What Is Ground-Plane Antenna?
Ever wonder why antennas are so popular? It's not because they're easy to make. It's quite the opposite: antennas are notoriously difficult to fabricate and even more so to construct cost-effectively. But that doesn't mean people don't try! The ground-plane antenna is one of the more popular choices for a balanced feed line. It's half of a dipole, with the other half mounted above the ground plane. First, it's cheap and easy to make—you can build one out of copper foil and some wire! Second, that's pretty much it as far as benefits go. We're not complaining! The ground-plane antenna consists of two parallel conductors perpendicular to the direction in which they are fed. The two conductors are also electrically connected at their ends. The width between these two conductors is determined by the frequency band over which they will operate. The length of these two conductors is determined by the wavelength required for a particular frequency band. The feed line connects to one side of each conductor at a distance from its end equal to one-eighth of its length (see diagram). As shown in the chart, this point is called a quarter-wave point and represents an impedance match between the transmission line and antenna. It is the most popular antenna for receiving and transmitting FM radio signals. The ground-plane antenna resembles a coaxial antenna. The antenna's lowest half is made up of two or more radials, which are straight elements. The radials are 14 wavelengths long and are attached to the shield or outer connection of the feed line cable. The main ingredient can be any length but is designed to operate at a specified frequency. A tuning coil is used to make this modification to the antenna. The primary conductor is linked to the main element.
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