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A Noise Bridge for Antenna Measurements - Excellent article describing construction and use of an RF Noise Bridge for taking measurements. Very thorough and easy to implement design procedure. If you want to begin experimenting with RF circuit and antenna design, I recommend familiarizing yourself with this document or looking elsewhere (on the web or in your handbook) to discover the incredible abilities of simple bridge circuits.
A Noise Bridge for Antenna Measurements - Excellent article describing construction and use of an RF Noise Bridge for taking measurements. Very thorough and easy to implement design procedure. If you want to begin experimenting with RF circuit and antenna design, I recommend familiarizing yourself with this document or looking elsewhere (on the web or in your handbook) to discover the incredible abilities of simple bridge circuits.
A Noise Bridge for Antenna Measurements - Excellent article describing construction and use of an RF Noise Bridge for taking measurements. Very thorough and easy to implement design procedure. If you want to begin experimenting with RF circuit and antenna design, I recommend familiarizing yourself with this document or looking elsewhere (on the web or in your handbook) to discover the incredible abilities of simple bridge circuits.
Antenna Measurements Introduction by Keith Clark, WGSIY Have you tried a noise bridge? These in- struments are very handy for measurements on antennas and feedlines, providing separate readings of the resistance and reac- tance components of impedance. This gives a much more complete.picture of the load characteristics than SWR readings. While a selection of commercial noise bridges are available at moderate cost, this is arelatively simple test instrument for the home con- structor to build and calibrate. Most of the parts are probably already in your junk box collection. I11 cover some background material on bridge circuit theory and variations, then give the detailed design information for my home-built unit. Finally, some antenna measurements will be described along with the math equations used to interpret ;hem. Bridge Theory Let's start off with the simplest example, a DC bridge for resistance measurements. (See figure 1.4) The bridge consists of four resistors R1. R2. R3and RL. RL is unknown, or load, resistance to be measured. A DC voltage is applied to the top and bottom of the bridge. The two sides are connected to a DC voltmeter which can read either polarity. R3 is adjusted for a 0 volt reading on the meter. This occurs when R1 + R 3 - R2 RL At this null condition on the voltmeter, no current flows through it, so it doesn't load the bridge circuit. The null adjustment on R3 also does not depend on the applied voltage level. These two characteristics are what make bridge circuits so useful. Such a DC bridge could be used for measuring resis- tance values above or below the normal range df a VOM. Now, let's adapt the bridge for RF measurements instead of DC. (See figure 1B) A single frequency RF source replaces the DC source, and an 'AC null detector" replaces the voltmeter. Figure 1C shows a typical RF voltmeter circuit suitable for a null detector. The same equation applies at the null condition on the meter: RlIR2 = R3IRL. Consider a practical application for such a bridge, figure 2. Resistors R1. R2 and R3 are each 51 ohm 2 watt carbon. A QRP transmit- ter is used to apply RF to the bridge, and the unknown a i m of the bridge is connected to a transmatchlfeedlinelantenna. A null on the meter will occur when the transmatcb is cor- rectly adjusted to make the antenna system look like a 51 ohm resistive load. The bridge resistors must be non-inductive, so wire- wound power resistors are not suitable. Also, the physical layout of the bridge should be symmetrical so that stray inductance and capacitance tends to cancel out. This isn't too difficult for HF use, but would be really critical at VHF. Figures 3.4 and 3B show two more varia- FIG . 1 A DC BRIDGE FIG. 18 RF BRJffiE FIG. lC AC NULL PET RF OUTPUT A XMTR FEEDLINE + TEAUSMATCH FIG. 2 Low POWER BRIDGE FOR TRANSMATCH ADJUSTMENT AC NULL FIG. 3A RF BRIDGE WITH FIG. 38 RF BRIDGE WlW CAPACITANCE ARMS INDUCTANCE ARMS tions of RF bridges. Since each side of the bridge is a voltage divider, reactive com- ponents can be used just as well as resistive ones. The load has also been shown in general form as an impedance having reactance as well as resistance. In figures 3A, a capacitive voltaee divider is shown. This circuit is used far t<e ARRL Handbook impedance bridge. with variable capacitors. The null occurs at: XllX2 = Z3lZL where X=reactance and Z=impedance. The terms in this equation are complex numbers, such as Z3=R3+jX3, and this provides us with more information about the load. Circuit 3B shows inductors used for the left side of the bridge, and the same equa- tion applies at null. Circuit 3B is not com- monly used, but it leads us naturally to the next configuration. 4 July 1987 QRP Quarterly Figure 4A is a modification of 3B with the two inductors equal and coupled to the RF source through a third winding. A broadband trifilar wound transformer with a ferrite toroid core would be appropriate. Because the output voltages are equal in the top and bottom halves of the hridge, our null equa- tion becomes: Z3=ZL, again with complex impedance. FIG. 4 A TRANSFORMER FED RF BRlCGE The RF source in 4A is a single frequency output which could he set on any desired fre- quency in the HF amateur bands. If VERY low level RF was output, it could also he used for antenna measurements outside the ama- teur bands. The AC null detector has broad- band response, so no changes to it are re- quired at different frequencies. Now consider the circuit of figure 4B. I t has a transformer just like the one in 4A, hut a RECEIVER is used as the null detector. The same equation applies at null: Z3=ZL, complex impedance. We would still use a single frequency RF source set at the receiver frequency, hut a more useful one is a broadband noise generator putting out RF energy throughout the HF frequency range. The null is observed bv listenine to the noise i n the receiver speaker, or hy Lalching the S-meter. In circuit I n , we have finally arriv. ed at the 'NOISE BRIDGE" so you can breathe a sigh of relief. Circuit 4A had a narrow hand RF source and w~deband detector. The RF' source is set LO the ~ P S I T P ~ measurement frequency Cir- cuit 4B. the now br~dge, has a wrdeband RF source and narrow-band detector (the receiver). We set the receiver to the frequen- cy at which we wish to measure the load im- pedance. This gives us two advantages over the 4A circuit. First, we are likely to already have a receiver with accurate frequency calibration. Second, the 50 milliwatts (roughly) RF noise output is spread over 30 MHz or more, so it won't cause interference to anyone else, even if it puts an S9 noise signal into our receiver. We have to be more careful with single frequency outouts-vou're all well aware of how far a 50 mV;' CW iignal can go! With such low noisr output power, i t is necessary 10 make sure all antenna connections are right. N015E SOURCE FIG. 48 NOISE BRl bS - BRIDGE 6 Home-built Noise Bridne Figure 5 is the schematic of-a practical Noise Bridge design which I built for anten- na measurements. A zener diode is used as the broadband RF noise source, with three untuned stages of amplification. Minor varia- tions of this circuit can be seen in the listed references. Power for the circuit is obtained from a 9-volt battery. A hroadband transforn~ei couples the RF noise to the hridge with it's secondary windings forming the left two arms of the bridge. This is like the arrangement of figure 4B. The transformer is trifilar wound on an Amidon FT37-43 ferrite toroid core. Three lengths of HZ6 wire are first twisted together, a fes; twists per inch. Then eight turns of the bundle are wound on the care. Dots on the schematic all indicate one end of the wire group. The center tap of the secondary has a wire from one end of the bundle tied to a dif- ferent wire from the other end. The opposite ends of these two wires connect to the right side hridge arms. The third wire is used as the primary, and is connected to the final noise amplifier stage through a capacitor. The arrangement of the two equal- impedance arms on the right side of the hridge needs a little explanation. The lower arm has a coax jack for attaching the load. but in parallel with it is a variable capacitor having a maximum capacitance of about 400 pF. Thus, the impedance in this arm is not just the Load impedance, but is the parallel combined impedance of the load and the capacitive reactance of the variable. The up- per arm has a 100 ohm varihle carbon resis- tor in parallel with a fixed capacitor. This capacitor is selected with a value about half the maximum value on the variable capacitor. I obtained 225 pF by paralleling 150 and 75 pF disc ceramic capacitors. Let's see how this works. First we attach a 51 ohm carhon resistor t o the "unknown" or 'load" jack using very short leads. The receiver is attached to the "rcvr" jack via a short length of coax, and power to the bridge and receiver is turned on. Set the receiver to a low frequency like 3.5 MHz. A loud noise should he heard in the receiver. like S9+ FIGURE 5 NOISE BRIDGE SCHEMATIC QRN. The variable resistor and variable capacitor on the hridge are both adjusted t o obtain a null in the receiver noise. It should go down to barely audible after a few hack and forth adjustments of the bridge vari- ables. At this point, the variable bridge resistor should end up at 51 ohms, and the variable capacitor should he set mid-range at a value equal to the fixed one in the other hridge arm. Each right side arm of the hridge has 51 ohms resistance in parallel with 225 pF capacitance and the hridge is balanced for the test load of 51 ohms resistance. At this ooint. we should trv different fre- ~ ~ ~~~~~ ~ ~. quencies on the receiver up to the maximum one to be used - 28 MHz in my case. The null positions on the variable resistor and variable capacitor in the bridge should not change. If they do, it is an indication of stray inductance or capacitance problems and some re-arrangement of the bridge arms may be needed for better symmetry. I saw a varia- tion of only a couple of ohms and few pF over the HF bands. We can calibrate the resistance dial by using various carhon load resistors (5 to 95 ohms) like this and finding the null, or we could just use a VOM to measure settings on the variable resistor (disconnect the receiver and load resistor). Now, how about loads which have reac- tance as well as resistance? We will treat the load itself as a resistance in parallel with an inductive (=X) or capacitive (-XI reactance. The fixed and variable capacitor arrange- ment of the bridge arms allows both types of reactance to be measured. A couple of ex- amples will show how this works. Suppose this load impedance actually Iwk- ed like 70 ohms resistance in parallel with 20 pF capacitance. We would obtain a null on the bridge with the variable resistor at 70 ohms and the variable capacitor at 205 pF. This capacitor setting would add in parallel to the 20 pF load capacitance to give 225 pF. equal to the fixed capacitance in the other arm. Now suppose our load was 70 ohms resis- tance with parallel inductance such that at the frequency of interest, the parallel induc- tive reactance was the same magnitude as QRP Quarterly July 1987 5 the capacitive reactance of a 20 pF capacitor. X~=j2(pi)FL XC=-jl(2lpi)FCl. Then we would get a null with the bridge variable resistor at 70 ohms and the variable capacitor at 245 pF. The extra 20 pF is used to cancel the inductive reactance, leaving a hridge load arm that looked like 225 pF in parallel with 70 ohms resistance. I t sounds complicated to describe, but works out easily in use. The variable capacitor dial is calibrated in oF. with 0 at the 225 o F ooint and one side . . marked "inductive" and ;he other marked ^capacitive." Calihration is done by placing. a 47 ohm carbon resistor in the 'unknown" jack, and placing various known capacitance values in parallel with it. I used disc ceramics of 30. 56. 82, 100 and 150 pF. mostly IOU. Dial ooints are marked where the noise null occu;s on the capacitor, which will be set to values lower than 225 pF. The process is repeated by placing the same capacitors in parallel with the variable resistor arm of the bridge to calibrate the other half of the dial. This side is for measur- ing inductive loads. The 47 ohm resistor is left in the "unknown" jack during this part of the calibration. My hridge was built on a thick piece of PC board material with the copper removed. This open construction allows good access to the circuitry for calibration and use of the hridge. I performed calibration while just holding the capacitors in place, without using solder. In a similar manner, it is possible to extend the measurement ranee of the br i de ., hy paralleling extra capacitance or resistance with either arm of the bridge. Because of the low power, they can be held in place hy hand for quick checks. Bridge Calculations Suppose we wish to find the impedance of an unknown load, let's say a dipole antenna, at 1040 khz. We attach the receiver to the bridge and set it to the frequency, then at- tach the antenna lead-in to the "unknown" jack. Power is turned on and we adjust the bridge variables for a null in receiver noise. On my Delta, it goes down from above S9 to S3, the minimum reading on the meter. Lets say the variable resistor setting was 60 ohms, and the variable capacitor setting was 25 pF on the capacitive side. We can calculate the capacitive reactance XC= -jl(2piFC)=-j904 ohms. Ow load at 7040 looks like a 60 ohm resistance in parallel with a 904 ohm capacitive reactance. Usually, it is more convenient to express this as an equivalent series ckcuit instead of a parallel one. The equations for making this transfor- mation are: Going thmugh the equations, we get Rs=59. 7 ohms and Xs =4. 0 ohms (capacitive). The equivalent series circuit is a 59.7 ohm resistance in series with a 4 ohm capacitive reactance at this particular fre- quency. Suppose instead that the variable capacitor setting was 25 pF on the Tnduc- tive" side of the dial. Now we are dealing with 6 July 1987 an inductive load, not a capacitive one. The reactance is calculated with the same for- mula as before, hut it is the amount of capacitive reactance used to cancel the induc- tive reactance in the load. Xc=904 ohms also. The same equalions apply for transforma. t ion to the equivalent series load. so it would be 59.7 ohms resistance m series with 4 ohms inductive reactance. These two different cases would he represented in complex arithmetic as: 59.7-j4.0 ohm capacitive load 59.7+j4.0 ohms inductive load The series or complex form is needed for feedline calculations with a Smith chart. When we make measurements as described. we're finding the impedance seen at the transmitter end of the feedline. This im- pedance can vary quite a lot with feedline length if the SWR is not equal to 1:l. A Smith chart can be used to find the actual antenna impedance if feedline length is known. Noise Bridge Circuit Variations The schematic given in figure 5 is pretty much standard for the noise source. Varia- tions from 2 to 4 amplifier stages are referenced with some transistor biasing dif- ferences noticed. The article in 73 magazine featured a I-transistor noise source which was quite effective. However, I had no luck achieving circuit balance over the HF fre. quency range. Another area of considerable variation is in the coupling transformer between the noise source and the hridge. A toroid is generally used with 3 or 4 windings. The 4th winding may he left unterminated at one end. The "Ham Radio" article described very detailed adjustment and calibration of a precision hridge using a 4-wire transformer with the wires twisted together hut not wound on a core. Bridge elements can be arranged in several ways. Some circuits feature the reactance in series with the resistance lor "unknown") in both arms. This eliminates the need for the ~~ ~ ~~ ~~~~~ ~ ~ ~~~~ parallel lo aeries impdance cdcularions. Ilowrver. ir might hc less convenient for i n- serrlnr! additional components for range ex- tmsiun. The parallel equivalent is nicer for calrulating Dower to rhe load if RMS voltage is measured. Some designs place the variaGe resistor and variable capacitor in the same bridge arm, with the fixed capacitor across the "unknown" load. Since these variahle components are rather large and require space for dial calibration, it is easier to achieve bridge layout symmetry if they are placed in different arms. My noise bridge has a capacitor in the outut to the receiver. This was not needed with test loads on short leads. However, antennalfeedline measurements would not give a good null until the capacitor was add- ed. I'm not sure why this was needed, but it was a simple trial and error cure for the pro- blem. Antenna Measurements Antenna measurements can he accomplish- ed very quickly using the noise hridge. With everything hooked up and turned on, the hridge dials are adjusted for a noise null. Resistance and capacitance values are recorded, notingif the capacitor dial is on the "inductive" side. The impedance calculatons take a little longer, as does the analysis of feedline effects using a Smith chart. See the ARRL Antenna Book for information on use of the Smith chart - it's not difficult, but there isn't room here for a detailed explana- tion. I've made several measurements on my antennas at frequencies XI OS3 each of the HF bands. However. Illonly show results for a couple of cases -t he dipole at 7050 khz and the Miniquad at 14050. Dipole My 40120 meter dipole has separate wire elements for the two bands. They all slope downward, inverted vee fashion, except on the 40 meter leg which goes level over the house roof. The center is just over 18 feet high and driven directly with some OLD RGRAU and RG58AU coax totalling 34.5 feet length. This coax should have a velocity factor of .66 for an electrical length of 52.3 feet. A waveleneth at 7050 khz is 139.6 feet. so we would ex-& the feedline to look like 0.315 wavelength. This can he checked by temporarily discon- necting the antenna from the feedline and replacing it with a resistor such as 82 ohms. Pick a value away from 50 ohms line imep- dance, but not too close to the 0 or 100 ohm range limits of the hridge. A noise hridge reading is made at the transmiter end, parallel reactance calculated and readings transformed to seriesimpedance. This is then entered on a Smith chart and the line wavelength read out. Mine measured 0.406 wavelength at 1050 khz - the old coax had a velocity factor of 0.61 and this was douhle- checked at 14 MHz. With the antenna re-attached to the feedline, noise bridge readings were taken at the transmitter end. They were 70 ohms resistive and 35 pF on theinductive side. The 35 pF represents 650 ohms inductive reac- tance in parallel with the 70 ohms resistance. The transform from parallel to series eauivalent imnedance eives the result .. 69sj7.5 ohms at the rransmllrer end of rhe line. This is the anrenna system impedance at 7050 khz and it represents an SM'R of 1.4;) read from the Smith chart. The Smith chart was then used to transfer back up the feedline 0.406 wavelength to what the impedance of the antenna alone was. This assumed loss-less coax, giving the same SWR at the antenna end. Impedance of the antenna itself came out 60-j16 ohms at this frequency, a capacitive value. - ~ Mini-Quad My HQ-1 Miniquad is mounted at 23.3 feet and fed with 51.2 feet of 3-vear old Radio Shack RG58U. A balun is installed between the feedline and antenna. The feedline alone was measured and found to have a velocity factor of 6.5, much closer to the expected .66 value. The line came out to 1.118 wavelength at 14050 khz for an electrical length of 78.3 feet. The antennalfeedline impedance was measured on the noise bridge as 18 ohms resistive in parallel with 240 pF capacitance at 14050. Extra parallel capacitance was need to extend the instrument range. This is 18 ohms resistance in oarallel with 47 ohms capacitive reactance. Transforming to the scrlrs equivalent given 16 ohms resktance in series with 6.0 ohms capacitive reactance, or 16-j6 ohms for an SWR of 3 2 1 on the Smith chart. This can be transferred back up the feedline to an antennabalun alone impedance of 36-j50 ohms. In this case it was still See page 8 QRP Quarterly