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  • From: Don Bowen <don.bowen AT earthlink.net>
  • To: homestead AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [Homestead] Communications
  • Date: Sun, 07 Feb 2010 06:50:40 -0800

Lynda wrote:
So, I don't know about this whole line of site stuff and I don't know about
antennaes cause I would never have thought a white box was an antennae! I
mean, I was expecting something that looked like my CB whip antennae that I
would have to send someone up a tree to make it work
Lower frequencies can bend through the atmosphereand travel long distances, some all the way around the world. Higher frequencies are more easily attenuated by obstructions, hills, trees, rain. The higher the frequency the more easily attenuated. That is why Satellite signals often drop out in the rain.

Antennas can be directional. The tal verticle whip antenna is omnidirectional, meaning the signal is about the same all around the antenna. For something like a CB antenna this is what you want. Antennas like the satellite dish and the multi element TV antenna are directional, meaning the signal is stronger in one direction that in another.

The white box you see is just a weather cover. Inside the box will be a directional antenna and in those it is a highly directional flat dish. Sometimes the antenna cover looks like a tube, again the antenna inside is directional.

For WiFi work I have a Yagi, a directional antenna with greater than 16 dBi gain. The typical base loaded Dipole antenna (The vertical whip) has a gain of around 1 dBi. In other words the Yagi will receive a signal about 40 times stronger than the whip.

--
Don Bowen KI6DIU
http://www.braingarage.com/Dons/Travels/journal/Journal.html





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