Vienna Wireless Society

Low Frequency Transmit Antennas

Using Simple Formulas
You Already Know
For Amateur 2200 Meter (135.7-137.8 kHz) band

VWS 12 April 2019

George Lemaster
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FCC Rules for 2200 Meter band:

135.7 to 137.8 kHz

1 Watt EIRP (5 W on 472-479 kHz)

Maximum transmitter output 1500 Watts

60 Meter (~197 ft) height limit AGL for both 2200 and 630 Meter antenna

Available to General and higher

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LF Receiver antennas (Topic for another day)

E-Field Probe (‘active’ antenna)

Active LF antenna – QST Sep 2001 p31

Loop antenna
Air loop or ferrite loaded loop

Beverage antenna

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Short Transmitting Antennas:

For 136 kHz Low Frequency band you need vertical polarization

Wavelength = 2200 meters

¼ wavelength 550 meters

Amateur antenna for LF might be about 10 to 30 meters vertical height

(limit 60 meters above ground level)

10 Meters = 0.0045 wavelength

30 Meters = 0.0136 wavelength

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Short Transmit Antennas example:

WWVB Ft. Collins CO 60 kHz Parameters South Antenna North Antenna

60 kHz (5000 meter wavelength) Radiation Resistance (Ohms) 0.46 0.46
Antenna Gross Resistance (Ohms) 0.80 0.91
Antenna Radiation Efficiency 57.5% 50.6%
Antenna Base Reactance (Ohms) -114.9 -112.9
Antenna Downlead Inductance
(microheneries) 208.8 208.0

Measured antenna parameters at 60 kHz for both the north (WWVL) and
south (WWVB) antennas.

122 meter downlead (appx) is

~ 0.0244 Wavelength

From: ‘WWVB Improvements’, [Link]

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Short Transmit Antennas examples:

‘Triatic’

VLF Antenna Patent 1,360,167 Filed 1917 SAQ Grimeton Sweden 17.2 kHz
[Link]
RCA Engineer Ernst Alexanderson

‘Multiple Tuned’ Antenna

All downleads radiate as one vertical antenna

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Short Transmit Antennas examples:

Southern Avionics
Beaumont, TX
[Link]

Commercial Non Directional Beacon Antenna

30 Ft. low power symmetrical T, towers 90 meters apart.
25 ft vertical radiator with 2 wire top hat
‘Static Capacitance’ =869 pf, 12 radials typical, 190-535 kHz
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Topics:

LF transmit antenna design

•Many characteristics can be treated as lumped elements

• You need to know:

• Effective Height
• Static capacitance

• With these parameters you can predict much about the antenna
performance and look for ways to optimize your design

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Antenna Antenna R Loss in

Inductance Capacitance antenna structure
1
X L  2FL XC 
2FC
Radiation
Resistance

R Loss in
Ground system

Equivalent Circuit of Short antenna

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Concept of Effective Height:

Vertical Monopole
@ ¼ wavelength Current Distribution (approx)

Physical
Height

Input current value

Ground

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Very Short antenna

~ 100 ft at 136 kHz

Mean current ~= Physical Height / 2

Physical
Height

Input current value

Ground

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Concept of Effective Height:

If the input current at the antenna base were constant over the
vertical height, the Effective Height would be equal to the physical
height.

The objective of our LF antenna design is to achieve maximum radiation

in the vertical plane.

To do this we need to optimize the current through the vertical radiating

element.

The goal is to optimize the Effective Height, not just make the antenna
taller.

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Very Short antenna

~ 100 ft at 136 kHz

Linear current over the physical
height of the antenna would be
the best you could do to maximize
Physical radiation
Height
(maximum effective height)

Input current value

Ground

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If we can make the average current in the vertical portion of the

antenna higher without increasing the base current, we can increase
the vertical radiated power.

With top loading, the average current is increased along the vertical
direction, increasing the ‘Effective Height’

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Radiation Resistance

Calculate Radiation Resistance of the antenna:

For this type of short vertical antenna (< 0.1 wavelength)

2
 HEFFECTIVE 
RRADIATION  160  2

  
Notice the Radiation Resistance increases as the
Square of the Effective Height

This means that you should try to increase it and not do

things that decrease it

The antenna radiated power is just power law, P = I2 Rrad

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Current Distribution (approx)

Very Short
Top Loaded Physical
Antenna Height

~ 100 ft at
136 kHz Input current value

Ground

Effective Height > Physical Height / 2

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Top Loading adds capacitance to the antenna.

This is beneficial because increasing the capacitance lowers the

inductance of the loading coil required to resonate the antenna at
the base feedpoint.

By reducing the amount of inductance required to resonate the

antenna there will not need to be as many turns on the loading
coil.

This reduces the R loss of the loading coil and reduces another
loss resistance in the antenna circuit, increasing efficiency.

As we will see this increased capacitance also helps increase the

bandwidth of the antenna.

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“Umbrella” Top Loading to add capacitance

You need guy wires anyway

so connect them at the top

Insulated section

Topload wires are not necessarily the same length, equal spaced, etc.

Sloping wires carry current downward somewhat reducing the Effective Height
Ease of construction and increased capacitance generally outweigh loss of Effective Ht.

Trade off bandwidth versus power with umbrella characteristics length.

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How to Decrease Effective Height

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R Loss in
Antenna Antenna antenna
Antenna Antenna
inductance capacitance structure
Loading Loading
1
Coil Coil X L  2FL XC 
inductance Loss 2FC
Radiation
X L  2FL Resistance Resistance
XL
RLOSS 
QL
R Loss in
Ground
system

Equivalent Circuit of Short antenna with Loading Coil

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Example Capacitance Estimates:

Vertical tower ~ 5 pf per foot (estimates vary 3-5 pf)

100 ft X 5 pf = 500 pf

Topload wire, 4 wires 60 ft long attached at tower top

Single wire ~ 1.5 pf per foot

4 wires X 60 ft X 1.5 pf = 360 pf

Total Capacitance = 500 pf + 360 pf = 860 pf

Single wire Capacitance can be increased by, for example, 2 parallel

wires separated by 1 ft.

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Capacitive Reactance of the antenna

No top load
100 ft. X 5 pf = 500 pf
C = 500 pf

1
XC 
2FC
1
XC   2340
2 136x10  500 pf
3

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Capacitive Reactance of the antenna

4 Wire Top Load Hat
C = 860 pf
4 wires X 60 ft X 1.5 pf = 360 pf
Total Capacitance = 500 pf + 360 pf = 860 pf

1
XC 
2FC

1
XC   1361
2 136x10  860 pf
3

Adding capacitance,
Lowering the capacitive reactance of
the antenna is a good thing as we’ll see..

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Assume the Effective Height of our 100 ft antenna is 50 ft

No top load wires

50 ft = 15.24 meters

2
2 
H Eff
RRADIATION  160  
  
2
 15.24 
RRADIATION  160 
2
  0.077
 2200 

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Assume the Effective Height of our same 100 ft antenna is now

60 ft by adding some top load wires

60 ft = 18.28 meters

2
2 
H Eff
RRADIATION  160   Now with top load we have
   1.4 times the Radiation R
versus no top load wires

2 0.077 ohms vs 0.108 ohms

 18.28 
RRADIATION  160 2    0.108
 2200 

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Antenna tower height 100 ft.

No top load so Effective Height = 50 ft
C = 500 pf
Xc = 2340 ohms
Estimate loading coil Q = 250

Estimate loss in loading coil:

RLOSS= Xc/Q = 2340/250 = 9.36 ohms loss resistance in loading coil

Assume no ground loss (ground discussion another time)

Rtotal = Rrad + Rtotal = 0.077 + 9.36 = 9.437 ohms

Efficiency = Rr/Rtotal = 0.077/ 9.437 = .008 = 0.8 %

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Antenna tower height 100 ft.

Top Load so Effective Height = 60 ft
C = 860 pf
Xc = 1361 ohms
Estimate loading coil Q = 250

Estimate loss in loading coil:

RLOSS = Xc/Q = 1361/250 = 5.44 ohms loss resistance in

loading coil

Assume no ground loss

Rtotal = Rrad + Rtotal = 0.108 + 5.44 = 5.552 ohms

Efficiency = Rr/Rtotal = 0.108/ 5.552 = .019 = 1.9 %

Efficiency has increased from 0.8% to 1.9% by adding

topload wires

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P = I2 R
Ft I2 = P/R = 1/0.018
Current Distribution I = 7.4 amps
50’ tall, 1/4” diameter wire using Mininec
E = I x Xc
No Topload E = 7.4 A x 9.14K Ω
High Capacitance = High Xc = 9.14 K Ω E = 67.6 kV
Rr = 0.018 Ω, Pr = 1 Watt @ 7.4 A, Voltage = 67.6 kV RMS
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50 ft tall, ¼ in diameter wire, using Mininec

Four wire Topload wires, 50 ft long. All wires ¼ in.
Increased Capacitance (lowers Xc) = 2.449 K Ω
Rr = 0.058 Ω, Pr = 1 Watt @ 4.15A, Voltage = 10.17 kV RMS

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Ft
50 ft tall, ¼ in. diameter wire using Mininec
Four wire Topload, 50 ft long. All wires ¼ in.
Increased Capacitance (lowers Xc) = 2.449 K Ω
Rr = 0.058 Ω, Pr = 1 Watt @ 4.15 A, Voltage = 10.17 kV RMS

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h h’

75’ tall, 1 ft. diameter tower, using Mininec

Four wire Topload Umbrella wires at 45 degrees
Maximum bandwidth position of h’/h = 0.6 (projected length to tower ht.)
Shorter top radials, Rr improved but bandwidth decreased.
Capacitive Reactance = 1.618 K Ω
Rr = 0.048 Ω, Pr = 1 Watt @ 4.56 A RMS, Voltage = 7.4 kV RMS
Longer topload radials, voltage will be less for same radiated power.
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Ft
Current going up the tower is somewhat canceled by the current going down the topload radials.
The sloping topload radials reduce the effective height. Rr is slightly lower than for flat top.
Capacitance is higher reducing voltage on antenna.
75’ tall, 1 ft diameter tower, Four wire Topload Umbrella
Capacitive Reactance = 1.618 K Ω
Rr = 0.048 Ω, Pr = 1 Watt @ 4.56 A RMS, Voltage = 7.4 kV RMS

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Resources:

Dr. Harold Wheeler VLF Antenna Tutorial and papers:

Hazeltine Corporation, 1956-1975
[Link]

Low Frequency Top-Loaded Antennas

Devaney, Hall, Gustafson
US Navy Electronics Laboratory, San Diego
DTIC AD-0640-490 1966

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