All about cubical quad antennas (open library) All about Cubical Quad antennas by William Ittner Orr, 1982,Radio Publications edition, in English - 3rd ed. All about cubical quad antennas: william i. Orr, The Quad Antenna: A Comprehensive Guide to the Construction, Design, and Performance of Quad Antennas Talking to the world with ham radio.
- I would like to purchase a copy of 'All About Cubical Quad Antennas', by William I. Orr, W6SAI and Stuart A. Cowan, W2LX, in excellent condition. I am specifically looking for the 3rd Edition, which includes updated data regarding the 3 WARC-bands.
- Read the section on Yagi antennas if you are not familiar with directional (“beam”) antennas and how they work. Since the Cubical Quad works off the same principles, you must first understand the Yagi antenna. The Cubical Quad. The next type of beam is the Cubical Quad, my favorite. This is the type of beam that I.
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A quad antenna is a type of directional wire radio antenna used on the HF and VHF bands. Like a Yagi–Uda antenna ('Yagi'), a quad consists of a driven element and one or more parasitic elements; however in a quad, each of these elements is a loop antenna, which may be square, round, or some other shape. It is used by radio amateurs on the HF and VHF amateur bands.
History[edit]
The quad antenna is a development of several inventions.
- In 1924, Moses Jacobson patented a loop antennas with rhombic shape.[1]
- In 1938, George Brown et al. patented a loop antenna with rhombic shape and quarterwave sides.[2]
- In 1951 Clarence C. Moore, W9LZX, a Christian Missionary and engineer at HCJB (a shortwave missionary radio station high in the Andean Mountains) developed and patented [3]a two-turn loop antenna that he called a 'quad'. He developed this antenna to resolve issues caused by large coronal discharges while using a beam antenna in the thin air of higher altitudes. Moore describes his antenna as 'a pulled-open folded dipole'. While the main point of Moore's patent was the two turn single loop design which is not the antenna termed 'quad' today, the patent does include a mention and illustration of a two element unidirectional 'quad', and describes the time when the full wave loop concept was developed:
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a loop antenna having an even number of turns of a length of one or more wave lengths around each turn in which substantially no voltage components are present and the only voltage existing is that due to the impedance between the adjacent loops.
We took about one hundred pounds of engineering reference books with us on our short vacation to Posoraja, Ecuador during the summer of 1942, determined that with the help of God we could solve our problem. There on the floor of our bamboo cottage we spread open all the reference books we had brought with us and worked for hours on basic antenna design. Our prayers must have been answered, for gradually as we worked the vision of a quad-shaped antenna gradually grew with the new concept of a loop antenna having no ends to the elements, and combining relatively high transmitting impedance and high gain.
- Moore's design eliminated interference from coronal discharge. 'End effect', which is inherent with the Yagi, is absent in a quad because its elements have no ends. But other advantages appeared. The higher impedance mentioned in the quote above translates to lower current and thus lower loss on the transmission lines, and gain is higher than that of a Yagi.
- In 1957 James Sherriff McCaig patented what we know as a 'cubical' (two-element) multi-band quad antenna.[4]
- In 1960 Rudolf Baumgartner patented the Swiss quad[5][6]
- In 1969 Werner Boldt invented the DJ4VM quad.[7]
- In 1971 Hans F. Ruckert invented the 'Mono-Loop Tri-Band Cubical Quad' .[8]
Advantages over a Yagi–Uda[edit]
Rigorous testing of the quad antenna show the following advantages over a Yagi–Uda antenna.[9]
Polarization[edit]
It is easy to change polarization from vertical to horizontal.
Multiband antenna[edit]
It is easier to design a multiband quad antenna than a multiband Yagi antenna.
Higher gain[edit]
The 2-element quad has almost the same gain as a 3-element Yagi: about 7.5 dB over a dipole. Likewise, a 3-element quad has more gain than a 3-element Yagi. However, adding quad elements produces diminishing returns. Quoting from William Orr, 'Whereas parasitic beams having twenty or thirty parasitic directors are efficient, high gain antennas, it would seem ... that maximum practical number of parasitic loop elements for the quad array is limited to four or five.' (Orr, p. 48)
Radiation resistance[edit]
Radiation resistance is affected by antenna height above ground, element spacing, and environmental conditions. However, values will be higher than for a Yagi and more closely matched to a 50 Ohm coaxial feed.
Lower boom height[edit]
'A two-element, three-band quad, with elements mounted only 35 feet above ground, will give good performance in situations where a triband Yagi will not.'[10]
Shorter boom[edit]
William Orr's book[11] shows a 10-15-20 meter, 2-element Quad with boom length of 6′10″.
Internally stackable[edit]
Interaction between antennas of a multiband quad are quite low, even when fed with a single feed line. (Orr, 1959, pg. 63)
Lower radiation angle[edit]
According to K0SR[12] the false claim that quads 'open the band earlier', which suggests that they exhibit a lower angle of radiation than Yagis, has persisted for 50 years computer models agree. He posits that the vertical sides of each element actually radiate the low angle component.
Disadvantages compared to other antennas[edit]
Bandwidth[edit]
If tuned for maximum gain, the bandwidth for a 3-element quad antenna is limited: Deviation from the design frequency will unbalance the near-resonance condition of the parasitic elements. However, lengthening the director elements, thereby sacrificing approximately 1 dB gain, allows for much broader bandwidth.
Maintenance[edit]
A quad is a 3-dimensional antenna so maintenance can be difficult. Even with a tilt-over tower, tall ladders or a bucket truck may be needed. There are devices that will allow the tilting of the tower to the ground to work on a cubical quad antenna, rotator, or tower. It works by letting the quad loops swivel out of the way. When the tower is in the operational position the elements are locked into position (the locking mechanism is powered by gravity).
References[edit]
- ^U.S. Patent 1747008, Antenna. http://www.google.com/patents/US1747008
- ^U.S. Patent 2207781, Ultra high frequency antenna. http://www.google.com/patents/US2207781
- ^U.S. Patent 2537191. http://www.google.com/patents/US2537191
- ^GB Patent 850974 Improvements relating to composite aerials. http://www.puertobalsillas.com/radio/GB850974A.pdf GB850974A
- ^Swiss Patent 384644, Vollgespeiste Richtantenne für Kurz- und Ultrakurzwellen. http://www.puertobalsillas.com/radio/384644.pdf 384644
- ^Die Swiss-Quad-Antenne DL-QTC, 1963/10, page 454.
- ^Ham Radio August 1969 page 41-46
- ^CQ, Januari, 1971,page 41-43.
- ^Orr, William I, & Stuart D. Cowan. (1959). All About Cubical Quad Antennas. Radio Publications. ISBN0-933616-03-1, ISBN978-0-933616-03-5, LCCN 82080282.
- ^ARRL. The ARRL Antenna Book. 17th edition, Chapter 12, p. 12-1 to 12-13.
- ^Orr, William I. (1996). The W6SAI HF Antenna Handbook. ISBN978-0-943016-15-3.
- ^ARRL. (Jan/Feb 2008). National Contest Journal. p. 5.
External links[edit]
Cubical Quad Antenna Kits
- Building a Quad Antenna by Dean VK5DJM.
- Antenas Cúbicas Quad antennas page info by EA1DDO, in Spanish.
- Quad Antenna Gallery Large Quad Antenna gallery with +300 photos.
- N8PPQ N8PPQ's circular quad antenna.
- N6ACH N6ACH quad antenna calculator.
- WA2OOO WA2OOO Cubical Quad guide to Advantages and Dimensions and Calculator.
All About Cubical Quad Antennas