Antenna - How One Works

Terk FM Only Stereo Antenna FM+

By Michael Russell
It's probably not something many people are interested in unless they're some kind of an electrical engineer or just bored, but understanding how an antenna works can be useful when the one on your TV or radio goes south on you and the reason is beyond your comprehension.
Trying to explain how an antenna works in simple English is not an easy task as there are a lot of technical specifications that need to be explained. But a general understanding is possible without getting into tech speak that would make Einstein cringe.


In order for an antenna to work it has to radiate. Your antenna, whether TV or radio has what is called free electrons running through it. It is these free electrons that vibrate. The question becomes, how do these free electrons vibrate and what causes them to vibrate?
Well, in real life it takes an electric field to move an electron. If you take an isolated straight dipole, the power comes from the combined fields of all the charged particles, both positive and negative, in the antenna. We'll call this field the antenna's coulomb field.


In addition to this field, the antenna exhibits a magnetic field that is the sum of the magnetic fields of all the free moving electrons. The antenna also has a dynamic electric field that is the vector sum of the dynamic electric fields of all the free electrons. What we can do is separate the electric field of the antenna at any point in space into two components. One of the components will be in phase with the total magnetic field and the other will be 90 degrees out of phase. The in-phase component is the radiation field of the antenna and the out of phase component is the induction field. At the antenna, both fields are parallel to the metal surface.


What happens is that the coulomb field and the induction field fall off much more quickly than the radiation field as the distance increases from the antenna. When you reach distances greater than a few wavelengths from the antenna, you have what is called the antenna's far field. This field is pure radiation. As you get closer to the antenna you have what is called the antenna's near field. This field is a mixture of radiation, coulomb, and induction fields. Still with us? Great, we're getting to the good part.


What ultimately happens with all these fields that makes it so that your TV or radio picks up signals through your antenna is this. The free electrons moving through your antenna are moving at their maximum speed. The right hand half of your antenna accumulates electrons. The left hand half of your antenna is where the electrons depart and leave an excess of charged ions. The coulomb field produces an imbalance and opposes the electrons' rightward motion.


 The electrons then stop, coast for a bit and then head back towards the left. After they reach maximum speed they then stop and process is repeated, now heading back to the right. The result is a vibration of free electrons that heats the metal and in turn generates electromagnetic waves.
And that, in as simple English as possible, is how your antenna works.


Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Michael_Russell
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Pyramid 3800 AM/FM Antenna with BuiltIn Power Booster

Pyramid 3800 AM/FM Antenna with BuiltIn Power Booster 

By Joseph Knuden

Everyone has a cell phone these days with many needing a booster for the signal strength. But how do use cell phone boosters to improve your signal and make sure you have the best reception for the important calls you make.

There are several ways to improve your cell phone signal. One of the best ways is to upgrade your telephone. With the advances in technology, every phone is getting better and therefore the signal reception also is getting better. With more cell towers being built daily, newly released cell phones should be getting more bars than older phones. Many cell phone providers offer subscribers to upgrade their phones which is strongly recommended to support the new features.

When traveling in a vehicle, one of the best ways to increase your cell phone signal is to use a 3 watt cell phone signal booster on the outside of your car. This antenna sticks on the outside of your car and uses a wire to connect directly to your phone. The antenna is actually portable meaning that it does not only need to be mounted to a car but can be used elsewhere. If you are in a remote part of your area, the antenna might gain you one or more bars since it is more powerful that your cell phone antenna which usually is small or internal to your phone.

One step up would be to attach a power booster to your antenna and phone. This is usually the most expensive but most effective ways to boost you cell phone signal. This hooks the cell phone via a wire to the booster and the booster then is hooked to the antenna. This is mostly used in places where the signal from a cell tower is not strong at all. Areas with one bar or spotty service would benefit from this type of setup but it is quite expensive. Also portable as well.

There are several setups specifically for buildings that help everyone in the entire space benefit. Sometimes the building materials used in construction interfere with the cell phone signal. Many times users cannot get even any bars inside certain buildings. A building cell booster would be mounted on the outside of the structure. A wire would run from this antenna mounted in a position like the roof or where the signal is found strongest. The wire would then connect to an amplifier which would send a signal inside the structure which benefits anyone needing a cell signal. Many building fail to have such a setup which prevents uses such as air cards and cell phones from being utilized.

Other devices are available to improve signal including repeaters, power boosters and cell phone signal booster antennas that mount under the phone battery. Each setup has its own pros and cons.

Joseph Knuden is a writer for the everyday problems found. Find more about cell phone signal boosters here

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Joseph_Knuden
http://EzineArticles.com/?Five-Ways-to-Improving-your-Cell-Phone-Signal-With-Boosters&id=815791


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