Towertalk
[Top] [All Lists]

Re: [TowerTalk] Measure / Check phase difference between two antennas?

To: towertalk@contesting.com
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] Measure / Check phase difference between two antennas?
From: Jim Brown <jim@audiosystemsgroup.com>
Reply-to: jim@audiosystemsgroup.com
Date: Thu, 12 Mar 2026 11:53:10 -0700
List-post: <mailto:towertalk@contesting.com>
On 3/12/2026 11:16 AM, Jim Lux wrote:
The null depth will depend also on the relative gain of the two antennas.

In the world of pro audio, we learned that the frequency response of a system is complex -- that is, there are both amplitude and phase components, and that they are often of equal importance. For example, in the design of multi-way loudspeakers, where woofers crossover into mid-range devices and then into HF drivers. The positional relationships of the devices matter in the frequency range where they cross over, as does the complex response of the crossover circuitry, and it matters over the azimuth and elevation of listeners. The human ear does not like the variations in amplitude and phase that results from imperfections in the alignment of these devices, and the circuitry that feeds them.

Audio systems, which must cover 8 octaves of frequency, are far more complex than most RF systems, which rarely cover more than a small fraction of an octave.

I haven't investigated this with antennas, but intuitively, I suspect that the same can be true of many antennas, especially multi-element antennas, and their interaction with surrounding conductors, including the earth, also complex. One of the guys who taught us the most about this was the late Dick Heyser, whose day gig was space communications at JPL. Cancer took in early, in 1986.

73, Jim K9YC

_______________________________________________



_______________________________________________
TowerTalk mailing list
TowerTalk@contesting.com
http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/towertalk

<Prev in Thread] Current Thread [Next in Thread>