Directionality
Vocabulary
What's The Purpose?
Antennas
100

Vertical wire

Omnidirectional

100

Frequency 

The number of cycles per second 

100

Element 

the conductive component of your antenna that transmits and receives 

100

This antenna consists of two 1/4 wavelength elements and radiates equally in all directions 

Horizontal dipole 
200

Half dipole 

Bi-directional

200

Amplitude

The height of the wave; signal strength

200

Insulator 

Prevents support portions of your antenna from interacting with conductive elements 

200

This is one of the simplest FEA's to make and consists of a single element that is at minimum 1/2 wavelength 

Longwire

300

Sloping V

Unidirectional 

300

Attenuation 

Loss of power

300

Resistor

Redirects energy along your element in order to dictate directionality 

300

This antenna's scheme focuses on the lowest, center, and highest frequency in your network 

Multi-frequency dipole 

400

Square-loop 

Omnidirectional 

400

Propagation 

how radio waves react to the environment; the transmission pattern

400

Reflector/Director

A conductive material placed around the antenna in hopes of redirecting energy onto your element

400

This antenna consists of two elements. One being vertically oriented for the use of ground waves, and the other being horizontal for the use of sky waves. 

Inverted L

500

Longwire

Bi-directional, unidirectional when terminated with a resistor 

500

Wavelength 

The physical length of one wave cycle 

500

Balun 

Feeds a balanced load with an unbalanced line, installed to prevent unwanted RF energy from interacting with your radio 

500

This antenna is omnidirectional, utilizes NVIS, and is typically cut to a full wavelength 

Box loop