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What is a resonant dipole antenna?
Most commonly it consists of two conductors of equal length oriented end-to-end with the feedline connected between them. Dipoles are frequently used as resonant antennas. The most commonly used is the center-fed half-wave dipole which is just under a half-wavelength long.
What does half wave dipole mean?
The half wave dipole is the most popular version of the dipole antenna or aerial. As the name implies, the half wave dipole is a half wavelength long. This is the shortest resonant length that can be used for a resonant dipole. It also has a very convenient radiation pattern.
What does it mean to have a half wave dipole antenna?
The half-wave dipole antenna is just a special case of the dipole antenna, but its important enough that it will have its own section. Note that the “half-wave” term means that the length of this dipole antenna is equal to a half-wavelength at the frequency of operation.
What is the resonant length of a thin dipole antenna?
This is a desirable property since the antenna will be better matched to the radio (transmitter or receiver), and hence is often done in practice for thin dipoles. The radiation pattern remains virtually the same. The above resonant length (0.48 ) is valid if the dipole is very thin.
Which is the shortest wavelength of a half wave dipole?
As the name implies, the half wave dipole is a half wavelength long. This is the shortest resonant length that can be used for a resonant dipole. It also has a very convenient radiation pattern.
What happens when the length of a dipole is reduced?
If the dipole’s length is reduced to 0.48 , the input impedance of the antenna becomes Zin = 70 Ohms, with no reactive component. This is a desirable property since the antenna will be better matched to the radio (transmitter or receiver), and hence is often done in practice for thin dipoles.