Re: PCB Log Periodic Antenna connection

GNU Radio
1

Hi again,

Just to be clear,
do I just need to solder the legs of the small SMA connector with the
holes in the PCB Log Antenna?
Just as much that it can barely hold?

Regards,

Von: Dincer B.
Gesendet: Freitag, 27. September 2013 16:50
An: [email protected]
Betreff: PCB Log Periodic Antenna connection

Hi all,

I have an WA5VJB PCB Log Periodic Antenna including a SMA-F to SMA-M
cable. I am using a N210 USRP and the SBX daughterboard. I have a second
SMA-M/SMA-M cable.

How can I connect the Antenna to the Daughterboard / USRP ? Is there a
way without soldering the included SMA cable to the antenna? I have also
an SMA-M to SMA-M cable.

My intention was to connect the SMA-F/SMA-M cable to the daughterboard.
Then I wanted to concatanate the second SMA-M/SMA-M cable to the first
SMA-F/SMA-M cable. Finally, I wanted to connect the PCB Log Periodic
antenna to the SMA-M / SMA-M cable via the connector (the small
connector with the 4 legs).

I am afraid of making wrong terminations and to damage the Antenna
ports. Also if I have to solder something onto the antenna, can anyone
please explain how exactly I can do that?

Regards,
Dincer

2

On 09/27/2013 10:52 AM, Dincer B. wrote:

Regards,

The legs and the center conductor need to be soldered.

3

Thank you Marcus,

but I have still the following questions:

Can I connect the Antenna then with the SMA-M/SMA-M cable to the
daughterboard RX antenna port?

What kind of a stand should I use?

Can I put the Antenna onto the (plastic) GROUND PLANE (used against
ESD)?

This is a bonus question:
Is it enough, that the antenna stands up? Does the SMA cable need to
have a specific degree of bending?

Regards,
Dincer
Von: discuss-gnuradio-bounces+dbeken=removed_email_address@domain.invalid
[mailto:discuss-gnuradio-bounces+dbeken=removed_email_address@domain.invalid] Im Auftrag
von Marcus D. Leech
Gesendet: Freitag, 27. September 2013 16:55
An: [email protected]
Betreff: Re: [Discuss-gnuradio] PCB Log Periodic Antenna connection

On 09/27/2013 10:52 AM, Dincer B. wrote:
Hi again,

Just to be clear,
do I just need to solder the legs of the small SMA connector with the
holes in the PCB Log Antenna?
Just as much that it can barely hold?

Regards,

The legs and the center conductor need to be soldered.

–

Marcus L.

Principal Investigator

Shirleys Bay Radio Astronomy Consortium

4

On Sep 27, 2013 9:23 AM, “Dincer B.” [email protected] wrote:

Thank you Marcus,

but I have still the following questions:

Can I connect the Antenna then with the SMA-M/SMA-M cable to the
daughterboard RX antenna port?

That should work fine.

What kind of a stand should I use?

Non-metallic :-D. Those PCB antennas don’t exactly have a tripod mount,
so
it’ll take some ingenuity to figure out how to mount them.

Can I put the Antenna onto the (plastic) GROUND PLANE (used against ESD)?

ESD mats are pretty crappy ground planes for RF purposes, great for not
damaging your hardware. It’s definitely safe to set it on the mat
during
operation, though it will affect the beam pattern some, a metal bench
underneath the mat would affect the beam pattern much more
significantly.

This is a bonus question:

Is it enough, that the antenna stands up?

See the Wikipedia article on log periodic antenna to understand the beam
pattern. Hint: point the small end in the direction you want to listen.

Does the SMA cable need to have a specific degree of bending?

There is a minimum bend radius, but generally just don’t kink it.

Have fun!

Jared

Regards,

Dincer

Von: discuss-gnuradio-bounces+dbeken=removed_email_address@domain.invalid [mailto:
discuss-gnuradio-bounces+dbeken=removed_email_address@domain.invalid] Im Auftrag von
Marcus
D. Leech

Just to be clear,

do I just need to solder the legs of the small SMA connector with the
holes in the PCB Log Antenna?