Why might Antenna Height matter more than Gain

Does antenna height matter more than gain? Though it may seem to be paradoxical at first sight, the fact is that very often the antenna height above ground might matter more than its published gain when it comes to HF band antennas used for DX operation. Long-range DX contacts on HF bands typically require long skips on optimally selected frequency bands for best results. To achieve this objective, the radiation takeoff angle (TOA) has to be quite low. Especially, under low SSN conditions (as is prevalent at the time of writing this post), when the ionospheric plasma densities are low and the slab thickness is also less, the higher TOA signals might penetrate the ionosphere to be lost in outer space. Low TOA signals from the antenna provide us the best prospects. Does this mean that we need to search for some special kind of antenna with low TOA capability to deploy at our QTH? NO! We don’t… Every antenna can be installed in a manner so as to provide low TOA, however, the user must be aware of how... Click Here to Read Full Article […]