Basic antennas and how they evolved
This is the first column of a series on antennas that we will revisit over the next several months. Granted, this is a column on emergency communication, but you are going to need an antenna or two if you plan on communicating. There is a reciprocity theorem that states, “Antennas work better when connected to a radio, and radios work better when connected to an antenna.” Ever tried to tune up your rig when you forgot to connect the antenna? Ever wonder why that darn antenna wasn’t hearing anything?
Antennas, their design and performance have probably been the subject of the more intense and emotional discussions in the amateur radio community over the years than almost anything else. Where did they come from? How did they evolve?
A History Lesson
The German physicist, Heinrich Hertz, around 1885, proved Maxwell’s Theory by creating and receiving electromagnetic waves, and thus radio was born. He found his discovery interesting but of little practical use. The Hertzian Antenna, which transmitted the first radio waves, we know today as the dipole. Hertz is also credited with the loop antenna, which he used as a crude receiver in his initial discovery, as well as the
