jkowtko
Well-Known Member
Okay EEs (I'm a Mech E), tell me this --
For one of our receivers in the rack running in the 650-680mHz range, I pulled the quarter-wave whip antennas off the back and moved them out of the rack using a pair of 6 foot RG-58 cables. I mounted the antennas on a luan panel suspended about 6-7 off the ground, spaced several feet apart, and with a great line of sight of the stage. My reception improved a bit. According to theory, it should have degraded due to loss of ground plane. What's happening?
These systems are AKG WMS450 ... Band 1. The whip antenna is the black rubber-coated one and it fatter towards the BNC connector. I don't know if it has a helical winding in it or not -- can't find any documentation. I do know that in contrast, my Band 7 receivers (500-530mHz) have slightly longer, simple chrome post antennas, which I assume are still quarter-wave but lower frequency.
Anyway, all the docs I can find state that the quarter-wave antenna needs a ground plane in order to pick up the signal properly, and that the receiver chassis provides that ground plane.
I should have eliminated that ground plane when I moved the antennas out of the rack. A luan panel should not give me any RF alterations, so the antenna should more-or-less be on it's own out there.
Any idea why it's still working? My last class covering anything related to radio waves was unfortunately freshman physics. The Yahama SR Handbook doesn't even cover wireless, and any info I can on-line find says that my experiment shouldn't really be working. Here's another web site to reference:
Antenna FAQ
If you can explain what's going on, i.e. why I'm receiving the same or better reception than when the whips were in the rack, I'd appreciate it.
Thanks. John
For one of our receivers in the rack running in the 650-680mHz range, I pulled the quarter-wave whip antennas off the back and moved them out of the rack using a pair of 6 foot RG-58 cables. I mounted the antennas on a luan panel suspended about 6-7 off the ground, spaced several feet apart, and with a great line of sight of the stage. My reception improved a bit. According to theory, it should have degraded due to loss of ground plane. What's happening?
These systems are AKG WMS450 ... Band 1. The whip antenna is the black rubber-coated one and it fatter towards the BNC connector. I don't know if it has a helical winding in it or not -- can't find any documentation. I do know that in contrast, my Band 7 receivers (500-530mHz) have slightly longer, simple chrome post antennas, which I assume are still quarter-wave but lower frequency.
Anyway, all the docs I can find state that the quarter-wave antenna needs a ground plane in order to pick up the signal properly, and that the receiver chassis provides that ground plane.
I should have eliminated that ground plane when I moved the antennas out of the rack. A luan panel should not give me any RF alterations, so the antenna should more-or-less be on it's own out there.
Any idea why it's still working? My last class covering anything related to radio waves was unfortunately freshman physics. The Yahama SR Handbook doesn't even cover wireless, and any info I can on-line find says that my experiment shouldn't really be working. Here's another web site to reference:
Antenna FAQ
If you can explain what's going on, i.e. why I'm receiving the same or better reception than when the whips were in the rack, I'd appreciate it.
Thanks. John