> You have to be careful with YT, using stacks with close spacing.
> If you plot a stack of two antennas even one foot apart,
> YT will still show a 3 dB gain over a single antenna.
Very interesting. It is amazing what is in those manuals
that I, like most people, never bother reading.
Anyway, that's why I like the new Eznec with it's average gain! You
can look to see if average gain exceeds 0dB as an automatic red
flag.
A similar effect is common when modeling receiving antennas
(which actually are modelled as transmitting antennas by the
program, of course). If you model two close-spaced Beverages they
show 3dB gain even though there really is no pattern gain. That
misleads people into thinking they are making things better when
nothing is changing!
One common-sense test for modelling is to remember that a pair of
dipoles stacked in freespace only has about 3dB gain when
spacing is 5/8 wl or so. The tighter the pattern of each antenna
alone, the further apart they have to be stacked to get the same 3
dB gain increase.
If you see 3dB gain stacking gain with 1/2 wl spacing using large
yagis, you better look carefully at the model for errors!
This of course is only talking about maximum gain, and not null
filling.
73, Tom W8JI
W8JI@contesting.com
________________________________________________________________________
This list is sponsored by the new eHam.net Store. When you buy products
like ICE filters, Array Solutions StackMatch, or M-Squared Antennas from
the eHam Store for the same price you pay direct, a portion of the sale
price goes to support this list. Check it out at http://www.eham.net.
-----
FAQ on WWW: http://www.contesting.com/FAQ/towertalk
Submissions: towertalk@contesting.com
Administrative requests: towertalk-REQUEST@contesting.com
Problems: owner-towertalk@contesting.com
|