You are correct. The horizontal loop gets its gain by not radiating very much energy vertically. It's pattern looks kind of like a doughnut. A horizontal loop will give you a few dB of gain but bette
Absolutely right. Omni for vhf antennas usually means circular in the horizontal plane, with minimum radiation above and below the horizon. The more elements get stacked vertically, thre more the bea
I happened to be in 4NEC2 when I read your note, so I made a web page with some neat 3D pics on it for examples. Since most reflectors won't pass attachments, here's the URL: www.qsl.net/kg4qdz/patte
Hi Jim, Modeling shows the classic shortened 1/2 wave loop (whether round or square) to be about -0.5 dBi and have an eggshaped pattern about 2 to 3dB "out of omni". It is important when measuring ga
John, Think about this analogy. Place a round balloon on a flat surface, put another flat surface on top of the balloon and apply pressure. The balloon will change shape spreading out horizontally bu
John, Gain is derived from the simplest of antennas...the dipole or if you want to take the professional route, an imaginary antenna called the isotropic antenna which radiates likes a soccer ball...