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Author Topic: Poor man's paddle antenna  (Read 13590 times)

Scott Helmke

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Re: Poor man's paddle antenna
« Reply #20 on: November 28, 2016, 04:22:36 PM »

The Shure 1/2 wave antennas, as supplied with higher-grade systems such as UHF-R, ULXD, etc. are center-fed dipoles.
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Mike Karseboom

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Re: Poor man's paddle antenna
« Reply #21 on: November 28, 2016, 05:11:04 PM »

Considering the vast ammount of useful, and accurate info, ... provided here...  ;D


Yes very good info, even just in this thread.  So far I am getting:


- one antenna by itself is not going to work well in a diversity system, regardless the type or  how good a line of site it has


- the low cost components made for consumer digital TV applications are probably not going to work very well.  Instead you need either the real deal from the wireless vendors or something someone else has already shown to work well


For my situation I am thinking a pair of some sort of omni antennae raised high in the air will work best.  Most of the time any mic would be within 200' of the receiver / mixer position.  But much of the time at least one wireless transmitter would be within 10' and/or moving between those extremes and in a 360 degree range.  So while a directional antenna might be more sensitive, I might have to rotate them on a continual basis to keep them pointing toward the transmitter.  I also think the 200' max range is reasonable for even the basic receivers I have with no external antenna if I can just get a good line of site.  So maybe with elevated omni's  I will have very good reception.


With any kind of antenna - what kind of things would be considered blockages to line of site"?  Obviously structures cause varying levels of attenuation although I have gotten adequate reception in different rooms or even with mics outside the building.  And I guess that when the antennae are not elevated a bunch of warm bodies between the mic and receiver cause significant signal loss.  But I am wondering about other typically encountered things.  For example, would the roof structure of a typical popup canopy or possibly a leafy tree would cause problems if they were the only thing compromising a direct line of site?





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Lyle Williams

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Re: Poor man's paddle antenna
« Reply #22 on: December 02, 2016, 06:32:30 AM »

If you feel you want a ground plane for a 1/4 wave whip, just add one with a small metal plate or some wires.

A ground plane for a 1/4 wave whip can help get closer to the nominal 50ohm impedance. It may not matter much in practical applications where you have an antenna attached to a mic stand.

Amplifiers amplify signal and noise equally (and throw in some extra noise for giggles.)  Unless your cable loss is significant, an amp may not help.

Directional antennas can help by being sensitive in the direction of your signal and hopefully less sensitive in the direction of noise.

TV amplifiers have an economy of scale way beyond anything in the wireless mic world.  But amplifying unwanted VHF may be undesireable.
« Last Edit: December 03, 2016, 04:01:25 PM by Lyle Williams »
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Keith Broughton

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Re: Poor man's paddle antenna
« Reply #23 on: December 02, 2016, 07:52:45 AM »

  But amplifying unwanted VHF IS  undesireable.
This is what most users don't understand about "antenna amplifiers".
They should be called "cable loss amplifiers"
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brian maddox

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Re: Poor man's paddle antenna
« Reply #24 on: December 02, 2016, 01:15:44 PM »

This is what most users don't understand about "antenna amplifiers".
They should be called "cable loss amplifiers"

Or the more precise and technical term, "RF cable loss maker-uppers"  :)
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Scott Helmke

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Re: Poor man's paddle antenna
« Reply #25 on: December 02, 2016, 01:42:34 PM »

Or the more precise and technical term, "RF cable loss maker-uppers"  :)

Might I suggest "cable loss compensation". That might actually make enough sense to audio guys to where they'd use it properly.
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Ike Zimbel

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Re: Poor man's paddle antenna
« Reply #26 on: December 11, 2016, 01:03:07 PM »

Which models have you used?
I got a chuckle reading about their "horn loaded" IEM antenna.
Update: I used a CP model for my surveillance antenna on the MLS Cup final at BMO Field last night, and it was great. With it, running down 100' of not-so-low-loss cable, I was able to:
-See and listen to an un-coordinated frequency which turned out to be a Sennheiser EW-100 hand held mic at the DJ booth at the "Bud Big Rig", parked outside the venue. This was at least 500' away.
-Determine that the two Senn SK2000 lav packs that were being used for coach mics were not set to the same power output (one was on Normal, the other on High). These were in one of the booths, about 100' away from the antenna, and 90* off axis.
That's just a couple of examples.
So, I have already made a cut-out for one of these in my road case and will be using it on all future gigs.
Full disclosure: I am authorized to sell this product in Canada. That said, I'm not about to get behind anything I don't believe in when I'm putting my reputation on the line!
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Re: Poor man's paddle antenna
« Reply #26 on: December 11, 2016, 01:03:07 PM »


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