Radio and Electronics Cookbook

52

Simple aerials

Introduction

The performance of any receiver or transceiver, no matter how expensive it is, is limited by the aerial that feeds it. Two of the most frequently asked questions are:

• Which is the best sort of aerial to use?

• Where is the best place to locate an amateur radio aerial?

To answer these questions, you must ask yourself what sort of operation you want to do. Are you interested in local, chatty contacts on the lower bands or VHF, or are you more disposed towards long-distance (DX) contacts, and on what band?

A house with a moderately sized garden is assumed in the diagrams here, to illustrate the configurations of some simple aerials. You would not need all these aerials festooned around your house, because one ...