Beverages and Other
Low-Band Receive Antennas
H. Ward Silver, NØAX
Beverages and Other
Low-Band Receive Antennas
H. Ward Silver, NØAX
2 Beverages and Receiving Antennas January 2015
Any wire will work as an antenna,
particularly if you don’t want it
to…
3 Beverages and Receiving Antennas January 2015
Overview
Goals of Receive Antennas
Beverage Basics
K9AY Loop
Flags and Pennants
Vertical Arrays
Small rotatable loops
Coupling and Pickup
4 Beverages and Receiving Antennas January 2015
Receive Antenna Goals
Gain is NOT the goal
Sensitivity
at HF is more than adequate
The signals are there but covered in noise
Directivity IS the goal
Avoid receiving the noise in the first place
Not more signal…less noise!
Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR)
Receive Directivity Factor (RDF)
5 Beverages and Receiving Antennas January 2015
Receive Antenna Goals
Gain is NOT the goal
MF and HF receiving is limited by noise
Atmospheric versus man-made noise
Reject off-direction noise
Null out local sources
6 Beverages and Receiving Antennas January 2015
Overview
Goals of Receive Antennas
Beverage Basics
K9AY Loop
Flags and Pennants
Vertical Arrays
Small rotatable loops
Coupling and Pickup
7 Beverages and Receiving Antennas January 2015
Beverage Background
Invented in 1921 by Harold Beverage W2BML
for LF (<300 kHz)
Long, low wires…very long
Works best close to ground with medium to
poor conductivity
Advantage lies in rejecting noise from
unwanted directions
8 Beverages and Receiving Antennas January 2015
Beverage Basics #1
• Wavefront Tilt
• Field Components
• Vertical and Horizontal Polarization
9 Beverages and Receiving Antennas January 2015
Incoming Vertical component (no effect)
wavefront
electric field Tilt angle
Horizontal component
antenna (causes current)
ground
Tilt mostly caused by angle-of-arrival at MF
10 Beverages and Receiving Antennas January 2015
Beverage Basics #2
• Termination & Characteristic Impedance
• Travelling-wave / Non-resonant
• Best from 3/4 - 5 wavelengths
11 Beverages and Receiving Antennas January 2015
Wavefronts
induced
arriving
voltages
To receiver
ground
BACK FRONT
Wavefronts
arriving Signal
Absorbed
To receiver
ground
12 Beverages and Receiving Antennas January 2015
How Are Signals Rejected?
13 Beverages and Receiving Antennas January 2015
E
antenna
Horizontally-polarized
along axis, no effect
because E-field is
perpendicular to the
antenna - no current!
14 Beverages and Receiving Antennas January 2015
Vertically-polarized
broadside, no effect
because E-field is E
perpendicular to the
E
antenna - no current!
antenna
Horizontally-polarized
along axis, no effect
because E-field is
perpendicular to the
antenna - no current!
15 Beverages and Receiving Antennas January 2015
Vertically-polarized
broadside, no effect
because E-field is E
perpendicular to the
E
antenna - no current!
antenna
Horizontally-polarized
E along axis, no effect
because E-field is
Horizontally-polarized perpendicular to the
broadside, no effect antenna - no current!
because E-field causes
same current everywhere,
16
canceling at ends!
Beverages and Receiving Antennas January 2015
The Classic One-Wire Beverage
Receives best
from this direction
1:9
50 Ω 4 to 15’
300-600 Ω
ground
17 Beverages and Receiving Antennas January 2015
The Two-Wire Beverage
1:1
1:9
Left-to-right 50 Ω Balanced line
Signals acting as the antenna
T2 T1
Reflection
1:9 Transformer
Right-to-left
50 Ω
Signals
T3
18 Beverages and Receiving Antennas January 2015
Signal from the right
Signals are in-phase on each wire
Signals sum in the T2 center-tap, no primary output
T3 transfers the summed signals to feedline
1:1
1:9
Left-to-right 50 Ω
Signals
T2 T1
Reflection
1:9 Transformer
Right-to-left
50 Ω
Signals
T3
19 Beverages and Receiving Antennas January 2015
Signal from the left
Signals are in-phase arriving on each wire
Transformer converts common-mode to differential
Signals now travel to left inside xmsn line
T2 transfers signal to feedline, T3 nulled 1:1
1:9
Left-to-right 50 Ω
Signals
T2 T1
Reflection
1:9 Transformer
Right-to-left
50 Ω
Signals
T3
20 Beverages and Receiving Antennas January 2015
Do They Work?
• You betcha!
– 160 meters: from 1-2 S-unit
– 80 meters: from 2-3 S-units (or more!)
– 40 meters: not much improvement
• You can hear at least one more ‘layer’
• Reduces operator fatigue greatly
21 Beverages and Receiving Antennas January 2015
Useful Beverages
• ½-wavelength can help
– 160 meters – 250’, 80 meters – 125’
• “Big Guns” recommend 1 wavelength
• “Temporary” Beverages
• Beverage on ground
• Low-Band DXing, Top-Band reflector
22 Beverages and Receiving Antennas January 2015
Overview
Goals of Receive Antennas
Beverage Basics
K9AY Loop
Flags and Pennants
Vertical Arrays
Small rotatable loops
Coupling and Pickup
23 Beverages and Receiving Antennas January 2015
K9AY Loop
Near-triangular loop
Single-support, 25’ high
Modest directivity
Low-cost
Good for home and portable operation
24 Beverages and Receiving Antennas January 2015
K9AY
Loop
Max signal
150 Ω
25 Beverages and Receiving Antennas January 2015
Elevation Pattern Azimuthal Pattern (30°)
Gain is approx -26 dBi
F/B is 20 to 40 dB
Deep null at 40°
26 Beverages and Receiving Antennas January 2015
K9AY Loop
Requires preamp (10-20 dB)
Single ground rod ok for normal soil
Disconnect from rcvr when transmitting
Nearby metal or antennas affect pattern
Suggest burying or decoupling feed line
See K9AY QST articles and website –
www.aytechnologies.com
27 Beverages and Receiving Antennas January 2015
Overview
Goals of Receive Antennas
Beverage Basics
K9AY Loop
Flags and Pennants
Vertical Arrays
Small rotatable loops
Coupling and Pickup
28 Beverages and Receiving Antennas January 2015
Flags and Pennants
Small rectangle, triangle, or diamond
Oriented vertically
About 29 feet long, 14 feet high
Mounted 6 feet or more above ground
Relatively insensitive to ground
Requires preamp (20 dB)
Max signal in direction of feed point
29 Beverages and Receiving Antennas January 2015
From July 2000 QST article by K6SE
30 Beverages and Receiving Antennas January 2015
Gain is -30 to -36 dBi
F/B is about 20 - 40 dB
Deep null at 30°(dep on height)
From July 2000 QST article by K6SE
31 Beverages and Receiving Antennas January 2015
Rotatable Flag
w7iuv.com/flag.htm
March 2011 QST article by WB6RSE
32 Beverages and Receiving Antennas January 2015
Double Half-Delta Loop
22 m long
7.5 m high
1.5 m above ground
Used on TX3A expedition by AA7JV & HA7JY
Est to be 2.5 dB better than a single flag
tx3a.com/docs/TX3A_DOUBLE_HALF_DELTA_LOOP.ZIP
33 Beverages and Receiving Antennas January 2015
Shared Apex Loop Array (SAL)
34 Beverages and Receiving Antennas January 2015
SAL Basics
Four identical right triangle loops
Vertical sides supported by a non-conductive mast.
Directivity from summing signals from one loop with
delayed signals from an oppositely phased and
positioned loop.
Delay and loop phasing largely frequency
independent
Creates directivity over a wide frequency range
From www.widebandloop.com/Technology.html
35 Beverages and Receiving Antennas January 2015
Online Resources
K3KY’s Flag and Pennant web page
www.angelfire.com/md/k3ky/page37.html
WA1ION’s web site
www.qsl.net/wa1ion
W7IUV’s web site
w7iuv.com
36 Beverages and Receiving Antennas January 2015
Overview
Goals of Receive Antennas
Beverage Basics
K9AY Loop
Flags and Pennants
Vertical Arrays
Small rotatable loops
Coupling and Pickup
37 Beverages and Receiving Antennas January 2015
Vertical Arrays
Basically miniature vertical arrays
DX Engineering, Hi-Z Antennas
2/4/8 antenna arrays
Active and passive elements
dxengineering.com, hizantennas.com
NCC-1 Noise Cancelling Controller (DXE)
Combines two rx antennas
38 Beverages and Receiving Antennas January 2015
Typical 4-element
Array pattern
8-element array
physical layout
From Hi-Z Antenna
product literature
39 Beverages and Receiving Antennas January 2015
Array Size
From DX Engineering
product literature
40 Beverages and Receiving Antennas January 2015
Overview
Goals of Receive Antennas
Beverage Basics
K9AY Loop
Flags and Pennants
Vertical Arrays
Small rotatable loops
Coupling and Pickup
41 Beverages and Receiving Antennas January 2015
Small Magnetic Loop
Often referred to as “shielded” loops
Shield acts as a balanced antenna
Signal coupled to center conductor
Loop responds primarily to H-field
Loop is tuned to resonance
Symmetry forms null in plane of loop
Rotatable to aim null at noise source
42 Beverages and Receiving Antennas January 2015
Hardline
RG-213/11
Diameter of RG-58/59/62
4 to 6 feet
Capacitor tunes
loop to resonance
(1000 pF trimmer)
From W8JI
www.w8ji.com/magnetic_receiving_loops.htm
43 Beverages and Receiving Antennas January 2015
W8JI Loop Guidelines
The shield must be perfectly symmetrical moving away
from the inner conductor exit point
The gap in the shield must be exactly opposite the
grounded point
The ground must be at the inner wire exit point
The shield will not make an unshielded loop that is
properly balanced any quieter
The shield only is a tool to help you balance the system.
The shield helps only when the shield is properly
implemented.
44 Beverages and Receiving Antennas January 2015
Overview
Goals of Receive Antennas
Beverage Basics
K9AY Loop
Flags and Pennants
Vertical Arrays
Small rotatable loops
Coupling and Pickup
45 Beverages and Receiving Antennas January 2015
Coupling and Pickup
Coupling and Pickup are BAD!
Bury or isolate feed lines
Coupling destroys symmetry
Shields pickup noise
1:1 isolation transformers
Common-mode ferrite chokes
ARRL Handbook and Antenna Book, K9YC on-
line tutorials
46 Beverages and Receiving Antennas January 2015
Summary
Gain is not the objective
Better SNR is the objective
Use the pattern
Preserve the pattern
Small antennas are sensitive
Keep noise and coupled signals out!
A dB is a dB is a dB (thanks K7GCO)
47 Beverages and Receiving Antennas January 2015
!!Thank You!!
48 Beverages and Receiving Antennas January 2015
