Beverage Antenna: Advantages and Disadvantages
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This page explores the pros and cons of the Beverage antenna. We’ll delve into its benefits and drawbacks to give you a clear understanding of its capabilities and limitations.
What is a Beverage Antenna?
Introduction:
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A Beverage antenna is essentially a long wire stretched horizontally, positioned a fraction of a wavelength above the ground.
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It’s fed relative to the ground, and the ground plane image of the horizontally polarized wire largely cancels out the far-field pattern.
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These antennas are typically one wavelength or longer, which is why they’re also known as long-wire antennas.
Beverage antenna
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Figure 1 illustrates a unidirectional Beverage antenna. It consists of a horizontal wire, ranging from λ/2 to several λ in length (where λ is the wavelength).
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This wire is suspended relatively close to the ground, typically 10 to 20 feet above the surface, and pointed towards the signal source.
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At the end facing the signal source, the antenna is terminated with a resistor. The value of this resistor is equivalent to the characteristic impedance of the transmission line, usually between 400 and 800 Ohms.
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The other end of the antenna is connected to the receiver through a transmission line.
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Beverage antennas are primarily used as receiving antennas for high-frequency (HF) and medium-frequency (MF) radio bands.
Benefits or Advantages of the Beverage Antenna
Here are some key advantages of using a Beverage antenna:
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Excellent Directivity: They are known for their ability to focus on signals from a specific direction, reducing interference from other sources.
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Wide Bandwidth of Operation: Beverage antennas can operate effectively over a broad range of frequencies.
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Inexpensive: They are relatively simple to construct and don’t require expensive materials, making them a cost-effective option.
Drawbacks or Disadvantages of the Beverage Antenna
Despite their benefits, Beverage antennas also have some drawbacks:
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Large Physical Size: Their length requires a significant amount of land area, which can be a limiting factor.
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Fixed Direction: It’s not practical to rotate a Beverage antenna to change the receiving direction. They are typically fixed in a single orientation.
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Multiple Antennas for Wide Coverage: To achieve wide azimuth coverage, you would need to install multiple Beverage antennas, each pointed in a different direction.