern of antenna using parabolic reflector has very sharp main lobe with no. of minor
lobes which are much smaller.

Radiation Pattern of Dish antenna

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If feed antenna is nondirectional then parabolied will produce a beam of radiation.

The gain of antenna using parabolic reflector is influenced by aperture ratio (D/lambda)
Parabolic dish antenna is not used at lower frequencies such as VHF region because size of dish will be
very large.
In order to be fully effective and useful a parabolic reflector must mouth diameter minimum 10*lambda.
Feed Mechanism:Feed antenna is placed at focus of paraboloid for best result. The direct radiation from feed
which are not reflected by paraboloid spreads out in all direction hence directivity decreases.
This can be avoided by placing small spherical reflector which sends back all such radiations to
main parabolic reflector.
For maximized beam pattern along axis of the parabola, feed is placed at the focus. If the feed is
moved along the axis then pattern is broadened.
Cassegrain feed:-uses hyperboloid secondary reflector such that one of the foci coincides with the focus
of the paraboloid.
It is used when it is desired to place the primary antenna in a convenient position and to shorten
the length of transmission line.
But due to secondary reflector some of the radiation from main reflector is obstructed. This
problem is especially with the small parabolic reflectors.
Advantages:
Highly Directional.
High gain.
Disadvantages:
Cannot be used at VHF frequency.
Less accuracy, sometimes parabolic surfaces are rough.
Use other antenna as feed.
Highly expensive.
Applications:
Radio, satellite T.V broadcasting.
Data communication.
Radar in UHF and SHF bands.
Earlier applications included ground-based and
Radio astronomy.

2010, CoEP HAM Club. All Rights Reserved.