[NLRS] Surplus Panel Antennas for Microwaves

Thomas Murphy thomasmurphy.mssm at gmail.com
Mon Sep 8 22:16:34 EDT 2025 

To follow up on the application side, VK3FS uses them, see these field 
deployments:

https://3fs.net.au/sg-lab-3400-mhz-transverter/
https://3fs.net.au/sg-lab-5700-mhz-transverter-version-1-4/

So once I get the SDR side of things figured out, make QSOs on 900, 1.3, 
and 2.3, then it'll be off to consider panel antennas for 2.3/3.4/5.8 
(and find amps for the latter two).

- Thomas / WN1C


On 2025-08-30 16:47, Thomas Murphy wrote:
>
> Oops, I sent the prior reply to only Jon, so I'll tack this next reply 
> on to send it all back to the list.
>
> I finally went and found the good example images from eBay listings 
> that illustrate the structure. And saved the links on the correct device!
>
> First up is this 2.4 GHz panel antenna: 
> https://www.ebay.com/itm/387859865561
> The last image shows the one with the damaged radome epoxy revealing 
> the full 4x4 array of patches with power dividers. It looks to be 
> constructed with a couple layers of styrofoam as the structural 
> dielectric for the copper foil over the aluminum ground plane reflector.
>
> Next up is this Wisconsin listing for a 5.8 GHz panel: 
> https://www.ebay.com/itm/334903431113
> The first image shows the multi-layered construction with the power 
> divider array and patches on the lower PCB and an upper PCB with 
> director parasitic patches in 4x4 array.
>
> Finally, a British new design for 10 GHz: 
> https://www.ebay.com/itm/267229434609
> Same techniques, just with a simpler 2x2 array at much higher 
> frequency so the reflector is built into the same PCB as the elements.
>
> All in all, they're not particularly effective to homebrew, but there 
> are enough commercial uses on various microwave bands that have 
> overlap with amateur that 2.4/3.4/5.8 GHz options are out there in 
> ready supply.
>
> - Thomas / WN1C
>
> On 2025-08-24 16:53, Thomas Murphy wrote:
>>
>> Hello Jon,
>>
>> My understanding with these panels is they're patch arrays over a 
>> ground plane. There was a pair of them with one broken radome that 
>> showed the underlying structure, but it looks like the eBay listing 
>> sold or expired. Some of them seem to implement dual, cross-polarity 
>> feeds, but a single polarity feed with higher gain would probably be 
>> better for us. Then it's just a matter of mounting the panel in the 
>> right position per the labeled polarization and port used since 
>> they're usually square.
>>
>> 6' booms sound effective, but I have neither the space nor plans for 
>> deployment capability for those. They'd also probably be difficult to 
>> carry around as I have limited ambitions for being able to play 
>> microwaves by SOTA rules (no engine-powered antennas/supports/power 
>> sources; human-portable station). Comparing the Directive Systems 
>> spec tables, it seems like some of the high-end panels reach the 
>> ballpark of the shorter beams. Obviously the beams work better for 
>> leaving strapped to the mobile than the profiles of the panels 
>> (16x16" or so)!
>>
>> Do you have a reference for your mesh dish? If they're available 
>> cheap, that's quite handy. 27 dBi would be higher than the panels. I 
>> haven't seen those so far also going after some dishes in my 
>> searching. Of course, the best deals on dishes require being at the 
>> right hamfest at the right time. And I only have so much space for 
>> spares in my aspiration not to become an imminent source of cheap 
>> stuff at the next hamfest.
>>
>> Now for continuing to figure what it takes to get this first little 
>> SDR working!
>>
>> -Thomas / WN1C
>>
>>
>> On 2025-08-24 11:27, Jon Platt via NLRS wrote:
>>> Hi Thomas.  I suppose like most answers, it depends.
>>>
>>> I am not overly familiar with panel antennas, so take this all with 
>>> a grain of salt.  We are usually using horizontally polarized on 
>>> these bands and I'm not sure what panel antennas are or if they are 
>>> "flippable".  For portable work, most rovers are using loop antennas 
>>> like those from Directive Systems https://directivesystems.com/ .  
>>> Loop antennas generally cover the bands from 902 to 3400.  Myself, 
>>> when roving, I have had good luck using Directive System 6' boom 
>>> loopers.  For my home station I also use loop antennas on these 
>>> bands but with longer booms.
>>>
>>> For 5.7 I use a 27 dB wire mesh commercial dish .... you can find 
>>> these all over the place online.  One advantage is that they come 
>>> with a feed and they are lightweight and low wind resistance 
>>> (important sometimes when roving !).
>>>
>>> For 10GHz I've been using a re-purposed 24" dish with a home made 
>>> horn feed.
>>>
>>> So overall, an advantage of a dish at this frequencies is that, in 
>>> theory, you could use one dish and change out the feeds, or for some 
>>> bands have a dual band feed.  Getting gain at 2.4 GHz does requires 
>>> a bigger dish, something that could be challenging to handle when 
>>> portable and dealing with weather; that's why loopers are pretty 
>>> nice for that application.
>>>
>>> Hope this was helpful.  Others may have some comment as well.
>>>
>>> 73, Jon
>>> W0ZQ
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> On Friday, August 22, 2025 at 10:36:33 PM CDT, Thomas Murphy 
>>> <thomasmurphy.mssm at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>> As an aspiring microwaver who will be fully committed to the portable
>>> life for the foreseeable future, how are panel antennas for the
>>> mid-microwave bands? Between WiFi/ISM and CBRS allocations, I've seen
>>> eBay listings for 2.4/3.4/5.8 GHz panel antennas between 10 and 23-ish
>>> dBi. Is their simplicity worth it in comparison to acquiring and tuning
>>> a/multiple dish(es) for getting started?
>>>
>>> - Thomas / WN1C
>>>
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