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479MHz Digital Signal Reception with Optimized Reflector for Gain

Howard Baking, Allen Davey Guevarra, Jose Emmanuel Mallari, James Molina, Kristofer Villacorta, Christian Villapando, Rayland Visitacion
Abstract- This paper contains discussion about antennas and elements that affect the radiation patterns of the antenna. It also contains solutions.
The research aims to show and discuss simulation of a 479MHz antenna having a parabolic reflector and how does the parabolic reflector affect
the radiation pattern. The parabolic antenna was compared to a half wavelength dipole and a Yagi-Uda Antenna. The paper also shows how the
effect on radiation pattern when the frequency is varied.

Keywords Antenna, Dipole Antenna, Directivity, Reflector, Parasitic Element, Drive Element Digital Signal Reception, 479 MHz Digital,

I. INTRODUCTION
The interface between the transmitter and free space
and between free space and the receiver is the
antenna. At the transmitting end the antenna converts
the transmitter RF power into electromagnetic
signals; at the receiving end the antenna picks up the
electromagnetic signals and converts them into
signals for the receiver.
An antenna can be a length of wire, a metal rod, or a
piece of tubing. Many different sizes and shapes are
used. The length of the conductor is dependent on the
frequency of operation. Antennas radiate most
effectively when their length is directly related to
the wavelength of the transmitted signal. Most
antennas have a length that is some fraction of a
wavelength. One-half and one-quarter wavelengths
are most common.
The other factor that determines how much energy is
radiated is the arrangement of the conductors
carrying the signal. If they are in the form of a cable
such as a transmission line with a generator at one
end and a load at the other
One of the most widely used antenna types is the
half-wave. This antenna is also formally known as
the Hertz antenna after Heinrich Hertz, who first
demonstrated the existence of electromagnetic waves.
Also called a doublet, a dipole antenna is two pieces
of wire, rod, or tubing that are one-quarter
wavelength long at the operating resonant frequency.
Wire dipoles are supported with glass, ceramic, or
plastic insulators at the ends and middle. The dipole
antenna has an impedance of 73 at its center, which
is the radiation distance.

An antenna is a frequency-sensitive device. The

formula 5 984/f can be used to calculate one
wavelength at a specific frequency, and 5 492/f
can thus be used to calculate one-half wavelength.
Actual length is related to the ratio of the length to
the diameter, conductor shape, Q, the dielectric
(when the materials is other than air), and a condition
known as end effect. End effect is phenomenon
caused by any support insulators used at the ends of
the wire antenna and has the effect of adding
capacitance to the end of each wire. The actual
antenna length is only about 95 percent of the
computed length. The bandwidth of an antenna is
determined by the frequency of operation and the Q
of the antenna according to the relationship BW =
fr/Q. The higher the Q, the narrower the bandwidth.
For an antenna, low Q and wider bandwidth are
desirable so that the antenna can operate over a wider
range of frequencies with reasonable SWR. In
general, any SWR below 2:1 is considered good in
practical antenna work. Most half-wave dipole
antennas are mounted horizontally to the earth. This
makes the electric field horizontal to the earth;
therefore, the antenna is horizontally polarized.

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Horizontal mounting is preferred at the lower
frequencies (30 MHz) because
the
physical
construction, mounting, and support are easier.
This type of mounting also makes it easier to attach
the transmission line and route it to the transmitter or
receiver.
A dipole antenna can also be mounted vertically, in
which case the electric field will be perpendicular to
the earth, making the polarization vertical. Vertical
mounting is common at the higher frequencies (VHF
and UHF), where the antennas are shorter and made
of self-supporting tubing. The radiation pattern of
any antenna is the shape of the electromagnetic
energy radiated from or received by that antenna.
Most antennas have directional characteristics that
cause them to radiate or receive energy in a specific
direction. Typically that radiation is concentrated in a
pattern that has a recognizable geometric shape.
The radiation pattern of a half-wave dipole has
the shape of a doughnut or a figure of 8.

Directivity refers to the ability of an antenna to send

or receive signals over a narrow horizontal
directional range. In other words, the physical
orientation of the antenna gives it a highly directional
response or directivity curve. A directional antenna
eliminates interference from other signals being
received from all directions other than the direction
of the desired signal. A highly directional antenna
acts as a type of filter to provide selectivity based on
the direction of the signal. The receiving antenna is
pointed directly at the station to be received, thereby
effectively rejecting signals from transmitters in all
other directions.
Directional antennas provide greater
efficiency
of
power
transmission.
With
omnidirectional antennas, the transmitted power
radiates out in all directions. Only a small portion
of the power is received by the desired station; the
rest is, in effect, wasted. When the antenna is made
directional, the transmitter power can be focused into
a narrow beam directed toward the station of interest.
The conventional half-wave dipole has
some directivity in that it sends or receives
signals in directions perpendicular to the line of the
antenna. The half-wave dipole antenna is directional
in that no signal is radiated from or picked up from
its ends. Such an antenna is referred to as
bidirectional, since it receives signals best in two
directions.

The dipole is at the center hole of the figure of 8, and

the doughnut itself represents the radiated energy.
Gain defined as the output of an electronic circuit or
device divided by the input passive devices such as
antennas cannot have gain. The power radiated by an
antenna can never be greater than the input. A
directional antenna can radiate more power in a given
direction than
A no directional antenna, and in this favored
direction, it acts as if it had gain power gain.

Antennas can also be designed to be

unidirectional; unidirectional antennas send or
receive signals in one direction only. Maximum
radiation or reception is in the direction of 0. The
three smaller patterns or loops going off in different
directions from the main larger pattern are called
minor lobes.
Few antennas are perfectly unidirectional.
Because of various imperfections, some power is
radiated (or received) in other directions (the
minor lobes). The goal is to eliminate or at least
minimize the minor lobes through various antenna
adjustments and enhancements designed to put more
power into the main lobe.
The beam width on a standard half-wave
dipole is approximately 90. This is not a highly

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directional antenna. The narrower the beam width, of
course, the better the directivity and the more highly
focused the signal. At microwave frequencies,
antennas with beam widths of less than 1 have been
built; these provide pinpoint communication
accuracy.
A parasitic array consists of a basic antenna
connected to a transmission line plus one or more
additional conductors that are not connected to
the transmission line. These extra conductors are
referred to as parasitic elements, and the antenna
itself is referred to as the driven element. Typically
the driven element is a half-wave dipole or some
variation. The parasitic elements are slightly longer
than and slightly less than one-half wavelength long.
These parasitic elements are placed in parallel with
and near the driven elements.
The elements of the antenna are all mounted
on a common boom. The boom does not have to be
an insulator. Because there is a voltage null at the
center of a one-half wavelength conductor at the
resonant frequency, there is no potential difference
between the elements and so they can all be
connected to a conducting boom with no undesirable
effect. In other words, the elements are not shorted
together.
The reflector, a parasitic element that is
typically about 5 percent longer than the half-wave
dipole-driven element, is spaced from the driven
element by a distance of 0.15l to 0.25. When the
signal radiated from the dipole reaches the reflector,
it induces a voltage into the reflector an the reflector
produces some radiation of its own. Because of
the spacing, the reflectors radiation is mostly in
phase with the radiation and of the driven element.
As a result, the reflected signal is added to the dipole
signal, creating a stronger, more highly focused beam
in the direction of the driven element. The reflector
minimizes the radiation to the right of the driven
element and reinforces the radiation to the left of the
driven element.
Another kind of parasitic element is a
director. A director is approximately 5% shorter than
the half-wave dipole driven element and is mounted
in front of the driven element. The directors are
placed in front of the driven element and spaced by

some distance between approximately one-tenth

and two-tenths of a wavelength from the driven
element. The signal from the driven element causes a
voltage to be induced into the director. The signal
radiated by the director then adds in phase to
that from the driven element. The result is increased
focusing of the signal, a narrower beam width, and a
higher antenna gain in the direction of the director.
The other major type of directional antenna
is the driven array, an antenna that has two or more
driven elements. Each element receives RF energy
from the transmission line, and different
arrangements of the elements produce different
degrees of directivity and gain. The three basic
types of driven arrays are the collinear, the
broadside, and the end-fi re. A fourth type is the
wide-bandwidth log-periodic antenna.
A broadside array is, essentially, a stacked
collinear antenna consisting of half-wave dipoles
spaced from one another by one-half wavelengths. A
broadside array is, essentially, a stacked collinear
antenna consisting of half-wave dipoles spaced from
one another by one-half wavelengths.
The end-fi re array, uses two half-wave
dipoles spaced one-half wavelength apart. Both
elements are driven by the transmission line. The
antenna has a bidirectional radiation pattern, but with
narrower beam widths and lower gain
II. SIMULATIONS
The design antenna for a 479 MHz Digital signal
reception T.V. with optimized reflector gain using
AWG10 solid bare copper element is
demonstrated/simulated using the program 4nec2.
Specifications of the design are as follows:

Driven half wavelength dipole at

the focus of a parabolic rflector
Parabolic reflector is a section of a
full parabola, comprised of at least
3 parabolic wire elements, and 3
circular (or hexagonal) wire
elements.
The diameter of the mouth of the
parabola 105% of driven dipole;
other circles (or hexagons)

diameters 100% 95% of dipole

length
The driven dipole should be in the
plane of the mouth of the reflector
Try to make the focal length as near
as 0.1 wavelengths as possible
Provide four 95% parasitic director
0.1 wavelengths away from driven
dipole and each other
Optional: vary the 0.1 director
distances +/- 0.05 to get best gain
X-axis propagation axis, Y-axis
horizontal parallel to dipole
elements, Z-axis vertical, center or
origin at signal source.

Computations:

Depth
Depth
=D2/16f
=(0.32865m)2/16*0.0626m
=0.107838m
Other Circles
2nd Circle= Length of dipole
0.3130m
3rd Circle= .95*Length of dipole

Given:

0.2974m

F= 479MHz

*Spacing /16

AWG10= 2.5882mm (Diameter

Four parasitic elements

0.1 spacing of parasitic directors

Length= 0.2974m

Perfect ground

Aperture

=2.998x108 m/s / 479MHz

A=2/4

=0.6259m

A=0.62592/4

Half wave dipole

=0.3077m
Yagi-Uda ( 4 elements)

/2= 0.3130m (total length)

=0.1565m (length per coordinates)

Reflector (Beam)= 105% of the dipole

Focal Point
0.1 = 0.0626m

=0.32865m

Directrix=-0.0.626

/2= 0.3130m

Reflector

Two r parasitic elements= 95% of the dipole

Diameter

Length= 0.2974m

= 105 of /2
=0.3130*0.5+0.3130

*Spacing is 0.1

=0.32865m

Half wave dipole

Dipole
Half wave dipole /2= 0.3130m

*Simulations are set to be 1V supply and on free space

Figure 3.1 Structures

Figure 3.1a three dimensional structure of parabolic antenna

Figure 3.1c three dimensional structure of 4 elements Yagi-Uda

Figure 3.1b Wire Structure of parabolic antenna Figure 3.1e three dimensional structure of Dipole Antenna

Figure 3.1d wire structure of 4 elements Yagi-Uda Figure 3.1f three dimensional structure of Dipole Antenna

Figure 3.2 Results for Dipole

Figure 3.2b 3D pattern of total gain

Figure 3.2a Simulation Results

Looking at XY plane and XYZ plane

Figure 3.2c

Figure 3.2f

Figure 3.2d

Figure 3.2g

Figure 3.2e

Figure 3.2h

Figure 3.3 Simulations for Yagi-Uda (4elements)

Figure 3.3b 3D pattern of total gain

Figure 3.3a Simulation Results

Looking at XY plane and XYZ plane

Figure 3.3c

Figure 3.3f

Figure 3.3d

Figure 3.3g

Figure 3.3e

Figure 3.3h

Figure 3.4 Simulations for Parabolic Antenna

Figure 3.4b 3d pattern for total gain

Figure 3.4a Simulation Results

Looking at XY plane and XYZ plane

Figure 3.4c

Figure 3.4f

Figure 3.4d

Figure 3.4g

Figure 3.4e

Figure 3.4h

Comparison of three antennas

Figure 3.5

Figure 3.5a Comparison of three antennas total gain

Figure 3.5b Comparison of three antennas Horizontal Gain

Yagi- Green
Dipole-Red
Parabolic Antenna- Blue

Figure 3.5c Comparison of three antennas Vertical Gain

Varying Frequency
Figure 3.6 Total Gain on Vertical Plane when frequency is varied

Figure 3.6c Total Gain at +5%

Figure 3.6a Total Gain at -5%

Figure 3.6b Total Gain at 0%

Figure 3.6d Total Gain at +10%

Figure 3.6e Total Gain at -10%

Varying Frequency

Figure 3.6c Total Gain at +5%

Figure 3.6a Total Gain at -5%

Figure 3.6b Total Gain at 0%

Figure 3.6d Total Gain at -10%

Figure 3.6e Total Gain at -10%