[Elecraft] What's in a name

[Ron D' Eau Claire]

Har!

The antenna industry defines a "dipole" as a half wave radiator. It can be
center fed or end fed. Doesn't matter. I'd have to go check, but I think
that is an IEEE definition.

Many Hams refer to ANY center fed antenna as a "dipole". I guess they are
thinking that since it is center fed it has two ends (di) and two "poles" =
dipole. But dipole really refers to a conductor exactly the right size to
have two electrical poles, which a half-wave conductor does with a voltage
maxima at each end. It is considered the shortest self-resonant antenna
length for that reason.

I don't know where it started, but my texts going back into the 1920's refer
to a center fed antenna as a "doublet". That tends to be what I call my
center fed antennas. IF a "doublet" happens to be exactly 1/2 wave long, it
is ALSO a "dipole". The significance of the name "doublet" is that it is a
center fed antenna.

I have a 42 foot center fed wire. I normally refer to it as a "doublet fed
with open wire line". IF I am on 30 meters, I sometimes say it is a
"dipole", which it very nearly is on that frequency, so the other operator
doesn't think I have some super-gain very long wire antenna going for me.

Conversely, up on 10 meters it is almost exactly the right length to be what
is normally called an "Extended Double Zepp" with considerable gain. I
realize about 10 dBi "gain" in the favored directions out of that simple
wire on 10 meters. So I tell ops that it is an Extended Double Zepp to point
out that I AM using a  "high-gain antenna".

On my QSL cards? It says "Doublet". That's all <G>.

Ron AC7AC
K2 # 1289


> I just took my 40 meter dipole down from 35 feet, and put up an
> 80 meter dipole at 55 feet. Just a few contacts so far, but quite
> an improvement, as one might guess.
>
> My question is what to call it. Earlier on this reflector I have
> read to call a dipole operated off it's resonant frequency a
> doublet. Works fine for me.
>
> On 80, I have a Dipole up 55 ft.
> On other bands, I have a Doublet up 55 ft.
>
> However, I'd like to say more about the length of the antenna. Is
> it properly called a 40 Meter Doublet up 55 ft (40 meters is it's
> length) or an 80 meter Doublet up 55 ft? (80 meters being of what
> it's a half wave)? Or is there some other nomenclature for Doublet size?
>
> Inquiring minds want to know. Me too.
>
> Dan / WG4S / K2 #2456