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Modified Vector 4000

Hello Henry. I wouldn't expect Mr. Lewallen to be anything but subjective in his response about his own software, unless he had actually modeled and made comparisons for the Vector/Sigma4 that was modified.

To eddie:
Subjectivity about eznec has nothing to do with two different models?
If you i interperted you rigth and you do have "sarcasme" about his objectivity than your wrong. (again Englisch is not my best abillity.

Eznec is used all over the world, Military,proffesional broadcast, Nasa etc..
I guess i am one of the more simple type of usereand with permission i would place most of us here under that number.
The designer has no advantage of telling "no-truth" stories as if they would come out it would fall apart.
Escpecially programms like Eznec value there "limitations" as with them figures are "not real"..
Just imagine if the "word" got out that it is "not" reliable...They would be out of buisness very soon.
There is a entire help section wich describes the limitations of Eznec...
I think that speaks for it self.
Dr. Cebik would have a benefit of "positive" speaking about Eznec as he had "models" for sale in the past.
Now, you get my point?
(if the point needed to be made, i interperted it as sarcasme pehaps i misunderstood!)
I hope the above gives you insigth in why one would "tell the truth"about anything while he has a personal intrest (provite).


You told us that you modeled using thin wires out of convenience. I have no problem with that, if the use of wires vs. correct tubing diameter and taper---does not ill-affect the results too much either way. It would be nice if you could model using thin wires and not have to mess with thicker tubing and taper. Am I assuming correctly, that when you used the thin wires rather than tubing, that the element lengths all ended up being short, unless they were adjusted for the same resonance as the tubing and tapered elements?


To eddie:
Please forget about the first model.....It was done in a couple of minutes just to get started and see if it could be done..
Element diamter has influence on all.
You can not just use a set of wire thickness...When one rebuildts a antenna they should use the same element diameter.
Yagi/Quad designs with measurments without element diameter are meaningless
(is that written correct..? i mean not usefull lol..)


I don’t know which Vector you used to approximate your measurements, but you told me the radiator was about 24’ feet long using thin wire. That is considerably shorter than my Sigma 4 and for sure shorter still compared to the original Vector 4000, yet your model shows resonance low in frequency to 26.950 mhz. I don’t get that, because in that situation the resonance should have gone up using shorter and thinner wires. On the other hand you indicate the radials were 108” long which is much longer than my Sigma4 @ 90.5” and maybe longer than the older version of the Vector that Shockwave may have used. So I ask, in your opinion is it possible that frequency is primarily affected by a change in resonant length of the radials and less so when adjusting the radiator length? I think Bob tells a story about his Vector, where the tip collapsed down into the next section and it didn’t seem to make a difference.

To eddie:
First about resonance.. it "isnt" that intresting as you can match a antenna.
And will radial length influence "resonance" frequency...well take a look at a groundplane..
with or without radials will that influence in either SWR ..yes.
One can think of a radiator and resonance as where there are purly "real" ohms.
Will that point of "real" ohms be different with different radials ...yes.
Therefor radial length will infuence aswell.
Were talking about radials now..but the antenna uses (as i see itnow,the skeltont sleeve princable, my personal knowledge of this princeble lacks..But we all have heard it atcs as a matching section
As it is said...matching section so yes that will infuence
PS intresting reading about the sleeve:
http://ceta.mit.edu/PIER/pier58/07.0509031.Li.G.pdf


I also read that SW indicates he made changes which are noted to have raised the resonance to 27.200 mhz with his adjustments. If I measured SW’s wires chart, that Bob posted, correctly, he made the radiator longer to 25.26’ feet using the same wire diameters. This should have lowered the frequency and that is not what is indicated.

SW’s chart also indicates he made the radials 3” inches shorter @ 105” compared to your radials @ 108”. Here again, we see this tending to lower the frequency, as it should, even while making the radiator longer. Does this also suggest that the resonance for this antenna design is primarily affected by the length of the radials and not the top element? Homer questioned all this a while back, so maybe he can shed some light on this idea if he got to do his modifications to his homemade Vector. Homer, how say you?

To Eddie,
Resonant frequency isnt primarily changed with radial length also the radiator itself has a large influence..also everything else as heigth/obstacles and the enviroment/material used for antenna etc.
Also where the antenna is placed perhaps a google search on "superconductors" in relation to antennas can give some insight. In theory it would be possible to make "perfect small antenna"

Henry you also told us that using a square radial hoop vs. a circle made no difference, but have you checked to see if using thin wires that were or were not adjusted for resonance vs. tapered tubing---makes any difference in the model results that are worth noting?

To eddie:
Dont understand thequestion...But if your asking again about wire thickness and influence than yes.

How did you get your model to resonance taking measurements from an antenna with thick tubing without converting for thinner wires, were you just lucky?

To eddie:
Eznec allows you to change diameter..by running a "swr" measurment you can see where best matching is possible. If for instance swr is set at 26mhz you can rescal to 27 mhz
This will also convert diameter. However you could reset those figures and seewhat the antenna does.


In the text of your Vector file it notes the impedance being easy to match with a gamma match, so I assume you did not included a matcher at the bottom of the model. Your bandwidth chart indicates ZO impedance at 34 ohms with a very low SWR. If that is the case then the antenna is very close to a resonant 1/4 wave with a suitable ground plane and IMP that is what we might expect for a 3/4 wave radiator. I agree this makes the antenna perfectly suitable for a gamma device. What would you think happened to the value of Zo after SW changed the length of the radials and the radiator?

To eddie;
Ofcourse values will changes, however as mentioned a perfect 50 ohm matching is nice. But you can match a almost anything...
A gamma-match is frequently used for matching impedances between 20-50ohms.
Before the antenna is thus far off you would have to made large changes.
Normaly, if you design for example a yagi with a 10 ohm impedance it would have a small bandwidth.
A often used "trick" is to higher the impedance as it is possible to achieve a larger bandwidth.


Can you describe where the source is that shows this Zo impedance on your original model? I assume it has to be at some point above the hub on the first element where we might expect to see the gamma tap point. I see a small bump a little above the hub. Is that the feed point, and how does that get there? I don't see it noted in the wires chart.

To eddie:
The source can be placed everywhere you want in my files it is where you mention.
(one should keep in mind the limitations given by eznec).
The source is placed using another "screen" on eznec.

To eddie:
I would highly recommand you to purchase eznec...and see for your self it is a valuable assist when one likes to deal with antennas.

Futher more, ofcourse all computer programmas cant predict the exact figures..as we all have different surroundings.
But it will tell you what should be "best' for overall uses.
Please dont forget that the first thing ahuman ear is acapable of hearing as a difference is about>2dB.
Eznec will be more accurate than that.
A honest comparisment can be made with Eznec, just changing antennes and testing for a while the difference is not the way to go...I do understand you get a better feeling with one or the other.
But unless you have two antennas indentical feed heigth several wl apart and can compare than both at the same time again results will be different with different users.

I hope it helped?

Kind regards,
Henry
 
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I don't want to say Roy is wrong however, I think Cebik was more on the ball in suggesting NEC is not going to be easy to work with the Sigma design. As has already been discussed the Sigma will tune with a perfect VSWR over a wide range of radiator lengths because of the gamma match used. NEC will not let you manipulate the radiator length and compensate with a gamma match. This is a critical tool for peaking gain in the design. This is one reason everyone's model is shorter then the real antennas. Until I see a way to simulate the capacitor of the gamma match on the Sigma I see NEC as a hopeless waste of time in this case. Make the radiator anything between 3/4 and 7/8 wave and the VSWR goes up while the gain goes down. This antenna gets added gain when going slightly beyond 3/4 wave and the program seems to prevent us from even reaching 3/4 wave. Without being able to stretch the radiator length and cancel out the inductive reactance with a capacitor there is no accurate modeling of this antenna in NEC.
 
Henry, I have a lot of respect for men like Roy Lewallen and Cebik, and no sarcasm was intended. All I meant to convey was that Roy was probably being positive about his product while remaining cautious in his words. Maybe he had no practical experience with the Sigma4 design---was my thought. There is nothing wrong with being subjective as long as the situation is understood. It appears to be human nature to be subjective in speech.

You and Shockwave continue to tussle over the issue that Eznec will or will not work without showing results that indicate the Sigma4 design failing to live up to real world claims for gain, angle of radiation, and performance. On the other hand Dxer has shown us a model that he claims is close to the specs for the original Sigma4, and a version of the Vector 4000 that seems to indicate the antenna is working, except maybe with the gain being a little less. Have either of you contacted Dxer requesting his Eznec files?

I think both of you continue to use a model with incorrect wire diameters and maybe even bad length dimensions. If Dxer used my dimensions for the New Vector 4000 then his model dimensions are likely in error also. Maybe the square hoop Henry provides also makes a difference. Why not get the correct dimensions throughout for the New Vector 4000, and the original Sigma4, and model those as correctly as you can. Or else use Dxer’s model to improve the dimensions, if necessary. If such models don’t produce reasonable results, then either drop the effort or try again. Lewallen and Cebik can’t both be right, so who is being subjective. Otherwise, I see no way possible to ever get any comparative results supporting Bob’s idea of lengthening the radiator and/or the radials to improve the signal at a distance, angle and/or gain over the stock Vector.

Shockwave may be entirely right that Eznec will not let you make the radiator longer and still adjust the match using the gamma. I think I just found out from Henry that the gamma feature is just a choice for matching type used.

With that said, it would be nice if such an exercise would also provide us a better understanding for how the Sigma4 works, whether the antenna is truly collinear and works in phase or not, but if not then maybe it will indicate something about the steering idea that Bob talks about if we see the angle of radiation change.

Henry, I'll leave all the new technology to you young bucks, at 73 years my days of doing antennas is over. I believe Bob is right, but it would be nice to be able to show some evidence.
 
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Hi all!

I have bob his files, i send him several replies but sadly didnt receive a answer.

(Edit: files were not from Bob but from Dxer!)

Short word about gamma match and Nec..

From Roy himself:
When modeling a folded dipole, NEC fails to produce a correct impedance
when the two long arms have different diameters. Consequently, I don't
believe it will give correct results for a gamma match if the gamma arm
is a different diameter than the parallel element. If they are the same
diameter, EZNEC will produce accurate results provided that the segment
junctions are aligned as described in the EZNEC manual. EZNEC is capable
of including a capacitor in the model. However, some capacitors are
lossy and realistic loss must be included in the capacitor model. Loss
is sometimes used, intentionally or unintentionally, by commercial
antenna designers to increase bandwidth, a property considered desirable
by many amateurs. Models which show a narrower bandwidth than antenna
measurements often indicates that loss hasn't been identified and
included in the model.

A gamma match usually doesn't have significant impact on an antenna's
pattern or gain (unless the capacitor is lossy), only its impedance. So
a model which excludes the gamma match will show a gain at least equal
to the matched antenna's.

I think lewallen and Cebik (nec) are both rigth. I dont see where they were in debat??
The only thing Cebik said that it would be difficult to model the antenna correct.
He didnt say it could not be done...

1-the segments have to be equal from radiator to radials.
2-The source must be placed correct.
3-The gamma-match can only be modeld using the same diameter.
Those are already 3 reasons why a model could fail.
On the other hand i don't think we are off now, as results are the same as the manufacturer advertises...nor the "Nec" guys indicate that the model is off..

There are many reasons why a computer model would not give the exact same results as in real live...
But so far i dont know of a antenna wich produces better results in real live than predicted by eznec if one is capable of giving me one ...please do!
I do however know of many examples where a antenna just turned out to be slightly down the designed model. (due to real live losses).

Unless some one comes up with honest gain measurments and proof Nec is off...
I am sticking with the Nec guys...
I am also with Bob on his "skelton monopole" antenna.

For me thats about it...

The stories about "the antenna performce" a lot better than this or that...
That would indicate at least 3dB difference perhaps 6dB would be closer...Any thoughts of how big that difference is?
That difference cant come from the gain of a single pole vertical it can come of different TOA.
Unless the measurement is made as stated earlier they are "factless" and only ones feeling can be expressed.
(never thought i would say somthing in the line of expressing feelings lol!)
Ofcourse no offence is ment! I highly appriciated the effort made to optimize things..
I very much welcome any information on those efforts!
But they (as well as my own test!) are questionable and could be different in different situations.

Kind regards,
Henry
 
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henry, i have received nothing from you for me to reply to,

thanks for giving us roys explanation of NEC and the sigma style antenna, CEBIK did not elaborate on why it would be very difficult to get accurate results with the sigma design,
so the antenna as it is constructed with different diameter tubes / taper schedule and gamma rod presents a problem for NEC with regards impedance calculations,

its well known that gamma to element diameter ratio and spacing effects impedance and that sleeve to monopole diameter ratio and spacing similarly effects open sleeve antennas,
in both cases we have contra flowing transmissionline mode currents and a transmissionline mode impedance set by spacing and diameter ratios,
im speculating that it Is the transmissionline mode impedance within the gamma section and within the lower folded 1/4wave that NEC has issues with since changing those dimensions has the most effect on transmissionline mode impedance and little effect on antenna mode impedance,
one day i hope to find out if that is the case,

i also think it most likely we are tweaking radiation angle, i think that is made easier by using a gamma that allows many different length ratios while still having a good match,
as such i don't believe one size fits all situations,

thanks for your input henry :)
 
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Hi Bob,

Sorry,was mistaking..the emails and files mentioned were to "DXer"..

I would love to have your files bob!

There seem to be several yahoo groups who "deal" with Nec.
Perhaps it would be a idea to post questions regarding Nec there?

Kind regards
Henry
 
no problem henry, i thought there would be a simple explanation,

sorry i don't have any nec files;)

you could try the nec group, i am open to anybodys opinion or models so long as they don't claim it is a simple 1/2wave j-pole with less gain and higher radiation angle than a 5/8wave and agree with what is observable/repeatable in onair tests,(y)
 
OK, so basically a 29' 7" radiator, three or four 81.5" radials arms to a 41" diameter / 129" circumference ring, then tune Gamma for lowest reactance.
I can build that.
Perhaps that's a project I'll take on for this Autumn. Those FM fringe area 5/8 wave comparison reports have peaked my interest.

It's also easier to shove up thru the pine tree than is an 18' wide Penetrator.
 
Since there may be some confusion here I want to mention again NOT to use my old measurements for the Vector. That was a mistake made while trying to expand the loop. More testing and Sirio's latest mods indicate better coverage on 11 meters with longer radials and the original loop. The latest version has the radials at around 106 inches.
 
Since there may be some confusion here I want to mention again NOT to use my old measurements for the Vector. That was a mistake made while trying to expand the loop. More testing and Sirio's latest mods indicate better coverage on 11 meters with longer radials and the original loop. The latest version has the radials at around 106 inches.

Ah, the ever changing accuracy of theory... Funny you had such excellent performance, stomping all those 5/8.

Never mind. I'm staying with the Penetrator .64, a proven 5/8 wave killer! :w00t:
 
Ah, the ever changing accuracy of theory... Funny you had such excellent performance, stomping all those 5/8.

Never mind. I'm staying with the Penetrator .64, a proven 5/8 wave killer! :w00t:

At least I admit when test results did not go the way they were planed even when it proves I don't know it all. If you can test your antennas 18 feet apart and be confident with the results of the Hy-Gain, I won't argue with you on that even though no manufacturers do tests like this. As soon as you start to claim it's the best or has an S unit over another 5/8 wave I'll be here to maintain accuracy.
 
I ain't no specialist on antenna modelling,but these two points from W8JI's website might give some insight into why the model doesn't show the expected results:




Despite what we might think, it takes extraordinary care to obtain an ideal pattern. We often assume we have this pattern, because we model antennas without the feedline or mast included in the model!

If an antenna model does not include the feedline, losses in the feedline, or imperfections in the source it much more likely than not is a flawed model. The real-world antenna often will be much different if the model ignores the feedline and mast.
 
OK, as of yesterday I now have possession of an intact Salute 7/8 wave, (including it's gamma match) and now I need measurements for modding it into this Super Duper 5/8 - .64 stomping Monopole.
 
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Hey CDX-007, why don't you build the new antenna to the 3/4 wl specs first, and then mess with the radiator and radial lengths a bit, extending it out to .84 or .875 wl and see if you can notice any difference by modifying as Bob85 and Shockwave suggest.

Compare it to your Penetrator first, and then modify the antenna to a 5/8 or .64 wavelength to prove your point.

What design are you considering for the .625 - .64 wavelength, conventional or like a Vector? I don't have a clue as to what measurements would do that.
 
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