Antenna thickness? Does it matter? Yes!!!
Posted: Sun Aug 04, 2024 4:35 am
Many commercial, famous, antennas such as by B*ckm*st*r are made with rather thinner than thicker wire.
What happens if you make the same design with thicker wire? One might think that the resistance should fall and so the antenna might work better?
I'm not too good at thinking, so I reached for EZnec -get it if you haven't already- to model the effect of thickness for the same length elements.
Bottom line: Amazing! Build with thick wire is the "bottom line"! Don't be scared of EZnec; it's now free and yes, takes a little getting used to, then it's your go-to friend for antenna dimensions.
This thickness of antenna can of worms is explained in the video:
Thicker Antennas Change Things (#1121)
So that's why my HF wires are stranded 10G copper....
Maybe also give a nod to the part of video that deals with coax losses, and there really is still something called ladder line to save you.
What happens if you make the same design with thicker wire? One might think that the resistance should fall and so the antenna might work better?
I'm not too good at thinking, so I reached for EZnec -get it if you haven't already- to model the effect of thickness for the same length elements.
Bottom line: Amazing! Build with thick wire is the "bottom line"! Don't be scared of EZnec; it's now free and yes, takes a little getting used to, then it's your go-to friend for antenna dimensions.
This thickness of antenna can of worms is explained in the video:
Thicker Antennas Change Things (#1121)
So that's why my HF wires are stranded 10G copper....
Maybe also give a nod to the part of video that deals with coax losses, and there really is still something called ladder line to save you.