[TowerTalk] Fractal Antennas, Chip Cohen (N1IR)

[W1YW at aol.com]

For some time I have been getting queries regarding a series of TT posts  
that have been prominently archived on google and contain incorrect 
information,  much of it personally focused on ME. This posting is intended to set 
the record  straight.
 
First, I am not N1IR. I am W1YW. There was no "scandal" in getting my 'new' 
 call--an assertion wrongly posed by W4BSG. I liked the call. I applied for 
it. I  had N1IR for 30 years, and changed in 2006 coincident with my 40th 
year in  ham radio.
 
Second, I did not believe it was even remotely appropriate to insinuate  
that the NOVA program on PBS--which, BTW is among the most re-broadcast and  
watched of all NOVA shows ever--was old or was an accident of convenience: I 
was  on the show based on the fundamental electromagnetics work that I 
demonstrated  using fractals. It was filmed in 2008. Benoit Mandelbrot asked me 
to be on the  show: I was reluctant to do so because I was doing mostly 
classified work at the  time.
 
Next, hams do, modestly, use fractal antennas. I am quite AOK with that: as 
 it stands I get much too many HDTV fractal antenna queries and have very 
limited  time to respond. I always respond to friendly and respectful queries 
from hams.  I do not sell ham fractal antenna for the simple reason that my 
employees  don't want to.
 
I understand there is a popular myth that 'fractals are no better than  
anything else'. If you watch the show for 2 minutes you already know that is  
wrong.
 
I do on occasion post info on my qrz.com bio page. There are no good  
sources for fractal antenna info on the net otherwise. There are, however, far  
more fractal antennas out there and in use than a few years back, for the 
simple  reason that my company does commercial work now almost exclusively. I 
have  retired from classified work myself and now have been making a point of 
giving  talks showing off the virtues of fractal antennas. Come see me at 
the IEEE APS  meeting in May in Boston, or the Boxboro Convention in August.
 
Finally, insinuations of 'fraud' 'fractals only introduce loss', and so on  
are totally specious. I challenge those with scientific training  show  
otherwise. I am also aware that such comment usually come from competitors.  
Yehhhhhh....
 
Go do a literature search from the last 10 years and tell me 'fractals only 
 introduce loss' or 'fractals don't do better'.
 
Also, I don't care about the super-small antenna debates. I published in  
1997 and 1998 already saying that fractals help  shrinking (for example )  by 
2-4 times. Shrinking smaller  at full performance is the realm of pseudo  
science for ALL antennas.So don't bring me or this field into such specious  
arguments please. 1997 was a long time ago...
 
May I suggest that if you'd like to get some vetting on me and my work,  
that you have a friendly chat with K1VR. Fred's seen quite a bit of my stiff  
through the years.
 
Now--no more insinuation and innuendo. Keep it ham and keep it friendly.  
Many thanks!
 
73,
Chip W1YW