Antenna Fundamentals

TABLE OF CONTENTS
1.1 Introduction to Electromagnetic Fields and Waves

1.1.1 E and H Fields
1.1.2 Conduction and Displacement Currents
1.1.3 Electromagnetic Waves
1.2 Antenna Impedance

1.2.1 Radiation Resistance
1.2.2 Current and Voltage Distribution
1.2.3 Feed Point Impedance
1.3 Antenna Directivity and Gain

1.3.1 The Isotropic Radiator
1.3.2 Directivity and the Radiation Pattern
1.3.3 Near and Far Fields
1.3.4 Types of Radiation Patterns
1.3.5 Directivity and Gain
1.3.6 Radiation Pattern Measurements
1.4 Antenna Polarization
1.5 Other Antenna Characteristics

1.5.1 Reciprocity in Receiving and Transmitting
1.5.2 Antenna Bandwidth
1.5.3 Frequency Scaling
1.5.4 Effective Radiated Power (ERP)
1.6 RF Radiation and Electromagnetic Field Safety

1.6.1 Thermal Effects of RF Energy
1.6.2 Athermal Effects of EMR
1.7 Bibliography
Antenna Fundamentals 1-1

Chapter 1
Antenna Fundamentals
While there are an enormous variety of antennas, they an antenna — impedance, directivity and polarization — and
share basic characteristics and all are designed to radiate and show how those characteristics are measured and displayed.
receive electromagnetic waves. In this chapter, we begin by Finally, a section reviews how exposure to those waves af-
defining what an electromagnetic wave is and how it is de- fects the human body and the measures necessary for all
scribed. We then define the most important characteristics of amateurs to use antennas and electromagnetic waves safely.
1.1 Introduction to Electromagnetic Fields and Waves

1.1.1 E AND H FIELDS field has both amplitude and direction, it is a vector. Symbols
In 1820 Hans Oerstad discovered that a current flowing representing a vector are printed in bold-face.
in a wire would deflect the needle of a nearby compass. We Figure 1.1 shows a typical experimental arrangement
attribute this effect to a magnetic or H-field, which at any that demonstrates the presence of a magnetic field. The shape
given location is denoted by the letter H. The magnetic field’s of the magnetic field is roughly shown by the distribution of
amplitude is expressed in A/m (Amperes/meter) along with the iron filings. This field distribution is very similar to that
a direction. (Direction can also be expressed as some value around a vertical antenna.
of phase with respect to a reference.) Because a magnetic A compass needle (a small magnet itself) will try to
align itself parallel to H. As the compass is moved around
the conductor, the orientation of the needle changes accord-
ingly. The orientation of the needle gives the direction of H. If
you attempt to turn the needle away from alignment you will
discover a torque trying to restore the needle to its original
Figure 1.1 — Visualization of a magnetic field. The magnetic

lines of force that surround a conductor with an electric cur-
rent flowing in it are shown by iron filings and small com- Figure 1.2 — Visualization of an electric field, E=Vdc/d.
pass needles. The needles point in the direction of the mag- When the dc source is replaced with an ac source there
netic or H-field. The filings give a general view of the field will be a displacement current (Id) flowing between the ca-
distribution in the plane perpendicular to the conductor. pacitor plates.

Math Tutorials
You will encounter a fair amount of intermediate-
level mathematics in this book. If you would like to
brush up on your math skills or learn about an unfa-
miliar topic, a list of free online math tutorials is in-
cluded on the CD-ROM included with this book and
on the ARRL website under “Math Tutorials” at
www.arrl.org tech-prep-resource-library.
position. The torque is proportional to the strength of the

magnetic field at that point. This strength is called the field
intensity or amplitude of H at that point. If a larger current
flows in the conductor the amplitude of H will increase in
proportion. Currents flowing in an antenna also generate an
H-field.
An antenna will also have an electric or E-field, which
can be visualized using a parallel-plate capacitor, as shown
in Figure 1.2. If we connect a battery with a dc potential
across the capacitor plates there will be an electric field E
established between the plates, as indicated by the lines and Figure 1.3 — Representation of electric and magnetic lines
of force in an electromagnetic wavefront. Arrows indicate
directional arrows between the plates. (Like H, the electric the instantaneous directions of the fields for a wavefront in
field also has an amplitude and direction and so is a vector as a wave traveling toward you, out of the page. Reversing the
well.) The magnitude of vector E is expressed in V/m (volts direction of one of the fields would also reverse the direc-
tion of the wave.
per meter), so for a potential of V volts and a spacing of d
meters, E = V/d V/m. The amplitude of E will increase with
voltage and/or a smaller separation distance (d). In an an-
tenna, there will be ac potential differences between different
parts of the antenna and from the antenna to ground. These with time. Electric and magnetic fields that do not change
ac potential differences establish the electric field associated with time, such as those created by a dc current or voltage, are
with the antenna. called electrostatic fields. The fields of a radio wave are cre-
ated by an ac current in an antenna, usually having the form
1.1.2 CONDUCTION AND of a sine wave. As a result, the fields in a radio wave vary
DISPLACEMENT CURRENTS in the same sinusoidal pattern, increasing and decreasing in
If we replace the dc voltage source in Figure 1.2 with an strength and reversing direction with the same frequency, f, as
ac source, an ac current will flow in the circuit. In the conduc- the ac current. It is the movement of electrons — specifically
tors between the ac source and the capacitor plates, current the acceleration and deceleration as the ac current moves
(Ic) flows, because of the movement of charge, usually elec- back and forth — that creates the electromagnetic wave.
trons. But in the space between the capacitor plates (particu- The two fields of the electromagnetic wave are oriented
larly in a vacuum) there are no charge carriers available to at right angles to each other as shown by Figure 1.3. The term
carry a conduction current. Nonetheless, current still flows in “lines of force” in the figure means the direction in which a
the complete circuit, and we attribute this to a displacement force would be felt by an electron (from the electric field) or
current (Id) flowing between the capacitor plates to account by a magnet (from the magnetic field). The direction of the
for the continuity of current in the circuit. Displacement and right angle from the electric and magnetic fields, clockwise or
conduction currents are two different phenomena but they counterclockwise, determines the direction the wave travels,
both represent current, just two different kinds. Some observ- as illustrated in the figure. This is called a propagating wave.
ers prefer to call conduction currents “currents” and displace- To an observer staying in one place, such as a station-
ment currents “imaginary currents.” That terminology is OK, ary receiving antenna, the electric and magnetic fields of the
but to account for the current flow in a closed circuit with wave appear to oscillate as the wave passes. That is, the fields
capacitance you have to keep track of both kinds of current, create forces on electrons in the antenna that increase and
whatever you call them. The accepted convention is to use the decrease in a sine wave pattern. Some of the energy in the
term “displacement current.” propagating wave is transferred to the electrons as the forces
from the changing fields cause them to move. This creates a
1.1.3 ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVES sine wave current in the antenna with a frequency determined
An electromagnetic wave, as the name implies, is com- by the rate at which the field strength changes as the wave
posed of both an electric field and a magnetic field that vary passes.
1-2 Chapter 1
If the observer is moving in the same direction as the created as a single entity — an electromagnetic wave — by
wave and at the same speed, however, the strength of the the motion of electrons in the transmitting antenna.
fields will not change. To that observer, the electric and mag-
netic field strengths are fixed, as in a photograph. This is a Speed of Propagation and Wavelength
wavefront of the electromagnetic wave; a flat surface or plane Because the velocity of wave propagation is so great, we
moving through space on which the electric and magnetic tend to ignore it. Only 1⁄7 of a second is needed for a radio
fields have a constant value as illustrated in Figure 1.3. wave to travel around the world — but in working with anten-
Just as an ac voltage is made up of an infinite sequence nas the time factor is extremely important. The wave concept
of instantaneous voltages, each slightly larger or smaller than evolved because an alternating current flowing in a wire
the next, an infinite number of wavefronts make up a propa- (antenna) creates propagating electric and magnetic fields.
gating electromagnetic wave, one behind another like a deck We can hardly discuss antenna theory or performance at all
of cards. The direction of the wave is the direction in which without involving travel time, consciously or otherwise.
the wavefronts move. The fields on each successive wavefront Electromagnetic waves propagate at the speed of light
have a slightly different strength so as they pass a fixed loca- for the medium through which they travel. The speed of light
tion, the detected field strength changes as well. The fixed is highest in the vacuum of free space, approximately 300
observer “sees” fields with strengths that vary as a sine wave. million or 3 × 108 meters per second. It is often more con-
Figure 1.4 is a drawing of what would happen if we venient to remember the speed as 300 m/ms. (A more exact
could suddenly freeze all of the wave-fronts in the wave value is 299.7925 m/µs). This is called the wave’s velocity
and take measurements of the electric and magnetic field of propagation and is represented by the familiar “speed of
strengths in each. In this example, the electric field is ori- light” symbol, c.
ented vertically and the magnetic field horizontally. (Each It is also useful to know a radio wave’s wavelength — the
of the vertical lines in the electric field can be thought of as distance traveled during one complete cycle of a wave. Since
representing an individual wavefront.) All of the wavefronts one complete cycle takes 1/f the velocity of a wave is the
are moving in the direction indicated — the whole set of speed of light, c, the wavelength, l, is thus:
them moves together at the same speed. As the wave —
l = c / f (1)
the set of wavefronts — moves past the receiving antenna,
the varying field strengths of the different wavefronts is In free-space
perceived as a continuously changing wave. What we call
l = 299.7925 × 108 / f
a “wave” is really this entire group of wavefronts moving
through space. where l is the free-space wavelength in meters.
One more important note about electromagnetic waves: More convenient approximate formulas for use at radio
The electric and magnetic fields are coupled, that is they are frequencies are:
both aspects of the same entity, the electromagnetic wave.
l in meters = 300 / f in MHz, and (2)
They are not perpendicular electric and magnetic fields that
simply happen to be in the same place at the same time! The
l in feet = 983.6 / f in MHz (3)
fields cannot be separated, although the energy in the wave
can be detected as electric or magnetic force. The fields are The ratio between the wave’s velocity in a specific
medium and that of free space is called
the medium’s velocity factor (VF) and is
a value between 0 and 1. If the medium is
air, the reduction in velocity of propaga-
tion can be ignored in most discussions of
propagation at frequencies below 30 MHz.
In the VHF range and higher, temperature
and moisture content of the medium have
increasing effects on the communication
range, as will be discussed later in the
Radio Wave Propagation chapter. In ma-
terials such as glass or plastic the wave’s
velocity can be quite a bit lower than that
of free space. For example, in polyethylene
(commonly used as a center insulator in
coaxial cable), the velocity of propagation
Figure 1.4 — Representation of the magnetic and electric field strengths of an
is about 2⁄3 that in free space. In distilled
electromagnetic wave. In the diagram, the electric field is oriented vertically and water (a good insulator) the speed is about
the magnetic field horizontally. 1
⁄9 that of free space.

Phase of Waves If each period of the current is simply a repetition of
There will be few pages in this book where phase, wave- the one before it, the currents at corresponding instants in
length and frequency do not enter the discussion. It is es- each period will be identical. The fields caused by those
sential to have a clear understanding of their meaning in currents will also be identical. As the fields move outward
order to understand the design, installation, adjustment or from the antenna they become more thinly spread over larger
use of antennas, matching systems or transmission lines in and larger spherical surfaces centered on the antenna. The
detail. In essence, phase means time. When something goes field amplitudes decrease with distance from the antenna but
through periodic variations as an alternating current does, they do not lose their identity with respect to the instant of
corresponding instants in succeeding periods are in phase. the period at which they were generated. They are, and they
It is important to distinguish between phase and polarity. remain, in phase. In the example above, on the spherical sur-
Polarity is simply a convention that assigns a positive and faces separated by intervals of 10 meters measured outward
negative direction or convention. Reversing the leads on a from the antenna, the phase of the waves at any given instant
feed line reverses a signal’s polarity but does not change its is identical.
phase. These spherical surfaces are the wavefronts described
Phase is a relative measure of time within and between earlier. When the sphere is so large that the surface is essen-
waveforms. The points A, B and C in Figure 1.5 are all in tially flat, the wavefront is called a plane wave. On every part
phase. They are corresponding instants in the current flow, at of this surface, the wavefront, the wave has the same phase.
intervals of 1 l. The distance between A and B or between The wavelength is the distance between two wavefronts hav-
B and C is one wavelength. This is a conventional view of a ing the same phase at any given instant. This distance must
sine wave alternating current, with time progressing to the be measured perpendicular to the wave fronts along the line
right. It also represents the instantaneous value of intensity that represents the direction of travel.
of the traveling fields, if distance is substituted for time in
the horizontal axis. The field-intensity distribution follows Wave Polarization
the sine curve, in both amplitude and polarity, corresponding A wave like that in Figure 1.3 is said to be polarized in the
exactly to the time variations in the current that produced the direction of the electric lines of force. The polarization here
fields. Remember that this is an instantaneous picture of the is vertical, because the electric lines are perpendicular to the
many wavefronts similar to Figure 1.4. surface of the Earth. If the electric lines of force are horizon-
Waves used in radio communication may have frequen- tal, the wave is said to be horizontally polarized. Horizontally
cies from about 10,000 to several billion Hz. Suppose the and vertically polarized waves may be classified generally
frequency is 30 MHz. One cycle, or period, is completed in under linear polarization. Linear polarization can be anything
1/30,000,000 second. The wave is traveling at 300,000,000 between horizontal and vertical. In free space, “horizontal”
meters per second through the air, so it will move only and “vertical” have no meaning, since the reference of the
10 meters during the time that the current is going through seemingly horizontal surface of the Earth has been lost.
one complete period of alternation. The electromagnetic field In many cases the polarization of waves is not fixed, but
10 meters away from the antenna is caused by the current that rotates continually, sometimes at random. When this occurs
was flowing one period earlier in time. The field 20 meters the wave is said to be elliptically polarized. A gradual shift in
away is caused by the current that was flowing two periods polarization in a medium is known as Faraday rotation. For
earlier, and so on. space communication, circular polarization is commonly
used to overcome the effects of Faraday rotation. A circu-
larly polarized wave rotates its polarization through 360° as
it travels a distance of one wavelength in the propagation
medium. The direction of rotation as viewed from the trans-
mitting antenna defines the direction of circularity — right-
hand (clockwise) or left-hand (counterclockwise). Linear and
circular polarization may be considered as special cases of
elliptical polarization.
Field Intensity
The energy from a propagated wave decreases with dis-
tance from the source. This decrease in strength is caused by
the spreading of the wave energy over ever-larger spherical
Figure 1.5 — The instantaneous amplitude of both fields surfaces as the distance from the source increases.
(electric and magnetic) varies sinusoidally with time as A measurement of the strength of the wave at a distance
shown in this graph. Since the fields travel at constant ve- from the transmitting antenna is its field intensity, which is
locity, the graph also represents the instantaneous distribu- synonymous with field strength. The strength of a wave is
tion of field intensity along the wave path. The distance be-
tween two points of equal phase such as A-B and B-C is the measured as the voltage between two points lying on an elec-
wave’s wavelength. tric line of force in the plane of the wave front. The standard
1-4 Chapter 1
of measure for field intensity is the voltage developed in a equivalent to a power density of
wire that is 1 meter long, expressed as volts per meter. (If
the wire were 2 meters long, the voltage developed would E 2 1 (volt / m)2 (4)
be divided by two to determine the field strength in volts per P= = = 2.65mW / m 2
Z 377 W
meter.)
The voltage in a wave is usually low so the measurement Because of the relationship between voltage and power,
is made in millivolts or microvolts per meter. The voltage the power density therefore varies with the square root of the
goes through time variations like those of the current that field intensity, or inversely with the square of the distance. If
caused the wave. It is measured like any other ac voltage — in the power density at 1 mile is 4 mW per square meter, then at
terms of the RMS value or, sometimes, the peak value. It is a distance of 2 miles it will be 1 mW per square meter.
fortunate that in amateur work it is not necessary to measure It is important to remember this so-called spreading loss
actual field strength as the equipment required is elaborate. when antenna performance is being considered. Gain can
We need to know only if an adjustment has been beneficial, come only from narrowing the radiation pattern of an an-
so relative measurements are satisfactory. These can be made tenna, which concentrates the radiated energy in the desired
easily with home-built equipment. direction. There is no “antenna magic” by which the total
energy radiated can be increased.
Wave Attenuation In practice, attenuation of the wave energy may be much
In free space, the field intensity of the wave varies in- greater than the inverse-distance law would indicate. The
versely with the distance from the source, once in the radiat- wave does not travel in a vacuum and the receiving antenna
ing far field of the antenna. If the field strength at 1 mile seldom is situated so there is a clear line of sight. The Earth
from the source is 100 millivolts per meter, it will be 50 is spherical and the waves do not penetrate its surface appre-
millivolts per meter at 2 miles, and so on. The relationship ciably, so communication beyond visual distances must be by
between field intensity and power density is similar to that some means that will bend the waves around the curvature of
for voltage and power in ordinary circuits. They are related the Earth. These means involve additional energy losses that
by the impedance of free space, which is approximately increase the path attenuation with distance, above that for the
377 W. A field intensity of 1 volt per meter is therefore theoretical spreading loss in a vacuum.
1.2 Antenna Impedance

1.2.1 RADIATION RESISTANCE the ground. You can therefore assume that the ohmic loss in a
The power supplied to an antenna is dissipated in two reasonably well-located antenna is negligible and that the total
ways: radiation of electromagnetic waves and heat losses resistance shown by the antenna (the feed point resistance) is
in the wire and nearby conductors and dielectrics material. radiation resistance. As a radiator of electromagnetic waves,
The radiated power is what we want, the useful part, but it such an antenna is a highly efficient device. (This is not true
represents a form of “loss” just as much as the power used in for antennas close to the ground and for electrically-small
heating the wire or nearby dielectrics is a loss. In either case, antennas such as small loops and mobile antennas.)
the dissipated power is equal to I2R.
In the case of heat losses, R is a real resistance. In the 1.2.2 CURRENT AND VOLTAGE
case of radiation, however, R is a “virtual” resistance, which, DISTRIBUTION
if replaced with an actual resistor of the same value, would When power is fed to an antenna, the current and voltage
dissipate the power actually radiated from the antenna. This vary along its length. The current is minimum at the ends,
resistance is called the radiation resistance. Radiation resis- regardless of the antenna’s length. The current does not actu-
tance represents the work done by the electrons in the antenna ally reach zero at the current minima, because of capacitance
in transferring the energy from the signal source to the radiat the antenna ends. Insulators, loops at the antenna ends and
ated electromagnetic wave. The total power in the antenna support wires all contribute to this capacitance, which is also
is therefore equal to I2 (RR+R), where RR is the radiation called the end effect. The opposite is true of the RF voltage.
resistance and R represents the total of all the loss resistances. That is, there is a voltage maximum at the ends.
In ordinary antennas operated at amateur frequencies, In the case of a half-wave antenna there is a current
the power lost as heat in the conductor does not exceed a few maximum at the center and a voltage minimum at the center
percent of the total power supplied to the antenna. Expressed as illustrated in Figure 1.6. The pattern of alternating cur-
in decibels, the loss is less than 0.1 dB. The RF loss resis- rent and voltage minimums 1⁄4 wavelength apart repeats every
tance of copper wire even as small as #14 AWG is very low 1
⁄2 wavelength along a linear antenna as shown in Figure 1.6B.
compared with the radiation resistance of an antenna that is The phase of the current and voltage are inverted in each suc-
reasonably clear of surrounding objects and is not too close to cessive half-wavelength section.
reactance and the antenna is resonant.
(Amateurs often use the term “resonant”
rather loosely, usually meaning “nearly
resonant” or “close-to resonant.” Reso
nance has nothing to do with the value
of the impedance, only that it is purely
resistive.)
Except at the one frequency where it
is exactly resonant, the current in an an-
tenna has a different phase compared to
the applied voltage. In other words, the
antenna exhibits a feed point impedance
that is not just a pure resistance. The feed
point impedance is composed of either
capacitive or inductive reactance in se-
ries with a resistance.
Mutual Impedance
Mutual, or coupled, impedance is
due to the parasitic effect of nearby con-
ductors located within the antenna’s re-
Figure 1.6 — The current and voltage distribution along a half-wave dipole (A) active near field. This includes the effect
and for an antenna made from a series of half-wave dipoles.
of ground which is a lossy conductor, but
a conductor nonetheless. Mutual imped-
The voltage is not zero at its minimum because of the ance is defined using Ohm’s Law, just like self impedance.
resistance of the antenna, which consists of both the RF re- However, mutual impedance is the ratio of voltage in one
sistance of the wire (ohmic loss resistance) and the radiation conductor, divided by the current in another (coupled) con-
resistance as noted previously. ductor. Mutually coupled conductors can distort the pattern of
a highly directive antenna, as well as change the impedance
1.2.3 FEED POINT IMPEDANCE seen at the feed point. Mutual impedance will be considered
Since amateurs are free to choose our operating frequen- in detail in the chapter, HF Yagi and Quad Antennas, where
cies within assigned bands we need to consider how the feed it is essential for proper operation of these beam antennas.
point impedance of a particular antenna varies with frequency
within a particular band or even in several different bands if
we intend to use one antenna on multiple bands.
There are two forms of impedance associated with any Is Resonance Required?
antenna: self impedance and mutual impedance. As you Please recognize that an antenna need not be reso-
might expect, self impedance is what is measured at the feed nant in order to be an effective radiator. There is in fact
point terminals of an antenna located completely away from nothing magic about having a resonant antenna, pro-
the influence of any other conductors. vided of course that you can devise some efficient
means to feed the antenna. Many amateurs use non-
Self Impedance resonant (even random-length) antennas fed with open-
wire transmission lines and antenna tuners. They radiate
The current that flows into an antenna’s feed point must signals just as well as those using coaxial cable and res-
be supplied at a finite voltage. The self impedance of the onant antennas and as a bonus can usually be used on
antenna is simply equal to the voltage applied to its feed multiple frequency bands. It is important to consider an
point divided by the current flowing into the feed point ac- antenna and its feed line as a system in which all losses
cording to Ohm’s Law. Where the current and voltage are should be kept to a minimum.
exactly in phase, the impedance is purely resistive with zero
1-6 Chapter 1
1.3 Antenna Directivity and Gain
1.3.1 THE ISOTROPIC RADIATOR
Before we can fully describe practical antennas, we must 0,16
15 1
first introduce a completely theoretical antenna, the isotropic
radiator. Envision, if you will, an infinitely small antenna 14 2
at a point located in outer space, completely removed from
anything else around it. Then consider an infinitely small
transmitter feeding this infinitely small, point antenna. You 13 3
now have an isotropic radiator.
The uniquely useful property of this theoretical point-
source antenna is that it radiates equally well in all directions.
12 4
That is to say, an isotropic antenna favors no direction at the
expense of any other. In other words, it has absolutely no di-
rectivity, which is the property of radiating or receiving more
strongly in some directions than in others. The isotropic radia- 11 5
tor is useful as a measuring stick for comparison with actual
antenna systems.
You will find later that real, practical antennas all exhibit 10 6
some degree of directivity. The radiation from a practical an-
tenna never has the same intensity in all directions and may 9 7
ANT0021 8
even have zero radiation in some directions. The fact that a
practical antenna displays directivity (while an isotropic ra- Figure 1.7 — The beam from a flashlight illuminates a totally
diator does not) is usually desirable. The directivity of a real darkened area a shown here. Readings taken with a photo-
antenna is often carefully tailored to emphasize radiation in graphic light meter at the 16 points around the circle may
be used to plot the radiation pattern of the flashlight.
particular directions. For example, a receiving antenna that
favors certain directions can discriminate against interference
or noise coming from other directions, thereby increasing the
signal-to-noise ratio for desired signals coming from the fa-
vored direction.
1.3.2 DIRECTIVITY AND THE

RADIATION PATTERN
The directivity of an antenna is directly related to the pat-
tern of its radiated field intensity in free space. A graph show-
ing the actual or relative field intensity at a fixed distance as
a function of the direction from the antenna system, is called
a radiation pattern. Since we can’t actually see electromag-
netic waves making up the radiation pattern of an antenna, we
can consider an analogous situation.
Figure 1.7 represents a flashlight shining in a totally
darkened room. To quantify what our eyes are seeing we
might use a sensitive light meter like those used by photog-
raphers, with a scale graduated in units from 0 to 10. We
place the meter directly in front of the flashlight and adjust
the distance so the meter reads 10, exactly full scale. We also
carefully note the distance. Then, always keeping the meter
the same distance from the flashlight and keeping it at the
same height above the floor, we move the light meter around
the flashlight, as indicated by the arrow, and take light read-
ings at a number of different positions.
After all the readings have been taken and recorded,
we plot those values on a sheet of polar graph paper, like
that shown in Figure 1.8. The values read on the meter are
plotted at an angular position corresponding to that at which
Figure 1.8 — The radiation pattern of the flashlight in Figure
each meter reading was taken. Following this, we connect the 1.7. The measured values are plotted and connected with a
plotted points with a smooth curve, also shown in the figure. smooth curve.

When this is finished, we have completed a radiation pattern
for the flashlight.
Antenna radiation patterns can be constructed in a
similar manner. Power is fed to the antenna under test and a
field-strength meter indicates the amount of signal. We might
wish to rotate the antenna under test, rather than moving the
measuring equipment to numerous positions about the an-
tenna. Since the pattern while receiving is the same as that
while transmitting (see the section on Reciprocity later in this
chapter), a source antenna fed by a low-power transmitter
illuminates the antenna under test and the signal intercepted
by the antenna under test is fed to a receiver and measuring
equipment. Additional information on the mechanics of mea-
suring antenna patterns is contained in the chapter Antennas
and Transmission-Line Measurements.
1.3.3 NEAR AND FAR FIELDS Figure 1.9 — The fields around a radiating antenna. Very
Some precautions must be taken to assure that the mea- close to the antenna, the reactive field dominates. Within
this area mutual impedances are observed between the an-
surements are accurate and repeatable and one of the most tenna and any other antennas or conductors. Outside the
important is to prevent mutual coupling between the source reactive near field, the near radiating field dominates up to
and receiving antennas that may alter the pattern you are try- the distance shown where L is the length of the largest di-
ing to measure. mension of the antenna. Beyond the near/far field boundary
lies the far radiating field, where power density varies as the
This sort of mutual coupling can occur in the region inverse square of radial distance.
very close to the antenna under test. This region is called
the reactive near-field region. The term “reactive” refers to
the fact that the mutual impedance between the transmitting
and receiving antennas can be either capacitive or inductive
2L2
in nature. The reactive near field is sometimes called the D= (5)
“induction field,” meaning that the magnetic field usually is l
predominant over the electric field in this region. The antenna where L is the largest dimension of the physical antenna
acts as though it were a rather large, lumped-constant induc- expressed in the same units of measurement as the wave-
tor or capacitor, storing energy in the reactive near field rather length l. Remember, many specialized antennas do not fol-
than propagating it into space. low the rule of thumb in Eq 5 exactly. Figure 1.9 depicts the
For simple wire antennas, the reactive near field is con- three fields in front of a simple wire antenna.
sidered to be within about a half wavelength from an antenna’s Throughout the rest of this book we will discuss mainly
radiating center. Later on, in the chapters dealing with arrays the radiating far fields, those forming the propagating elec-
of antennas, you will find that mutual coupling between ele- tromagnetic waves and which will simply be referred to as
ments can be put to good use to purposely shape the radiated the “far field.” Far field radiation is distinguished by the fact
pattern. For making pattern measurements, however, we do that the intensity is inversely proportional to the distance, and
not want to be too close to the antenna being measured. that the electric and magnetic components, although perpen-
The strength of the reactive near field decreases in a dicular to each other in the wave front, are in phase as defined
complicated fashion as you increase the distance from the earlier. The total energy is equally divided between the elec-
antenna. Beyond the reactive near field, the antenna’s radi- tric and magnetic fields. Beyond several wavelengths from
ated field is divided into two other regions: the radiating near the antenna these are the only fields we need to consider.
field and the radiating far field. Historically, the terms Fresnel This is why for accurate measurement of radiation patterns,
and Fraunhöfer fields have been used for the radiating near we must place our measuring instrumentation at least several
and far fields, but these terms have been largely supplanted by wavelengths away from the antenna under test.
the more descriptive terminology used here. Even inside the
reactive near-field region, both radiating and reactive fields 1.3.4 TYPES OF RADIATION PATTERNS
coexist although the reactive field predominates very close to In the example of the flashlight, the plane of measure-
the antenna. ment was at one consistent height above the floor. In Fig-
Because the boundary between the fields is not a precise ure 1.10A a similar radiation pattern is shown for a half-
distance, experts debate where one field begins and another wavelength dipole (see the Dipoles and Monopoles
leaves off but the boundary between the radiating near and far chapter) in free-space, measured in a single plane containing
fields is generally accepted as: the antenna wire. The antenna is located at the exact center
of the plot with its orientation specified by the two-headed
1-8 Chapter 1
Figure 1.11 — Azimuthal pattern of a typical three-element
Yagi beam antenna in free space. The Yagi’s boom is aligned
along the 0° to 180° axis and the beam’s elements are in the
plane of the pattern.
plots are being compared, the peak amplitude of the main

lobe is placed at the outer ring as a reference point. The peak
of the main lobe can be located at any angle. All other lobes
are side lobes which can be at any angle, including to the rear
of the antenna. In addition to the labels showing the main
lobe and nulls in the pattern, the so-called half-power points
on the main lobe are shown. These are the angles at which the
power is one-half of the peak value in the main lobe.
Actually, the pattern for any antenna is three-dimensional
and therefore cannot be represented by a single-plane draw-
ing. The total radiation pattern of an antenna in free space
would be found by measuring the field strength at every point
Figure 1.10 — Radiation patterns of a half-wavelength on the surface of an imaginary sphere having the antenna at
dipole in free-space. At A, the pattern in the plane contain- its center. The information so obtained would then be used
ing the wire axis. The length of each dashed-line arrow rep- to construct a solid figure, where the distance from a fixed
resents the relative field strength in that direction, refer-
enced to the direction of maximum radiation at right angles point (representing the antenna) to the surface of the figure
to the wire’s axis. The arrows at approximately 45° and 315° is proportional to the field strength from the antenna in any
are the half-power or –3 dB points. At B, a wire grid repre- given direction. Figure 1.10B shows a three-dimensional
sentation of the solid pattern for the same antenna. solid representation of the radiation pattern of a half-wave
dipole. Figure 1.10A can be thought of as a cross-section of
the solid pattern through the axis of the antenna. Two such
diagrams, one in the plane containing the straight wire of a
arrow. The antenna radiates best broadside to the wire axis dipole and one in the plane perpendicular to the wire, can
and hardly at all off the ends of the wire. convey a great deal of information. After a little practice and
Radiation patterns are graphic representations of an an- with the exercise of some imagination, the complete solid
tenna’s directivity. Shown in polar coordinates (see the math pattern can be visualized with fair accuracy from inspection
tutorial reference on the CD-ROM for information about of the two planar diagrams, provided of course that the solid
polar coordinates), the angular scale shows direction and the pattern of the antenna is smooth such as for simple antennas
scale from the center of the plot to the outer ring. The smooth like the dipole of Figure 1.10.
line in the shape of a figure-8 shows the relative strength of
the antenna’s radiated signal at each angle. Azimuth and Elevation Patterns
The pattern in Figure 1.11 shows both nulls (angles at When a radiation pattern is shown for an antenna mount-
which a pattern minimum occurs) and lobes (radiation at ed over ground rather than in free space, we automatically
angles between nulls). The main lobe is the lobe with the gain two frames of reference: an azimuth angle and an eleva-
highest amplitude unless noted otherwise and unless several tion angle. The azimuth angle is usually referenced to 0° in
Introduction to the Decibel
The power gain and pattern measurements such as measured across the same value of impedance. Unless
front-to-back ratio of an antenna system are usually ex- this is done the decibel figure is meaningless, because it
pressed in decibels (dB). The decibel is a practical unit for is fundamentally a measure of a power ratio.
measuring power ratios because it is more closely related The main reason a decibel is used is that successive
to the actual effect produced at a distant receiver than the power gains expressed in decibels may simply be added
power ratio itself. One decibel represents a just-detectable together. Thus a gain of 3 dB followed by a gain of 6 dB
change in signal strength, regardless of the actual value gives a total gain of 9 dB. In ordinary power ratios, the
of the signal voltage. A 20-decibel (20 dB) increase in sig- ratios must be multiplied together to find the total gain.
nal, for example, represents 20 observable steps in in- A reduction in power is handled simply by subtracting
creased signal. The power ratio (100 to 1) corresponding the requisite number of decibels. Thus, reducing the pow-
to 20 dB gives an entirely exaggerated idea of the im- er to 1⁄2 is the same as subtracting 3 decibels. For exam-
provement in communication to be expected. The number ple, a power gain of 4 in one part of a system and a re-
of decibels corresponding to any power ratio is equal to duction to 1⁄2 in another part gives a total power gain of 4
10 times the common logarithm of the power ratio, or × 1⁄2 = 2. In decibels, this is 6 – 3 = 3 dB. A power reduc-
tion or loss is simply indicated by including a negative
P1 sign in front of the appropriate number of decibels.
dB = 10 log10 When P2 or V2 are some fixed reference value, a let-
P2
ter is added to “dB” to indicate “decibels with respect to”
If the voltage ratio is given, the number of decibels is the reference value. This allows absolute values of power
equal to 20 times the common logarithm of the ratio. That is, and voltage to be expressed in dB, as well. You will often
encounter dBm (P2 = 1 mW) and dBµV (V2 = 1 µV) in
V1 Amateur Radio.
dB = 20 log10 For more information about the decibel, read “Power
V2 and Decibels” on the ARRL website at www.arrl.org/
files/file/Get%20Licensed/PowerAndDec.pdf.
When a voltage ratio is used, both voltages must be
the direction of maximum radiation from the antenna or it Figure 1.11 is an azimuthal or azimuth pattern that shows
could be referenced to True North for an antenna oriented in the antenna’s gain in all horizontal directions (azimuths)
a particular compass direction. around the antenna. As with a map, 0° is at the top and bear-
The elevation angle is referenced to the horizon at the ing angle increases clockwise. (This is different from polar
Earth’s surface, where the elevation angle is 0°. Of course, plots generated for mathematical functions in which 0° is at
the Earth is round but because its radius is so large, it can in the right and the angle increases counter-clockwise.)
this context be considered to be flat in the area directly under Figure 1.12 is an elevation pattern that shows the same
the antenna. An elevation angle of 90° is directly above the antenna’s directivity but this time at all vertical angles. In this
antenna (the zenith) and the angles then reduce back to 0° case, the horizon at 0° is located to both sides of the antenna
toward the horizon directly behind the antenna. (Professional and the zenith (directly overhead) at 90°. The plot shown in
antenna engineers often describe an antenna’s orientation Figure 1.12 assumes the presence of ground (drawn from 0°
with respect to the point directly overhead — using the zenith to 0°). The ground reflects or blocks radiation at negative
angle, rather than the elevation angle. The elevation angle is elevation angles, making below-surface radiation plots un-
computed by subtracting the zenith angle from 90°.) necessary. In free-space, the plot would include the missing
semicircle with –90° at the bottom. Without the ground refer-
ence, the term “elevation” has little meaning, however.
For amateur work, relative values of field strength (rather
than absolute values) are quite adequate in pattern plotting. In
other words, it is not necessary to know how many microvolts
per meter a particular antenna will produce at a distance of 1
mile when excited with a specified power level. (This is the
kind of specification that AM broadcast stations must meet to
certify their antenna systems to the FCC.)
Regardless of whether the data is collected by measure-
ments, simulated by computer software, or calculated from
theoretical equations, it is common to normalize the plotted
values so the field strength in the direction of maximum ra-
Figure 1.12 — Elevation pattern of a three-element Yagi
beam antenna placed 1/2 wavelength above ground. The
diation coincides with the outer edge of the chart. That way,
Yagi’s boom lies on the 0°-0° axis and the elements are per- on a given system of polar coordinate scales the shape of the
pendicular to the page on the same axis. pattern is not altered by proper normalization, only its size.
1-10 Chapter 1
(See the sidebar “Coordinate Scales for Radiation Patterns” types such as dipoles, exhibit directivity. Here’s another
later in this chapter for information about how radiation pat- picture that may help explain the concept of directivity.
tern scales are determined.) Figure 1.13A shows a balloon blown into its usual spheri-
cal shape. This represents a “reference” isotropic source.
E and H-Plane Patterns Squeezing the balloon in the middle in Figure 1.13B pro-
You’ll also encounter E-plane and H-plane radiation duces a dipole-like figure-8 pattern with peak levels at top
patterns. These show the antenna’s radiation pattern in the and bottom larger than the reference sphere. Compare this
plane parallel to the E-field or H-field of the antenna. For with Figure 1.13C. Next, squeezing the bottom end of the
antennas with horizontal elements, the E-field is in the hori- balloon produces a pattern that gives even more “gain” com-
zontal plane so the E-plane radiation pattern is the same as pared to the reference.
an azimuthal pattern in the plane of the antenna. The H-field Free-space directivity can be expressed quantitatively by
is perpendicular to the E-field, so the H-plane pattern is in comparing the three-dimensional pattern of the antenna under
a plane perpendicular to the E-plane pattern. If the E-plane consideration with the perfectly spherical three-dimensional
pattern is an azimuthal pattern, then the H-plane pattern will pattern of an isotropic antenna. For an isotropic antenna, the
be an elevation pattern. field strength (and thus power per unit area, or power density)
It’s important to remember that the E-plane and H-plane is the same everywhere on the surface of an imaginary sphere
do not have a fixed relationship to the Earth’s surface. For having a radius of many wavelengths and centered on the an-
example, the E-plane pattern from a horizontal dipole is an tenna. For a directive antenna radiating the same total power
azimuthal pattern but if the same dipole is oriented vertically, as an isotropic antenna and surrounded by the same sphere,
the E-plane pattern becomes an elevation pattern. For this the directivity results in greater power density at some points
reason, most E- and H-plane radiation patterns are created on the sphere and less at others. The ratio of the maximum
with the antenna in free space. power density to the average power density taken over the
1.3.5 DIRECTIVITY AND GAIN entire sphere (which is the same as from the isotropic antenna
under the specified conditions) is the numerical measure of
Let us now examine directivity more closely. As men-
the directivity of the antenna.
tioned previously, all practical antennas, even the simplest
Figure 1.13 — Demonstrating antenna pattern gain with

balloons. Take a balloon, blow it up so that it is roughly
circular in shape and then declare that this is a radiation
pattern from an isotropic radiator. Next, blow up another
balloon to the same size and shape and tell the audience
that this will be the “reference” antenna (A). Then,
squeeze the first balloon in the middle to form a sort of
figure-8 shape and declare that this is a dipole and com-
pare the maximum size to that of the reference “antenna”
(B). The dipole can be seen to have some “gain” over the
reference isotropic. Next, squeeze the end of the first bal-
loon to come up with a sausage-like shape to demon-
strate the sort of pattern a beam antenna creates (C).

Coordinate Scales for Radiation Patterns
A number of different systems of coordinate scales or spaced concentric circles have been replaced with ap-
grids are in use for plotting antenna patterns. Antenna propriately placed circles representing the decibel re-
patterns published for amateur audiences are sometimes sponse, referenced to 0 dB at the outer edge of the plot.
placed on rectangular grids, but more often they are In these plots the minor lobes are suppressed. Lobes
shown using polar coordinate systems. Polar coordinate with peaks more than 15 dB or so below the main lobe
systems may be divided generally into three classes: disappear completely because of their small size. This is
linear, logarithmic and modified logarithmic. a good way to show the pattern of an array having high
A very important point to remember is that the shape directivity and small minor lobes. Linear coordinate pat-
of a pattern (its general appearance) is highly dependent terns are not common, however.
on the grid system used for the plotting. This is exempli-
fied in Figure 1.A, where the radiation pattern for a Logarithmic Coordinate System
beam antenna is presented using three coordinate sys- Another coordinate system used by antenna manu-
tems discussed in the paragraphs that follow. facturers is the logarithmic grid, where the concentric
grid lines are spaced according to the logarithm of the
Linear Coordinate Systems voltage in the signal. If the logarithmically spaced con-
The polar coordinate system in Figure 1.A (part A) centric circles are replaced with appropriately placed
uses linear coordinates. The concentric circles are equal- circles representing the decibel response, the decibel
ly spaced, and are graduated from 0 to 10. Such a grid circles are graduated linearly. In that sense, the logarith-
may be used to prepare a linear plot of the power con- mic grid might be termed a linear-log grid, one having
tained in the signal. For ease of comparison, the equally linear divisions calibrated in decibels.
Figure 1.A — Radiation pattern plots for a high-gain Yagi antenna on different grid coordinate systems. At A, the pattern on a
linear-power dB grid. Notice how details of side lobe structure are lost with this grid. At B, the same pattern on a grid with
constant 5 dB circles. The side lobe level is exaggerated when this scale is employed. At C, the same pattern on the modified
log grid used by ARRL. The side and rearward lobes are clearly visible on this grid. The concentric circles in all three grids
1-12 Chapter 1
This grid enhances the appearance of the minor distance for the next 3-dB increment (to –6 dB) is slightly
lobes. If the intent is to show the radiation pattern of an less, 89% of the first, to be exact. The scale distance for
array supposedly having an omnidirectional response, the next 3-dB increment (to –9 dB) is again 89% of the
this grid enhances that appearance. An antenna having second. The scale is constructed so that the progression
a difference of 8 or 10 dB in pattern response around the ends with –100 dB at chart center.
compass appears to be closer to omnidirectional on this The periodicity of spacing thus corresponds gener-
grid than on any of the others. See Figure 1.A (part B). ally to the relative significance of such changes in an-
tenna performance. Antenna pattern plots in this publica-
ARRL Log Coordinate System tion are made on the modified-log grid similar to that
The modified logarithmic grid used by the ARRL has shown in Figure 1.A (part C).
a system of concentric grid lines spaced according to the
logarithm of 0.89 times the value of the signal voltage. In Rectangular Grid
this grid, minor lobes that are 30 and 40 dB down from Antenna radiation patterns can also be plotted on
the main lobe are distinguishable. Such lobes are of con- rectangular coordinates with gain on the vertical axis in
cern in VHF and UHF work. The spacing between plotted dB and angle on the horizontal axis as shown in Fig-
points at 0 dB and –3 dB is significantly greater than the ure 1.A (part D). Multiple patterns in polar coordinates
spacing between –20 and –23 dB, which in turn is signifi- can be difficult to read, particularly close to the center of
cantly greater than the spacing between –50 and –53 dB. the plot. Using a rectangular grid makes it easier to eval-
For example, the scale distance covered by 0 to uate low-level minor lobes and is especially useful when
–3 dB is about 1⁄10 of the radius of the chart. The scale several antennas are being compared.
are graduated in decibels referenced to 0 dB at the outer edge of the chart. The patterns look quite different, yet they all
represent the same antenna response! D shows the rectangular azimuthal patterns of two VHF Yagi antennas. This exam-
ple shows how a rectangular plot allows easier comparison of antenna patterns away from the main lobe.

Directivity is computed as: every point on the surface of a sphere, while a single diagram
shows the pattern shape in only one plane of that sphere. It
P
D= (6) is customary to examine at least the E-plane and the H plane
Pav patterns before making any comparisons between antennas.
A simple approximation for gain over an isotropic radia-
where
D = directivity tor can be used, but only if the side lobes in the antenna’s pat-
P = power density at its maximum point tern are small compared to the main lobe and if the resistive
on the surface of the sphere losses in the antenna are small. When the radiation pattern is
Pav = average power density complex, numerical integration is employed to give the actual
gain.
The gain of an antenna is closely related to its directivity.
Because directivity is based solely on the shape of the direc-
tive pattern, it does not take into account any power losses 41253
G≈ (8)
that may occur in an actual antenna system. To determine H3dB × E3dB
gain, these losses must be subtracted from the power supplied
to the antenna. The loss is normally a constant percentage of where H3dB and E3dB are the half-power points, in degrees,
the power input, so the antenna gain is: for the H and E-plane patterns.
P 1.3.6 RADIATION PATTERN
G=k = kD (7)
Pav MEASUREMENTS
where Given the basic radiation pattern and scales, it becomes
G = gain (expressed as a power ratio, usually in dB) easy to define several useful measurements or metrics by
D = directivity which antennas are compared by using their azimuthal pat-
k = efficiency (power radiated divided by terns. Next to gain, the most commonly-used metric for
power input) of the antenna directional antennas is the front-to-back ratio (F/B) or just
P and Pav are as above “front-to-back”. This is the difference in dB between the an-
tenna’s gain in the specified “forward” direction and in the
For many of the antenna systems used by amateurs, the opposite direction. The front-to-back ratio of the antenna in
efficiency is quite high (the loss amounts to only a few per- Figure 1.11 is about 11 dB. Front-to-side ratio is also used and
cent of the total). In such cases the gain is essentially equal to is the difference between the antenna’s “forward” gain and
the directivity. The more the directive diagram is compressed gain at right angles to the forward direction. This assumes the
— or, in common terminology, the sharper the lobe — the radiation pattern is symmetric and is of most use to antennas
greater the power gain of the antenna. This is a natural con- such as Yagis and quads that have elements arranged in paral-
sequence of the fact that as power is taken away from a larger lel planes. The front-to-side ratio of the antenna in Fig 1.11
and larger portion of the sphere surrounding the radiator, it is is more than 30 dB. Because the antenna’s rear-ward pattern
added to the volume represented by the narrow lobes. Power can have large amplitude variations, the front-to-rear ratio is
is therefore concentrated in some directions at the expense sometimes used. Front-to-rear uses the average of rear-ward
of others. In a general way, the smaller the volume of the gain over a specified angle, usually the 180° semicircle op-
solid radiation pattern, compared with the volume of a sphere posite the direction of the antenna’s maximum gain, instead
having the same radius as the length of the largest lobe in the of a single gain figure at precisely 180° from the forward
actual pattern, the greater the power gain. direction.
As stated above, the gain of an antenna is related to its In Fig 1.11, the antenna’s beamwidth is about 54°, since
directivity, and directivity is related to the shape of the di- the pattern crosses the –3 dB gain scale approximately 27°
rective pattern. A commonly used index of directivity, and to either side of the peak direction. Antenna patterns with
therefore the gain of an antenna, is a measure of the width of comparatively small beamwidths are referred to as “sharp”
the major lobe (or lobes) of the plotted pattern. The width is or “narrow.”
expressed in degrees at the half-power or –3 dB points and is An antenna with an azimuthal pattern that shows equal
often called the beamwidth. gain in all directions is called omnidirectional. This is not the
This information provides only a general idea of rela- same as an isotropic antenna that has equal gain in all direc-
tive gain, rather than an exact measure. This is because an tions, both vertical both horizontal.
absolute measure involves knowing the power density at
1-14 Chapter 1
1.4 Antenna Polarization
We’ve now examined the first two of the three major prop- with elevation angles, where a zenith angle of 0° is the same
erties used to characterize antennas: the impedance and the as an elevation angle of 90°, straight overhead. Native NEC
radiation pattern. The third general property is polarization. or MININEC computer programs use zenith angles rather
An antenna’s polarization is defined to be that of its electric or than elevation angles, although most commercial versions
E-field, in the direction where the field strength is maximum. automatically reduce these to elevation angles.
For example, if a half-wavelength dipole is mounted If vertical and horizontal elements in the same plane are
horizontally over the Earth, the electric field is strongest per- fed out of phase (where the beginning of the RF period ap-
pendicular to its axis (that is, at right angle to the wire) and plied to the feed point of the vertical element is not in time
parallel to the Earth. Thus, since the maximum electric field is phase with that applied to the horizontal), the resultant polar-
horizontal, the polarization in this case is also considered to be ization is elliptical. Circular polarization is a special case of
horizontal with respect to the Earth. If the dipole is mounted elliptical polarization. The wave front of a circularly polar-
vertically, its polarization will be vertical. See Figure 1.14. ized signal appears (to a stationary observer) to rotate every
Note that if an antenna is mounted in free space, there is no 90° between vertical and horizontal, making a complete 360°
frame of reference and hence its polarization is indeterminate. rotation once every period. Instantaneous polarization is
Antennas composed of a number of elements arranged the polarization of the wave at the stationary observer at a
so that their axes lie in the same or parallel directions have specific instant in time. Circular polarization is frequently
the same polarization as that of any one of the elements. For used for space communications, and is discussed further in
example, a system composed of a group of horizontal dipoles the chapter Antennas for Space Communications.
is horizontally polarized. If both horizontal and vertical ele- Sky-wave transmission usually changes the polariza-
ments are used in the same plane and radiate in phase, howev- tion of traveling waves. (This is discussed in the chapter
er, the polarization is the resultant of the contributions made Radio Wave Propagation.) The polarization of receiving
by each set of elements to the total electromagnetic field at and transmitting antennas in the 3 to 30 MHz range, where
a given point some distance from the antenna. In such a case almost all communication is by means of sky wave, need
the resultant polarization is still linear, but is tilted between not be the same at both ends of a communication circuit
horizontal and vertical. (except for distances of a few miles). In this range the choice
In directions other than those where the radiation is maxi- of polarization for the antenna is usually determined by fac-
mum, the resultant wave even for a simple dipole is a com- tors such as the height of available antenna supports, polar-
bination of horizontally and vertically polarized components. ization of man-made RF noise from nearby sources, probable
The radiation off the ends of a horizontal dipole is actually energy losses in nearby objects, the likelihood of interfering
vertically polarized, albeit at a greatly reduced amplitude with neighborhood electronics and general convenience.
compared to the broadside horizontally polarized radiation
— the sense of polarization changes with compass direction.
Thus it is often helpful to consider the radiation pat-
tern from an antenna in terms of polar coordinates, rather
than trying to think in purely linear horizontal or vertical
coordinates. The reference axis in the polar system shown
in Figure 1.15 is vertical to the earth under the antenna. The
zenith angle is usually referred to as q (Greek letter theta)
and the azimuth angle is referred to as f (Greek letter phi).
Instead of zenith angles, most amateurs are more familiar
ANT0032
Figure 1.14 — Vertical and horizontal polarization of a di- Figure 1.15 — Diagram showing polar representation of a
pole above ground. The direction of polarization is the ori- point P lying on an imaginary sphere surrounding a point-
entation of the electric field in the direction of maximum source antenna. The various angles associated with the coor-
field strength. dinate system are shown referenced to the x, y, and z-axes.

1.5 Other Antenna Characteristics
Besides the three main characteristics of impedance, di- percentage of the antenna’s design frequency.
rectivity and polarization, there are some other useful proper- Popular amateur usage of the term antenna bandwidth
ties of antennas. most often refers to the 2:1 SWR (standing wave ratio)
bandwidth, such as, “The 2:1 SWR bandwidth is 3.5 to
1.5.1 RECIPROCITY IN RECEIVING AND 3.8 MHz” or “The antenna has a 10% SWR bandwidth”
TRANSMITTING or “On 20 meters, the antenna has an SWR bandwidth of
Many of the properties of a resonant antenna used for 200 kHz.” (Standing wave ratio is discussed in the
reception are the same as its properties in transmission. It Transmission Lines chapter.) Other specific bandwidth
has the same directive pattern in both cases, and delivers terms are also used, such as the gain bandwidth (the band-
maximum signal to the receiver when the signal comes from width over which gain is greater than a specified level)
a direction in which the antenna has its best response. The and the front-to-back ratio bandwidth (the bandwidth over
impedance of the antenna is the same, at the same point of which front-to-back ratio is greater than a specified level).
measurement, in receiving as in transmitting. This is the prin- As operating frequency is lowered, an equivalent band-
ciple of reciprocity. width in percentage becomes narrower in terms of frequency
In the receiving case, the antenna is the source of power range in kHz or MHz. For example, a 5% bandwidth at
delivered to the receiver, rather than the load for a source of 21 MHz is 1.05 MHz (more than wide enough to cover the
power (as in transmitting). Maximum possible output from whole band) but at 3.75 MHz only 187.5 kHz! Because of
the receiving antenna is obtained when the load to which the the wide percentage bandwidth of the lower frequency bands
antenna is connected is the same as the feed point impedance (160 meters is 10.5% wide, 80 meters is 13.4% wide) it is
of the antenna. We then say that the antenna is matched to difficult to design an antenna with a bandwidth that covers
its load. the whole band.
The power gain in receiving is the same as the gain in It is important to recognize that SWR bandwidth does not
transmitting, when certain conditions are met. One such con- always relate directly to gain bandwidth. Depending on the
dition is that both antennas must work into load impedances amount of feed line loss, an 80 meter dipole with a relatively
matched to their own impedances, so that maximum power narrow 2:1 SWR bandwidth can still radiate a good signal at
is transferred in both cases. In addition, the comparison an- each end of the band, provided that an antenna tuner is used
tenna should be oriented so it gives maximum response to to allow the transmitter to load properly. Broadbanding tech-
the signal used in the test. That is, it should have the same niques, such as fanning the far ends of a dipole to simulate a
polarization as the incoming signal and should be placed so conical type of dipole, can help broaden the SWR bandwidth.
its direction of maximum gain is toward the signal source.
In long-distance transmission and reception via the iono- 1.5.3 FREQUENCY SCALING
sphere, the relationship between receiving and transmitting, Any antenna design can be scaled in size for use on an-
however, may not be exactly reciprocal. This is because the other frequency or on another amateur band. The dimensions
waves do not always follow exactly the same paths at all times of the antenna may be scaled with Eq 9 below.
and so may show considerable variation in the time between
alternations between transmitting and receiving. Also, when f1
more than one ionospheric layer is involved in the wave travel D= ×d (9)
f2
(see the chapter Radio Wave Propagation), it is sometimes
possible for reception to be good in one direction and poor in where
the other over the same path. D = scaled dimension
Wave polarization usually shifts in the ionosphere. The d = original design dimension
tendency is for the arriving wave to be elliptically polarized, f1 = original design frequency
regardless of the polarization of the transmitting antenna. f2 = scaled frequency (frequency of intended operation)
Vertically polarized antennas can be expected to show no
more difference between transmission and reception than From this equation, a published antenna design for, say,
horizontally polarized antennas. On the average, however, an 14 MHz can be scaled in size and constructed for operation
antenna that transmits well in a certain direction also gives on 18 MHz, or any other desired band. Similarly, an antenna
favorable reception from the same direction, despite iono- design could be developed experimentally at VHF or UHF
spheric variations. and then scaled for operation in one of the HF bands. For
example, from Eq 9, an element of 39.0 inches length at
1.5.2 ANTENNA BANDWIDTH 144 MHz would be scaled to 14 MHz as follows: D = 144/14
The bandwidth of an antenna refers generally to the × 39 = 401.1 inches, or 33.43 feet.
range of frequencies over which the antenna can be used To scale an antenna properly, all physical dimensions
to obtain a specified level of performance. The bandwidth must be scaled, including element lengths, element spac-
can be specified in units of frequency (MHz or kHz) or as a ings, boom diameters and element diameters. Lengths and
1-16 Chapter 1
spacings may be scaled in a straightforward manner as in the than the cylindrical element for the same resonant frequency.
above example, but element diameters are often not as con- A procedure for calculating the length for tapered ele-
veniently scaled. For example, assume a 14 MHz antenna is ments has been worked out by Dave Leeson, W6NL, from
modeled at 144 MHz and perfected with 3⁄8-inch cylindrical work done by Schelkunoff at Bell Labs and is presented in
elements. For proper scaling to 14 MHz, the elements should Leeson’s book, Physical Design of Yagi Antennas. On the
be cylindrical, of 144/14 × 3⁄8 or 3.86 inches diameter. From ARRL Antenna Book website is a subroutine called EFFLEN.
a realistic standpoint, a 4-inch diameter might be acceptable, FOR. It is written in Fortran and is used in the SCALE pro-
but cylindrical elements of 4-inch diameter in lengths of 33 gram to compute the effective length of a tapered element.
feet or so would be quite unwieldy (and quite expensive, not The algorithm uses the Leeson-Schelkunoff algorithm and
to mention heavy). Choosing another, more suitable diameter is commented step-by-step to show what is happening.
is the only practical answer. Calculations are made for only one half of an element, as-
suming the element is symmetrical about the point of boom
Diameter Scaling attachment.
Simply changing the diameter of dipole type elements Also, read the documentation SCALE.PDF for the
during the scaling process is not satisfactory without making SCALE program, which will automatically do the complex
a corresponding element-length correction. This is because mathematics to scale a Yagi design from one frequency to
changing the diameter results in a change in the length/diam- another, or from one taper schedule to another. (Both SCALE
eter (l/d) ratio from the original design, and this alters the cor- and EFFLEN.FOR are available for download from www.
responding resonant frequency of the element. The element arrl.org/antenna-book.)
length must be corrected to compensate for the effect of the
different diameter actually used. 1.5.4 EFFECTIVE RADIATED POWER (ERP)
To be more precise, however, the purpose of diameter In many instances it is important to evaluate the effective-
scaling is not to maintain the same resonant frequency for the ness of the total antenna system from the transmitter to the
element, but to maintain the same ratio of self-resistance to radiated signal. This is done by computing the system’s effec-
self-reactance at the operating frequency — that is, the Q of tive radiated power (ERP). ERP is calculated by beginning
the scaled element should be the same as that of the original with the transmitter power output (TPO), subtracting attenu-
element. This is not always possible to achieve exactly for ation in the transmission line and all losses from connectors
elements that use several telescoping sections of tubing. or other devices between the transmitter and antenna, and
then adding the antenna gain. All of the gain and loss values
Tapered Elements are stated in decibels so that the calculations are straightfor-
Rotatable beam antennas are usually constructed with ward additions and subtractions. If antenna gain is specified
elements made of metal tubing. The general practice at HF is in dBi (decibels with respect to an isotropic antenna), the
to taper the elements with lengths of telescoping tubing. The result is EIRP — Effective Isotropic Radiated Power. ERP
center section has a large diameter, but the ends are relatively and EIRP calculations are most often used in Amateur Radio
small. This reduces not only the weight, but also the cost of in association with frequency coordination as described in the
materials for the elements. Tapering of HF Yagi elements Repeater Antenna Systems chapter.
is discussed in detail in the chapter on HF Yagi and Quad Here is an example calculation of a typical repeater an-
Antennas. tenna system
TPO = 100 watts = 50 dBm
Length Correction for Tapered Elements Transmission line attenuation = 2.4 dB
The effect of tapering an element is to alter its electrical Losses in RF connectors and antenna coupling network =
length. That is to say, two elements of the same length, one 1.7 dB
cylindrical and one tapered but with the same average dia Antenna gain = 7.5 dBi
meter as the cylindrical element, will not be resonant at the EIRP = 50 dBm – 2.4 dB – 1.7 dB + 7.5 dB = 53.4 dBm =
same frequency. The tapered element must be made longer 219 watts

1.6 RF Radiation and Electromagnetic Field Safety
Amateur Radio is basically a safe activity. In recent energy. The ARRL has established the RF Safety Committee,
years, however, there has been considerable discussion and consisting of concerned medical doctors and scientists, serv-
concern about the possible hazards of electromagnetic radia- ing voluntarily to monitor scientific research in the fields and
tion (EMR), including both RF energy and power-frequency to recommend safe practices for radio amateurs.
(50-60 Hz) electromagnetic (EM) fields. FCC regulations set
limits on the maximum permissible exposure (MPE) allowed 1.6.1 THERMAL EFFECTS OF RF ENERGY
from the operation of radio transmitters. These regulations Body tissues that are subjected to very high levels of RF
do not take the place of RF-safety practices, however. This energy may suffer serious heat damage. These effects depend
section deals with the topic of RF safety. on the frequency of the energy, the power density of the RF
This section was prepared by members of the ARRL RF field that strikes the body and factors such as the polarization
Safety Committee and coordinated by Dr Robert E. Gold, of the wave.
WBØKIZ. It summarizes what is now known and offers At frequencies near the body’s natural resonant frequen-
safety precautions based on the research to date. cy, RF energy is absorbed more efficiently, and an increase
All life on Earth has adapted to survive in an environ- in heating occurs. In adults, this frequency usually is about
ment of weak, natural, low-frequency electromagnetic fields 35 MHz if the person is grounded, and about 70 MHz if
(in addition to the Earth’s static geomagnetic field). Natural insulated from the ground. Individual body parts may be
low-frequency EM fields come from two main sources: the resonant at different frequencies. The adult head, for ex-
sun and thunderstorm activity. But in the last 100 years, ample, is resonant around 400 MHz, while a baby’s smaller
man-made fields at much higher intensities and with a head resonates near 700 MHz. Body size thus determines
very different spectral distribution have altered this natural the frequency at which most RF energy is absorbed. As the
EM background in ways that are not yet fully understood. frequency is moved farther from resonance, less RF heating
Researchers continue to look at the effects of RF exposure generally occurs. Specific absorption rate (SAR) is a term
over a wide range of frequencies and levels. that describes the rate at which RF energy is absorbed in
Both RF and 60-Hz fields are classified as nonionizing tissue.
radiation, because the frequency is too low for there to be Maximum permissible exposure (MPE) limits are based
enough photon energy to ionize atoms. (Ionizing radiation, on whole-body SAR values, with additional safety factors
such as X-rays, gamma rays and even some ultraviolet radia- included as part of the standards and regulations. This helps
tion has enough energy to knock electrons loose from their explain why these safe exposure limits vary with frequency.
atoms. When this happens, positive and negative ions are The MPE limits define the maximum electric and magnetic
formed.) Still, at sufficiently high power densities, EMR pos- field strengths or the plane-wave equivalent power densities
es certain health hazards. It has been known since the early associated with these fields, that a person may be exposed
days of radio that RF energy can cause injuries by heating to without harmful effect — and with an acceptable safety
body tissue. (Anyone who has ever touched an improperly factor. The regulations assume that a person exposed to a
grounded radio chassis or energized antenna and received specified (safe) MPE level also will experience a safe SAR.
an RF burn will agree that this type of injury can be quite Nevertheless, thermal effects of RF energy should not
painful.) In extreme cases, RF-induced heating in the eye be a major concern for most radio amateurs, because of the
can result in cataract formation, and can even cause blind- power levels we normally use and the intermittent nature
ness. Excessive RF heating of the reproductive organs can of most amateur transmissions. Amateurs spend more time
cause sterility. Other health problems also can result from RF listening than transmitting, and many amateur transmis-
heating. These heat-related health hazards are called thermal sions such as CW and SSB use low-duty-cycle modes. (With
effects. A microwave oven is a positive application of this FM or RTTY, though, the RF is present continuously at its
thermal effect. maximum level during each transmission.) In any event, it
There also have been observations of changes in physi- is rare for radio amateurs to be subjected to RF fields strong
ological function in the presence of RF energy levels that are enough to produce thermal effects, unless they are close to an
too low to cause heating. These functions return to normal energized antenna or un-shielded power amplifier. Specific
when the field is removed. Although research is ongoing, suggestions for avoiding excessive exposure are offered later
no harmful health consequences have been linked to these in this chapter.
changes.
In addition to the ongoing research, much else has been 1.6.2 ATHERMAL EFFECTS OF EMR
done to address this issue. For example, FCC regulations set Research about possible health effects resulting from ex-
limits on exposure from radio transmitters. The Institute of posure to the lower level energy fields, the athermal effects,
Electrical and Electronics Engineers, the American National has been of two basic types: epidemiological research and
Standards Institute and the National Council for Radiation laboratory research.
Protection and Measurement, among others, have recom- Scientists conduct laboratory research into biological
mended voluntary guidelines to limit human exposure to RF mechanisms by which EMR may affect animals including
1-18 Chapter 1
humans. Epidemiologists look at the health patterns of large to examine the health consequences of exposure to EMF, the
groups of people using statistical methods. These epidemio- American Physical Society (a national group of highly re-
logical studies have been inconclusive. By their basic design, spected scientists) issued a statement in May 1995 based on its
these studies do not demonstrate cause and effect, nor do they review of available data pertaining to the possible connections
postulate mechanisms of disease. Instead, epidemiologists of cancer to 60‑Hz EMF exposure. This report is exhaustive
look for associations between an environmental factor and and should be reviewed by anyone with a serious interest in
an observed pattern of illness. For example, in the earliest re- the field. Among its general conclusions were the following:
search on malaria, epidemiologists observed the association 1. The scientific literature and the reports of reviews by
between populations with high prevalence of the disease and other panels show no consistent, significant link between
the proximity of mosquito infested swamplands. It was left to cancer and power line fields.
the biological and medical scientists to isolate the organism 2. No plausible biophysical mechanisms for the sys-
causing malaria in the blood of those with the disease, and tematic initiation or promotion of cancer by these extremely
identify the same organisms in the mosquito population. weak 60‑Hz fields has been identified.
In the case of athermal effects, some studies have identi- 3. While it is impossible to prove that no deleterious
fied a weak association between exposure to EMF at home or health effects occur from exposure to any environmental fac-
at work and various malignant conditions including leukemia tor, it is necessary to demonstrate a consistent, significant and
and brain cancer. A larger number of equally well designed causal relationship before one can conclude that such effects
and performed studies, however, have found no association. do occur.
A risk ratio of between 1.5 and 2.0 has been observed in posi- In a report dated October 31, 1996, a committee of the
tive studies (the number of observed cases of malignancy be- National Research Council of the National Academy of
ing 1.5 to 2.0 times the “expected” number in the population). Sciences has concluded that no clear, convincing evidence
Epidemiologists generally regard a risk ratio of 4.0 or greater exists to show that residential exposures to electric and mag-
to be indicative of a strong association between the cause and netic fields (EMFs) are a threat to human health.
effect under study. For example, men who smoke one pack of A National Cancer Institute epidemiological study
cigarettes per day increase their risk for lung cancer tenfold of residential exposure to magnetic fields and acute lym-
compared to nonsmokers, and two packs per day increases phoblastic leukemia in children was published in the New
the risk to more than 25 times the nonsmokers’ risk. England Journal of Medicine in July 1997. The exhaustive,
Epidemiological research by itself is rarely conclusive, seven-year study concludes that if there is any link at all, it is
however. Epidemiology only identifies health patterns in far too weak to be concerned about.
groups — it does not ordinarily determine their cause. And Readers may want to follow this topic as further studies
there are often confounding factors: Most of us are exposed are reported. Amateurs should be aware that exposure to RF
to many different environmental hazards that may affect our and ELF (60 Hz) electromagnetic fields at all power levels and
health in various ways. Moreover, not all studies of persons frequencies has not been fully studied under all circumstances.
likely to be exposed to high levels of EMR have yielded the “Prudent avoidance” of any avoidable EMR is always a good
same results. idea. Prudent avoidance doesn’t mean that amateurs should be
There also has been considerable laboratory research fearful of using their equipment. Most amateur operations are
about the biological effects of EMR in recent years. For ex- well within the MPE limits. If any risk does exist, it will almost
ample, some separate studies have indicated that even fairly surely fall well down on the list of causes that may be harmful
low levels of EMR might alter the human body’s circadian to your health (on the other end of the list from your automo-
rhythms, affect the manner in which T lymphocytes function bile). It does mean, however, that hams should be aware of the
in the immune system and alter the nature of the electrical potential for exposure from their stations, and take whatever
and chemical signals communicated through the cell mem- reasonable steps they can take to minimize their own exposure
brane and between cells, among other things. Although these and the exposure of those around them.
studies are intriguing, they do not demonstrate any effect of
these low-level fields on the overall organism. Safe Exposure Levels
Much of this research has focused on low-frequency How much EM energy is safe? Scientists and regulators
magnetic fields, or on RF fields that are keyed, pulsed or have devoted a great deal of effort to deciding upon safe RF-
modulated at a low audio frequency (often below 100 Hz). exposure limits. This is a very complex problem, involving
Several studies suggested that humans and animals can adapt difficult public health and economic considerations. The rec-
to the presence of a steady RF carrier more readily than to an ommended safe levels have been revised downward several
intermittent, keyed or modulated energy source. times over the years — and not all scientific bodies agree
The results of studies in this area, plus speculations con- on this question even today. An Institute of Electrical and
cerning the effect of various types of modulation, were and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) standard for recommended EM
have remained somewhat controversial. None of the research exposure limits was published in 1991 (see Bibliography).
to date has demonstrated that low-level EMR causes adverse It replaced a 1982 American National Standards Institute
health effects. (ANSI) standard. In the new standard, most of the permit-
Given the fact that there is a great deal of ongoing research ted exposure levels were revised downward (made more

FCC RF-Exposure Regulations
FCC regulations control the amount of RF exposure 300 MHz and all three ways for frequencies from 30 to
that can result from your station’s operation (§§97.13, 300 MHz. For compliance purposes, all of these limits
97.503, 1.1307 (b)(c)(d), 1.1310 and 2.1093). The regu- must be considered separately. If any single limit is ex-
lations set limits on the maximum permissible exposure ceeded, the station is not in compliance.
(MPE) allowed from operation of transmitters in all radio The regulations control human exposure to RF fields,
services. They also require that certain types of stations not the strength of RF fields. There is no limit to how
be evaluated to determine if they are in compliance with strong a field can be as long as no one is being exposed
the MPEs specified in the rules. The FCC has also re- to it, although FCC regulations require that amateurs use
quired that five questions on RF environmental safety the minimum necessary power at all times (§97.311 [a]).
practices be added to Novice, Technician and General
license examinations. Environments
These rules went into effect on January 1, 1998 for The FCC has defined two exposure environments
new stations or stations that file a Form 605 applica- — controlled and uncontrolled. A controlled environment
tion with the FCC. Other existing stations had until is one in which the people who are being exposed are
September 1, 2000 to be in compliance with the rules. aware of that exposure and can take steps to minimize
that exposure, if appropriate. In an uncontrolled environ-
THE RULES ment, the people being exposed are not normally aware
Maximum Permissible Exposure (MPE) of the exposure. The uncontrolled environment limits are
All radio stations regulated by the FCC must comply more stringent than the controlled environment limits.
with the requirements for MPEs, even QRP stations run- Although the controlled environment is usually in-
ning only a few watts or less. The MPEs vary with fre- tended as an occupational environment, the FCC has
quency, as shown in Table A. MPE limits are specified in determined that it generally applies to amateur operators
maximum electric and magnetic fields for frequencies and members of their immediate households. In most
below 30 MHz, in power density for frequencies above cases, controlled-environment limits can be applied to
Table A — (From §1.1310) Limits for Maximum Permissible Exposure (MPE)

(A) Limits for Occupational/Controlled Exposure
Frequency Electric Field Magnetic Field Power Density Averaging Time
Range Strength Strength (mW/cm2) (minutes)
(MHz) (V/m) (A/m)
0.3-3.0 614 1.63 (100)* 6
3.0-30 1842/f 4.89/f (900/f2)* 6
30-300 61.4 0.163 1.0 6
300-1500 — — f/300 6
1500-100,000 — — 5 6
f = frequency in MHz
* = Plane-wave equivalent power density (see Note 1).
(B) Limits for General Population/Uncontrolled Exposure

Frequency Electric Field Magnetic Field Power Density Averaging Time
Range Strength Strength (mW/cm2) (minutes)
(MHz) (V/m) (A/m)
0.3-1.34 614 1.63 (100)* 30
1.34-30 824/f 2.19/f (180/f2)* 30
30-300 27.5 0.073 0.2 30
300-1500 — — f/1500 30
1500-100,000 — — 1.0 30
f = frequency in MHz
* = Plane-wave equivalent power density (see Note 1).
Note 1: This means the equivalent far-field strength that would have the E or H-field component calculated or measured. It does
not apply well in the near field of an antenna. The equivalent far-field power density can be found in the near or far field regions
from the relationships: Pd = |Etotal|2 / 3770 mW/cm2 or from Pd = |Htotal|2 × 37.7 mW/cm2.
1-20 Chapter 1
your home and property to which you can control physi- not difficult for hams to evaluate their own stations. The
cal access. The uncontrolled environment is intended for ARRL book RF Exposure and You contains extensive
areas that are accessible by the general public, such as information about the regulations and a large chapter of
your neighbors’ properties. tables that show compliance distances for specific anten-
The MPE levels are based on average exposure. An nas and power levels. Generally, hams will use these
averaging time of 6 minutes is used for controlled expo- tables to evaluate their stations. Some of these tables
sure; an averaging period of 30 minutes is used for uncon- have been included in the FCC’s information — OET
trolled exposure. Bulletin 65 and its Supplement B. If hams choose,
however, they can do more extensive calculations,
Station Evaluations use a computer to model their antenna and exposure,
The FCC requires that certain amateur stations be or make actual measurements.
evaluated for compliance with the MPEs. Although an
amateur can have someone else do the evaluation, it is Categorical Exemptions
Some types of amateur stations do not need to be
evaluated, but these stations must still comply with the
MPE limits. The station licensee remains responsible for
ensuring that the station meets these requirements.
Table B — Power Thresholds for Routine The FCC has exempted these stations from the eval-
Evaluation of Amateur Radio Stations uation requirement because their output power, operat-
Evaluation ing mode and frequency are such that they are pre-
Required if sumed to be in compliance with the rules.
Wavelength Power* (watts) Stations using power equal to or less than the levels
Band Exceeds: in Table B do not have to be evaluated. For the 100-W
MF HF ham station, for example, an evaluation would be re-
160 m 500 quired only on 12 and 10 meters.
Hand-held radios and vehicle-mounted mobile radios
HF that operate using a push-to-talk (PTT) button are also
80 m 500 categorically exempt from performing the routine evalua-
75 m 500 tion. Repeater stations that use less than 500 W ERP or
40 m 500 those with antennas not mounted on buildings, if the an-
30 m 425
20 m 225
tenna is at least 10 meters off the ground, also do not
17 m 125 need to be evaluated.
15 m 100
Correcting Problems
12 m 75
10 m 50 Most hams are already in compliance with the MPE
requirements. Some amateurs, especially those using
VHF indoor antennas or high-power, high-duty-cycle modes
All bands 50 such as a RTTY bulletin station and specialized stations
UHF for moonbounce operations and the like may need to
70 cm 70 make adjustments to their station or operation to be in
33 cm 150 compliance.
23 cm 200 The FCC permits amateurs considerable flexibility in
13 cm 250 complying with these regulations. As an example, hams
can adjust their operating frequency, mode or power to
SHF
comply with the MPE limits. They can also adjust their
All bands 250
operating habits or control the direction their antenna is
EHF pointing.
All bands 250
More Information
Repeater stations (all bands)
This discussion offers only an overview of this topic;
Non-building-mounted antennas: Height above ground level additional information can be found in RF Exposure and
to lowest point of antenna < 10 m and power > 500 W ERP
You and on the ARRL website at www.arrl.org/rf-
Building-mounted antennas: Power > 500 W ERP
exposure-regulations-news. The ARRL website also
*Transmitter power = Peak-envelope power input to antenna. For has links to the FCC website, as well as OET Bulletin 65
repeater stations only, power exclusion based on ERP (effective
radiated power). and Supplement B and links to software that hams can
use to evaluate their stations.

Figure 1.16 — 1991 RF protection guidelines for body exposure of humans. It is known officially as the “IEEE Standard for
Safety Levels with Respect to Human Exposure to Radio Frequency Electromagnetic Fields, 3 kHz to 300 GHz.”
stringent), to better reflect the current research. The new 30 minutes for power-density calculations, depending on the
IEEE standard was adopted by ANSI in 1992. frequency and other variables. The ANSI exposure limits
The IEEE standard recommends frequency-dependent for uncontrolled environments are lower than those for con-
and time-dependent maximum permissible exposure levels. trolled environments, but to compensate for that the standard
Unlike earlier versions of the standard, the 1991 standard allows exposure levels in those environments to be averaged
recommends different RF exposure limits in controlled en- over much longer time periods (generally 30 minutes). This
vironments (that is, where energy levels can be accurately long averaging time means that an intermittently operating
determined and everyone on the premises is aware of the RF source (such as an Amateur Radio transmitter) will show
presence of EM fields) and in uncontrolled environments a much lower power density than a continuous-duty station
(where energy levels are not known or where people may not — for a given power level and antenna configuration.
be aware of the presence of EM fields). FCC regulations also Time averaging is based on the concept that the human
include controlled/occupational and uncontrolled/general body can withstand a greater rate of body heating (and thus,
population exposure environments. a higher level of RF energy) for a short time than for a longer
The graph in Figure 1.16 depicts the 1991 IEEE standard. period. Time averaging may not be appropriate, however,
It is necessarily a complex graph, because the standards differ when considering nonthermal effects of RF energy.
not only for controlled and uncontrolled environments but also The IEEE standard excludes any transmitter with an out-
for electric (E) fields and magnetic (H) fields. Basically, the put below 7 W because such low-power transmitters would not
lowest E-field exposure limits occur at frequencies between be able to produce significant whole-body heating. (Recent
30 and 300 MHz. The lowest H-field exposure levels occur studies show that hand-held transceivers often produce power
at 100-300 MHz. The ANSI standard sets the maximum densities in excess of the IEEE standard within the head.)
E-field limits between 30 and 300 MHz at a power density There is disagreement within the scientific community
of 1 mW/cm2 (61.4 V/m) in controlled environments — but about these RF exposure guidelines. The IEEE standard is
at one-fifth that level (0.2 mW/cm2 or 27.5 V/m) in uncon- still intended primarily to deal with thermal effects, not expo-
trolled environments. The H-field limit drops to 1 mW/cm2 sure to energy at lower levels. A small but significant number
(0.163 A/m) at 100-300 MHz in controlled environments of researchers now believe athermal effects also should be
and 0.2 mW/cm2 (0.0728 A/m) in uncontrolled environ- taken into consideration. Several European countries and
ments. Higher power densities are permitted at frequencies localities in the United States have adopted stricter standards
below 30 MHz (below 100 MHz for H fields) and above than the recently updated IEEE standard.
300 MHz, based on the concept that the body will not be reso- Another national body in the United States, the National
nant at those frequencies and will therefore absorb less energy. Council for Radiation Protection and Measurement (NCRP),
In general, the 1991 IEEE standard requires averag- also has adopted recommended exposure guidelines. NCRP
ing the power level over time periods ranging from 6 to urges a limit of 0.2 mW/cm2 for non-occupational exposure
1-22 Chapter 1
in the 30-300 MHz range. The NCRP guideline differs from Low-Frequency Fields
IEEE in two notable ways: It takes into account the effects of Although the FCC doesn’t regulate 60-Hz fields, some
modulation on an RF carrier and it does not exempt transmit- recent concern about EMR has focused on low-frequency
ters with outputs below 7 W. energy rather than RF. Amateur Radio equipment can be a
The FCC MPE regulations are based on parts of the 1992 significant source of low-frequency magnetic fields, although
IEEE/ANSI standard and recommendations of the National there are many other sources of this kind of energy in the
Council for Radiation Protection and Measurement (NCRP). typical home. Magnetic fields can be measured relatively
The MPE limits under the regulations are slightly differ- accurately with inexpensive 60-Hz meters that are made by
ent from the IEEE/ANSI limits. Note that the MPE levels several manufacturers.
apply to the FCC rules put into effect for radio amateurs on Table 1-1 shows typical magnetic field intensities of
January 1, 1998. These MPE requirements do not reflect Amateur Radio equipment and various household items.
and include all the assumptions and exclusions of the IEEE/ Because these fields dissipate rapidly with distance, “pru-
ANSI standard. dent avoidance” would mean staying perhaps 12 to 18 inches
away from most Amateur Radio equipment (and 24 inches
Cardiac Pacemakers and RF Safety from power supplies with 1-kW RF amplifiers).
It is a widely held belief that cardiac pacemakers may be
adversely affected in their function by exposure to electro- Determining RF Power Density
magnetic fields. Amateurs with pacemakers may ask whether Unfortunately, determining the power density of the RF
their operating might endanger themselves or visitors to their fields generated by an amateur station is not as simple as
shacks who have a pacemaker. Because of this, and similar measuring low-frequency magnetic fields. Although sophisti-
concerns regarding other sources of electromagnetic fields, cated instruments can be used to measure RF power densities
pacemaker manufacturers apply design methods that for the quite accurately, they are costly and require frequent recali-
most part shield the pacemaker circuitry from even relatively bration. Most amateurs don’t have access to such equipment,
high EM field strengths. and the inexpensive field-strength meters that we do have are
It is recommended that any amateur who has a pace- not suitable for measuring RF power density.
maker, or is being considered for one, discuss this matter Table 1-2 shows a sampling of measurements made
with his or her physician. The physician will probably put the at Amateur Radio stations by the Federal Communications
amateur into contact with the technical representative of the Commission and the Environmental Protection Agency in
pacemaker manufacturer. These representatives are generally 1990. As this table indicates, a good antenna well removed
excellent resources, and may have data from laboratory or “in from inhabited areas poses no hazard under any of the IEEE/
the field” studies with specific model pacemakers. ANSI guidelines. However, the FCC/EPA survey also indi-
One study examined the function of a modern (dual cates that amateurs must be careful about using indoor or
chamber) pacemaker in and around an Amateur Radio sta- attic-mounted antennas, mobile antennas, low directional
tion. The pacemaker generator has circuits that receive and arrays or any other antenna that is close to inhabited areas,
process electrical signals produced by the heart, and also especially when moderate to high power is used.
generate electrical signals that stimulate (pace) the heart. In Ideally, before using any antenna that is in close
one series of experiments, the pacemaker was connected to a
heart simulator. The system was placed on top of the cabinet
of a 1-kW HF linear amplifier during SSB and CW opera-
tion. In another test, the system was placed in close proximity
to several 1 to 5-W 2 meter hand-held transceivers. The test Table 1-1
pacemaker was connected to the heart simulator in a third test, Typical 60-Hz Magnetic Fields Near Amateur Radio
and then placed on the ground 9 meters below and 5 meters Equipment and AC-Powered Household Appliances
in front of a three-element Yagi HF antenna. No interference Values are in milligauss.
with pacemaker function was observed in these experiments. Item Field Distance
Although the possibility of interference cannot be entire- Electric blanket 30-90 Surface
ly ruled out by these few observations, these tests represent Microwave oven 10-100 Surface
more severe exposure to EM fields than would ordinarily be 1-10 12"
encountered by an amateur — with an average amount of Personal computer 5-10 Atop CRT monitor
0-1 15" from screen
common sense. Of course, prudence dictates that amateurs Electric drill 500-2000 At handle
with pacemakers, who use hand-held VHF transceivers, keep Hair dryer 200-2000 At handle
the antenna as far as possible from the site of the implanted HF transceiver 10-100 Atop cabinet
pacemaker generator. They also should use the lowest trans- 1-5 15" from front
mitter output required for adequate communication. For high 1-kW RF amplifier 80-1000 Atop cabinet
1-25 15" from front
power HF transmission, the antenna should be as far as pos-
(Source: measurements made by members of the ARRL RF
sible from the operating position, and all equipment should Safety Committee)
be properly grounded.

proximity to an inhabited area, you should measure the RF
Table 1-2 power density. If that is not feasible, the next best option is
Typical RF Field Strengths Near Amateur
make the installation as safe as possible by observing the
Radio Antennas
safety suggestions listed in Table 1-3.
A sampling of values as measured by the Federal It also is possible, of course, to calculate the probable
Communications Commission and Environmental
power density near an antenna using simple equations. Such
Protection Agency, 1990
calculations have many pitfalls. For one, most of the situa-
Antenna Type Freq Power E Field
tions where the power density would be high enough to be
(MHz) (W) (V/m) Location
Dipole in attic 14.15 100 7-100 In home
of concern are in the near field. In the near field, ground in-
Discone in attic 146.5 250 10-27 In home
teractions and other variables produce power densities that
cannot be determined by simple arithmetic. In the far field,
Half sloper 21.5 1000 50 1 m from base
conditions become easier to predict with simple calculations.
Dipole at 7-13 ft 7.14 120 8-150 1-2 m from Earth
The boundary between the near field and the far field
Vertical 3.8 800 180 0.5 m from base
depends on the wavelength of the transmitted signal and the
5-element Yagi 21.2 1000 10-20 In shack
14 12 m from base physical size and configuration of the antenna. The boundary
at 60 ft between the near field and the far field of an antenna can be
3-element Yagi 28.5 425 8-12 12 m from base as much as several wavelengths from the antenna.
at 25 ft
Computer antenna-modeling programs are another ap-
Inverted V 7.23 1400 5-27 Below antenna proach you can use. MININEC or other codes derived from
at 22-46 ft
Vertical on roof 14.11 140 6-9 In house NEC (Numerical Electromagnetics Code) are suitable for
35-100 At antenna tuner estimating RF magnetic and electric fields around amateur
Whip on auto roof 146.5 100 22-75 2 m antenna antenna systems.
15-30 In vehicle These models have limitations. Ground interactions must
90 Rear seat be considered in estimating near-field power densities, and
5-element Yagi 50.1 500 37-50 10 m antenna
the “correct ground” must be modeled. Computer modeling
at 20 ft is generally not sophisticated enough to predict “hot spots”
in the near field — places where the field intensity may be
Table 1-3
RF Awareness Guidelines
These guidelines were developed by the ARRL RF Safety Committee, based on the FCC/EPA measurements of
Table 1-2 and other data.
Although antennas on towers (well away from people) pose especially at VHF/UHF.
no exposure problem, make certain that the RF radiation is In the UHF/SHF region, never look into the open end of an
confined to the antennas’ radiating elements themselves. activated length of waveguide or microwave feed-horn
Provide a single, good station ground (earth), and eliminate antenna or point it toward anyone. (If you do, you may be
radiation from transmission lines. Use good coaxial cable or exposing your eyes to more than the maximum permissible
other feed line properly. Avoid serious imbalance in your exposure level of RF radiation.) Never point a high-gain,
antenna system and feed line. For high-powered installations, narrow-bandwidth antenna (a paraboloid, for instance)
avoid end-fed antennas that come directly into the transmitter toward people. Use caution in aiming an EME (moonbounce)
area near the operator. array toward the horizon; EME arrays may deliver an effective
No person should ever be near any transmitting antenna radiated power of 250,000 W or more.
while it is in use. This is especially true for mobile or ground- With hand-held transceivers, keep the antenna away from
mounted vertical antennas. Avoid transmitting with more than your head and use the lowest power possible to maintain
25 W in a VHF mobile installation unless it is possible to first communications. Use a separate microphone and hold the
measure the RF fields inside the vehicle. At the 1-kW level, rig as far away from you as possible. This will reduce your
both HF and VHF directional antennas should be at least exposure to the RF energy.
35 ft above inhabited areas. Avoid using indoor and attic- Don’t work on antennas that have RF power applied.
mounted antennas if at all possible. If open-wire feeders are Don’t stand or sit close to a power supply or linear amplifier
used, ensure that it is not possible for people (or animals) to when the ac power is turned on. Stay at least 24 inches away
come into accidental contact with the feed line. from power transformers, electrical fans and other sources of
Don’t operate high-power amplifiers with the covers removed, high-level 60-Hz magnetic fields.
1-24 Chapter 1
far higher than would be expected, due to reflections from a power amplifier if it is operated without proper shielding.
nearby objects. In addition, “nearby objects” often change or Transmission lines also may radiate a significant amount of
vary with weather or the season, so the model so laboriously energy under some conditions. Poor microwave waveguide
crafted may not be representative of the actual situation, by joints or improperly assembled connectors are another source
the time it is running on the computer. of incidental radiation.
Intensely elevated but localized fields often can be de-
tected by professional measuring instruments. These “hot Further RF Exposure Suggestions
spots” are often found near wiring in the shack, and metal Potential exposure situations should be taken seriously.
objects such as antenna masts or equipment cabinets. But Based on the FCC/EPA measurements and other data, the
even with the best instrumentation, these measurements also “RF awareness” guidelines of Table 1-3 were developed by
may be misleading in the near field. the ARRL RF Safety Committee. A longer version of these
One need not make precise measurements or model the guidelines, along with a complete list of references, appeared
exact antenna system, however, to develop some idea of the in a QST article by Ivan Shulman, MD, WC2S (“Is Amateur
relative fields around an antenna. Computer modeling using Radio Hazardous to Our Health?” QST , Oct 1989, pp 31-34).
close approximations of the geometry and power input of the For more information or background, see the list of RF Safety
antenna will generally suffice. Those who are familiar with References in the next section.
MININEC can estimate their power densities by computer In addition, the ARRL has published a book, RF
modeling, and those who have access to professional power- Exposure and You, that is helping hams comply with the
density meters can make useful measurements. FCC’s RF-exposure regulations. The ARRL also maintains
While our primary concern is ordinarily the intensity of an RF-exposure news page on its website. See www.arrl.
the signal radiated by an antenna, we also should remember org/rf-exposure. This site contains reprints of selected QST
that there are other potential energy sources to be consid- articles on RF exposure and links to the FCC and other useful
ered. You also can be exposed to RF radiation directly from sites.
1.7 BIBLIOGRAPHY
TEXTBOOKS ON ANTENNAS R. W. P. King, Theory of Linear Antennas (Cambridge, MA:
C. A. Balanis, Antenna Theory, Analysis and Design (New Harvard Univ. Press, 1956).
York: Harper & Row, 1982). R. W. P. King, H. R. Mimno and A. H. Wing, Transmission
D. S. Bond, Radio Direction Finders, 1st ed. (New York: Lines, Antennas and Waveguides (New York: Dover
McGraw-Hill Book Co). Publications, Inc, 1965).
W. N. Caron, Antenna Impedance Matching (Newington: King, Mack and Sandler, Arrays of Cylindrical Dipoles
ARRL, 1989). (London: Cambridge Univ Press, 1968).
K. Davies, Ionospheric Radio Propagation — National M. G. Knitter, Ed., Loop Antennas — Design and Theory
Bureau of Standards Monograph 80 (Washington, DC: (Cambridge, WI: National Radio Club, 1983).
U.S. Government Printing Office, Apr 1, 1965). M. G. Knitter, Ed., Beverage and Long Wire Antennas —
R. S. Elliott, Antenna Theory and Design (Englewood Design and Theory (Cambridge, WI: National Radio
Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1981). Club, 1983).
A. E. Harper, Rhombic Antenna Design (New York: D. Van J. D. Kraus, Electromagnetics (New York: McGraw-Hill
Nostrand Co, Inc, 1941). Book Co).
K. Henney, Principles of Radio (New York: John Wiley and J. D. Kraus, Antennas, 2nd ed. (New York: McGraw-Hill
Sons, 1938), p 462. Book Co, 1988).
H. Jasik, Antenna Engineering Handbook, 1st ed. (New E. A. Laport, Radio Antenna Engineering (New York:
York: McGraw-Hill, 1961). McGraw-Hill Book Co, 1952).
W. C. Johnson, Transmission Lines and Networks, 1st ed. J. L. Lawson, Yagi-Antenna Design, 1st ed. (Newington:
(New York: McGraw-Hill Book Co, 1950). ARRL, 1986).
R. C. Johnson and H. Jasik, Antenna Engineering D. B. Leeson, Physical Design of Yagi Antennas
Handbook, 2nd ed. (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1984). (Newington: ARRL, 1992).
R. C. Johnson, Antenna Engineering Handbook, 3rd ed. P. H. Lee, The Amateur Radio Vertical Antenna Handbook,
(New York: McGraw-Hill, 1993). 2nd ed. (Port Washington, NY: Cowen Publishing Co.,
E. C. Jordan and K. G. Balmain, Electromagnetic Waves 1984).
and Radiating Systems, 2nd ed. (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: A. W. Lowe, Reflector Antennas (New York: IEEE Press,
Prentice-Hall, Inc, 1968). 1978).
R. Keen, Wireless Direction Finding, 3rd ed. (London: M. W. Maxwell, Reflections III - Transmission Lines and
Wireless World). Antennas, 3rd edition (CQ Communications, 2010).

G. M. Miller, Modern Electronic Communication H. H. Skilling, Electric Transmission Lines (New York:
(Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1983). McGraw-Hill Book Co, Inc, 1951).
V. A. Misek, The Beverage Antenna Handbook (Hudson, M. Slurzburg and W. Osterheld, Electrical Essentials of
NH: V. A. Misek, 1977). Radio (New York: McGraw-Hill Book Co, Inc, 1944).
T. Moreno, Microwave Transmission Design Data G. Southworth, Principles and Applications of Waveguide
(New York: McGraw-Hill, 1948). Transmission (New York: D. Van Nostrand Co, 1950).
L. A. Moxon, HF Antennas for All Locations (Potters Bar, F. E. Terman, Radio Engineers’ Handbook, 1st ed. (New
Herts: Radio Society of Great Britain, 1982), York, London: McGraw-Hill Book Co, 1943).
pp 109-111. F. E. Terman, Radio Engineering, 3rd ed. (New York:
Ramo and Whinnery, Fields and Waves in Modern Radio McGraw-Hill, 1947).
(New York: John Wiley & Sons). G. B. Welch, Wave Propagation and Antennas (New York:
V. H. Rumsey, Frequency Independent Antennas (New D. Van Nostrand Co, 1958), pp 180-182.
York: Academic Press, 1966). The GIANT Book of Amateur Radio Antennas (Blue Ridge
P. N. Saveskie, Radio Propagation Handbook (Blue Ridge Summit, PA: Tab Books, 1979), pp 55-85.
Summit, PA: Tab Books, Inc, 1980). Radio Broadcast Ground Systems, available from Smith
S. A. Schelkunoff, Advanced Antenna Theory (New York: Electronics, Inc, 8200 Snowville Rd, Cleveland, OH
John Wiley & Sons, Inc, 1952). 44141.
S. A. Schelkunoff and H. T. Friis, Antennas Theory and Radio Communication Handbook, 5th ed. (London: RSGB,
Practice (New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc, 1952). 1976).
J. Sevick, Transmission Line Transformers (Atlanta: Noble Wiley Electrical and Electronics Engineering Dictionary
Publishing, 1996). (Wiley — IEEE Press: 2004)
1-26 Chapter 1

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

1.1 Introduction to Electromagnetic Fields and Waves

1.2 Antenna Impedance

1.3 Antenna Directivity and Gain

1.4 Antenna Polarization

1.5 Other Antenna Characteristics

1.6 RF Radiation and Electromagnetic Field Safety

Antenna Fundamentals 1-1

1.1 Introduction to Electromagnetic Fields and Waves

Figure 1.1 — Visualization of a magnetic field. The magnetic

Antenna Fundamentals 1-1

position. The torque is proportional to the strength of the

Antenna Fundamentals 1-3

1.2 Antenna Impedance

1.3.2 DIRECTIVITY AND THE

Antenna Fundamentals 1-7

plots are being compared, the peak amplitude of the main

Figure 1.13 — Demonstrating antenna pattern gain with

Antenna Fundamentals 1-11

Antenna Fundamentals 1-13

Antenna Fundamentals 1-15

Antenna Fundamentals 1-17

Antenna Fundamentals 1-19

Table A — (From §1.1310) Limits for Maximum Permissible Exposure (MPE)

(B) Limits for General Population/Uncontrolled Exposure

Antenna Fundamentals 1-21

Antenna Fundamentals 1-23

Antenna Fundamentals 1-25

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