ANTENNA - An electrical device used to send or receive electromagnetic are the simplest practical antennas from a theoretical point
etical point of view. They
waves
- a conductor by which electromagnetic waves are sent out or
received, consisting commonly of a wire or set of wires; aerial
ANTENNA TYPES
HORIZONTAL ANTENNAS
Dipole antenna, a simple antenna usually constructed from two wires in
opposite phases (180 degrees out of phase) placed end to end (with a
small space in between) and whose total length approximates one half the
wavelength of the RF energy it is designed to radiate, but which can be
constructed from one longer wire folded in such a way that length and
phase relationships are maintained so as to maximize radiation from the
antenna. The dipole is fed at its input by an appropriate source of RF
energy.
A dipole antenna is a radio antenna that can be made of a simple wire, with
a center-fed driven element. It consists of two metal conductors of rod or
wire, oriented parallel and collinear with each other (in line with each other),
with a small space between them. The radio frequency voltage is applied to
the antenna at the center, between the two conductors. These antennas
are used alone as antennas, notably in traditional "rabbit ears" television
antennas, and as the driven element in many other types of antennas, such
as the Yagi. Dipole antennas were invented by German physicist Heinrich
Hertz around 1886 in his pioneering experiments with radio waves.
- The most common dipole antenna is the type used with
televisions, often colloquially referred to as "rabbit ears" or
"bunny ears". While in most applications the dipole elements
are arranged along the same line, rabbit ears are adjustable in
length and angle.
- Folded dipole antenna
Another common place one can see dipoles is as antennas for
the FM band - these are folded dipoles. The tips of the antenna
are folded back until they almost meet at the feedpoint, such
that the antenna comprises one entire wavelength. This
arrangement has a greater bandwidth than a standard half-
wave dipole. If the conductor has a constant radius and cross-
section, at resonance the input impedance is four times that of
a half-wave dipole.
VERTICAL ANTENNAS
The vertical antenna deserves particular consideration because of its
widespread use. One of these types is a quarter-wave grounded antenna
known as Marconi antenna. The vertical potion of above ground is one-
quarter wavelength, and there is an effective or reflected antenna in he
ground itself; the radiation pattern from the vertical quarter-wave antenna is
refelected from the ground surface so that seemingly there is a quarter-
wave antenna buried in the ground.
ground plane antennas
An omnidirectional antenna is an antenna which radiates power uniformly in
all directions in one plane, with the radiated power decreasing with
elevation angle above or below the plane, dropping to zero on the
antenna's axis. This radiation pattern is often described as "donut shaped".
Note that this is different from an isotropic antenna, which radiates equal
power in all directions and has a "spherical" radiation pattern.
Omnidirectional antennas are widely used for radio broadcasting antennas,
and in mobile devices that use radio such as cell phones, FM radios,
walkie-talkies, Wifi, cordless phones, GPS as well as for base stations that
communicate with mobile radios, such as police and taxi dispatchers and
aircraft communications.
A monopole antenna is a class of radio antenna consisting of a straight rod-
shaped conductor, usually mounted perpendicularly over some type of
conductive surface, called a ground planeCommon types of monopole
antenna are the whip, rubber ducky, helical, random wire, mast radiator,
and ground plane antennas.
whip antenna is an antenna with a single driven element consisting of a
straight flexible wire or rod, often mounted above some type of conducting
surface called a ground plane.[1] The bottom end of the whip is connected to
the radio receiver or transmitter. They are designed to be flexible so that
they won't break off, and the name is derived from their whip-like motion
when disturbed. Often whip antennas for portable radios are made of a
series of interlocking telescoping metal tubes, so they can be retracted
when not in use. They are the most common type of monopole antenna.
These antennas are widely used for hand-held radios such as cell phones,
cordless phones, walkie-talkies, FM radios, boom boxes, Wifi enabled
devices, and GPS receivers, and also attached to vehicles as the antennas
for car radios and two way radios for police, fire and aircraft.
The Rubber Ducky antenna (or Rubber Duck aerial) is an electrically short
monopole antenna which functions somewhat like a base-loaded whip
antenna and is sealed in a rubber or plastic jacket to protect the antenna
Many years after its invention in 1958, the Rubber Ducky antenna became
the antenna of choice for many portable radio devices, including walkie-
talkies and other portable transceivers, scanners, GPS receivers, and any
other device where safety and robustness take precedence over antenna
capabilities.
A discone antenna is a version of a biconical
antenna in which one of the cones is replaced
by a disc. It is usually mounted vertically, with
the disc at the top and the cone beneath.
 ANTENNA ARRAYS

- A Yagi-Uda array, commonly known simply as a Yagi antenna,

is a directional antenna consisting of a driven element (typically
a dipole or folded dipole) and additional parasitic elements
(usually a so-called reflector and one or more directors).
- In telecommunication, a log-periodic antenna (LP, also known
as a log-
periodic array or
log periodic
beam
antenna/aerial)
is a broadband,
multi-element,
unidirectional,
narrow-beam
antenna that
has impedance
and radiation
characteristics
that are
regularly repetitive as a logarithmic function of the excitation
frequency. The individual components are often dipoles, as in a
log-periodic dipole array (LPDA). Log-periodic antennas are
designed to be self-similar and are thus also fractal antenna
arrays.

REFLECTORS

Directional antenna can be produced using several antenna elements

spaced and phased in such a manner as to alter the basic radiation pattern.

A directional antenna or beam antenna is an antenna which radiates

Turnstile Antenna for FM Broadcast Band
greater power in one or more directions allowing for increased performance
on transmit and receive and reduced interference from unwanted sources.
Directional antennas like yagi antennas provide increased performance
over dipole antennas when a greater concentration of radiation in a certain
direction is desired.
 A corner reflector is a retroreflector
consisting of three mutually
perpendicular, intersecting flat
surfaces, which reflects waves back
directly towards the source, but
shifted (translated). Unlike a simple
mirror, they work for a relatively
wide-angle field of view. The three
intersecting surfaces often have
square shapes. This is also known
as a corner cube.
A loop antenna is a radio antenna consisting of a loop (or loops) of wire,
tubing, or other electrical conductor
with its ends connected to a balanced
transmission line. Within this physical
description there are two very distinct
antenna designs: the small loop (or
magnetic loop) with a size much
smaller than a wavelength, and the
resonant loop antenna with a
circumference approximately equal to
the wavelength.
PARABOLIC ANTENNAS
A parabolic antenna is an
antenna that uses a parabolic
reflector, a curved surface with
the cross-sectional shape of a
parabola, to direct the radio
waves. The most common form
is shaped like a dish and is
popularly called a dish antenna
or parabolic dish. The main
advantage of a parabolic
antenna is that it is highly
directive; it functions similarly to
a searchlight or flashlight
reflector to direct the radio
waves in a narrow beam, or
receive radio waves from one particular direction only.
Wire grid-type parabolic antenna
used for WLAN data link at 2.4
GHz. It transmits horizontally
polarized radio waves
In telecommunications and radar, a
Cassegrain antenna is a parabolic
antenna in which the feed radiator is
mounted at or behind the surface of
the concave main parabolic reflector
dish and is aimed at a smaller convex
secondary reflector suspended in
front of the primary reflector. The
beam of radio waves from the feed
illuminates the secondary reflector,
which reflects it back to the main
reflector dish, which reflects it forward
again to form the desired beam.
A radio telescope is a form
of directional radio antenna
used in radio astronomy.
The same types of antennas
are also used in tracking and
collecting data from satellites
and space probes. In their
astronomical role they differ
from optical telescopes in
that they operate in the radio
frequency portion of the
electromagnetic spectrum
where they can detect and collect data on radio sources. Radio telescopes
are typically large parabolic ("dish") antennas used singly or in an array.