A Fubsy Polymath subdomain
Antennas
The hardware between the radio and free space — dipoles to dishes, BALUNs, matching networks, measurement gear, and satellite tracking.
Deep-dive volumes cover every class of antenna, matching network, and measurement instrument.
Photo: Helical antenna tracking array by Kingbastard · CC BY-SA 3.0
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Whole deep dives are listed first, then the pages inside them.
Antennas
Live Discone & Wideband Antennas The discone is the canonical wideband scanner/receive antenna — a cone over a disc whose impedance-derived geometry achi… · Reference · Reference (VHF–microwave) · Deep dive · 5 vols Live
Live Fixed Vertical Monopoles The quarter-wave vertical monopole over ground is the antenna for low-angle HF radiation — DX paths arrive at 5–20° elev… · Reference · Reference (HF) · Deep dive · 5 vols Live
Live Log-Periodic & Structured Wideband Antennas The directional wideband antenna family — LPDA, horn, spiral, Vivaldi, and equiangular spiral — delivers 4:1 to 10:1 fre… · Reference · Reference (VHF–microwave) · Deep dive · 1 vol Live
Live Multi-Band Dipoles This dive catalogs the six dominant multi-band wire-antenna solutions: the off-center-fed dipole (OCFD / Carolina Windom… · Reference · Reference (HF) · Deep dive · 5 vols Live
Live Portable & Mobile Monopoles This dive covers every antenna worn by a handheld or vehicle-mobile radio in the Hack Tools hub: mag-mount and NMO whips… · Reference · Reference (HF–UHF) · Deep dive · 5 vols Live
Live Random Wire & End-Fed Antennas End-fed wires are the dominant HF antenna of the post-2010 amateur era — the end-fed half-wave (EFHW) with a 49:1 ferrit… · Reference · Reference (HF) · Deep dive · 5 vols Live
Live Receive-Only Loops & Specialty Receive Antennas Receive-optimized antennas are intentionally lossy because the loss is the noise rejection: on HF below ~14 MHz, externa… · Reference · Reference (HF) · Deep dive · 5 vols Live
Live Single-Band Dipoles The half-wave dipole is the canonical resonant wire antenna and the universal reference against which every other antenn… · Reference · Reference (HF–microwave) · Deep dive · 5 vols Live
Live Transmitting Loops Transmitting loops divide into two structurally distinct families: small magnetic transmitting loops (Alexloop, Chameleo… · Reference · Reference (HF) · Deep dive · 5 vols Live
Live Yagi-Uda Antennas The Yagi-Uda is the antenna to build when you know which direction you want gain. The 1926 Yagi-Uda parasitic-array prin… · Reference · Reference (VHF–microwave) · Deep dive · 5 vols Live
Matching networks
Live Active Splitters, Distribution Amplifiers & Preamps Active RF distribution networks — MMIC LNAs, masthead preamps, and multi-port distribution amplifiers — replace the 6–12… · Reference · Reference (HF–microwave) · Deep dive · 1 vol Live
Live Antenna Tuners & Matching Networks The antenna tuner is the variable-ratio matching network that handles antennas with unknown or frequency-variable impeda… · Reference · Reference (HF) · Deep dive · 5 vols Live
Live BALUNs & UNUNs Every antenna feedpoint needs something between its natural impedance and the 50 Ω unbalanced coax feeding the rig — eit… · Reference · Reference (HF–microwave) · Deep dive · 5 vols Live
Live Passive Splitters, Combiners & Couplers Passive RF distribution hardware — splitters, combiners, and directional couplers — enables one antenna to feed multiple… · Reference · Reference (HF–microwave) · Deep dive · 5 vols Live
Measurement
Live Antenna Analyzers & VNAs This dive covers the full instrument spectrum from legacy single-port antenna analyzers to professional-grade two-port v… · Reference · Reference (HF–microwave) · Deep dive · 1 vol Live
Live Antenna Modeling Software Antenna modeling software runs on a laptop and tells you what an antenna will do before you cut wire — a NEC-2 sweep on … · Reference · Reference (HF–microwave) · Deep dive · 1 vol Live
Live NanoVNA The NanoVNA democratized antenna measurement: a two-port vector network analyzer that put real S-parameter measurement o… · Reference · Reference (HF–microwave) · Deep dive · 5 vols Live
Live Power, SWR & Field-Strength Measurement The VNA measures impedance ratios; this dive covers the complementary bench instruments that answer "how many watts is a… · Reference · Reference (HF–microwave) · Deep dive · 1 vol Live
Live Spectrum Analyzers The spectrum analyzer answers "what's at this frequency, and how much of it is there?" — the calibrated absolute-power-v… · Reference · Reference (HF–microwave) · Deep dive · 1 vol Live
Satellite
Live Satellite Antennas & Rotators Satellite links break the fundamental assumption of every other antenna in the series — the other end of the link does n… · Reference · Reference (VHF–microwave) · Deep dive · 5 vols Live
Live Satellite Tracking This dive derives the complete chain from orbital mechanics to rotator control: the two-body problem and its six classic… · Reference · Reference (VHF–microwave) · Deep dive · 1 vol Live
Theory & Practice
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