22.5.2015.

2.4GHzCollinerAntennaDesign

A2.4GhzVerticalCollinear
Antennafor802.11Applications
ByBrianOblivionandCapt.Kaboom
modifiedbyRichardAWenner

Introduction
Thecollinearantennawashistoricallyusedbybasestationsites,stackingvarious1/2wavedipoleelementsontopofeachotherforincreasedgainconnectedbysomeequipmenttocorrectforphase
errorbetweentheelementsofthearray.Thehigherinfrequencythebetteringainyoucanachieveinarelativelysmallassembly.Theeightelementarraybuiltherewillyield6dBigainina
radomeoflessthanameter.
Thereare3mainsectionstothisantenna.Startingfrombottomtotopoftheantenna,theyaretheRFconnector/decouplersection,theelementalarraysection,andthequarterwavewhipsectionat
thetopoftheunit.

EquipmentandMaterialsNeeded
Components:

2metersLMR400
212"lengthof5/16K&Sbrasstubing
112"lengthof11/32K&Sbrasstubing
1blockofwoodofatleast(3.52ft)1mlong
41"x2"scrapwoodblocks(orapproximates)
11/64th(2mm)thickpieceofscrapmetal
1brasstoiletoverflowtube(EXACTDIMENSIONSNEEDED)
1USQuarter(orbrassdiskofequivalentmeasurements)
solder(nonacidcoreplumbingsolder)
fluxpaste

Tools:

Required:

utilityknife
hacksaw
Highwattagesolderinggun(>260Watt)
metalruler(Metric/English)
metalsandpaper
metalfile(s)
WouldmakelifeMUCHeasier:

handheldpipecutter
rotarycoaxcutter
vise(small)
micrometer(optional)
'Dremel'toolwithmetalgrinding/cuttingheadsormetalgrinder

Calculations
Firstdeterminehowmuchgainyouwouldliketheantennatohave.Thiswilldeterminehowmanyelementsyouwillneedtoconstruct.Choosefromthefollowingtable:

Gain

Numberof

Lengthof

indB

elements

Antenna(cm)

3.5
6
9
10

4
8
18
21

32
56
116
134

Forourinitialexperimentationwedecidedtobuildthe8element6dBgainantenna.
WechoseLMR400asitwaslyingonthefloorthenightwedecidedtoconstructtheantenna.LMR400coaxhasavelocityfactorof%85,mostlyduetoit'ssemirigidnessandfoamdielectric.LMR200
wouldbetheidealchoice,asithasasmallerdiameterdielectric,thusrequiringasmallerdiameterbrasstubing.Thismakessense,asthemaxERPoutfor802.11isunder1W.
Theantennaisdesignedtooptimallyoperateatthecenterofthe802.112.4GHzband.Thecenterofthebandisdeterminedbythefollowing:

802.11frequencyrange:2.4000GHzto2.4835

low_freqhigh_freq
centerfreq=

2.40002.4835
centerfreq=

centerfreq=2.441GHz

Thecenteroperatingfrequencyisthenusedinthefollowingformulatodeterminethelengthoftheindividualantennasegments:

segmentlength=*Vo

(c/fc)

Where:c=speedoflightinmetrespersecond

fc=centerfreq.

Vo=velocityofcoax

Inourexample:

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2.4GHzCollinerAntennaDesign

c=300000
fc=2441000000
Vo=.85

segmentlength=*.85

(300000/2441000000)

segmentlength=52.2mm

NOTE:Thisisthelengthoftheantennasegments.Theactualbrasselementsare8mmshorterthanthisnumber,toaccountfortheantennasegmentspacing.(Seediagrambelow).

Measurements

Figure1.Antennasegmentmeasurements.

TheschematicoftheelectricalcomponentsoftheantennaisdisplayedinFigure2.Note:thisschematicisforaneightelementcollineararray.The1/2wavelengthand1/4wavelengthmeasurements
calculatedabovearetobeappliedtothevariouselementsinthisschematic.

Figure2.Electricalschematicofthecollineararray.

Construction
Wefoundthatitwaseasiertocutcoaxandbrassinbatches,asyoudon'thavetoconstantlyadjustthemicrometer.

CoaxPreparation:
Coaxlengthshouldbecalculatedinthefollowingway:
coaxlength=1/2wavelength+15mm
Forcoax:Ifyouarenotusingamicrometer,buthaveaccesstoavise,marktheproperlength(67.2mm)ofthecoaxonthevisewithapieceoftape.Alignthe"cut"endofthecoaxwiththe
measurementindicatedbythetapeonthevise.Theendoftheviseiswhereyoumakethecut.(seehowit'sdone).Itmaybeeasiertomarkmultiplesectionsforlatercuttinginabatchprocess.

Usethecoaxcutterora'Stanley'knifetocutthemarkedsections,

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andout

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2.4GHzCollinerAntennaDesign

andstripawaythecladding,

braid

andthefoil.

Remove10mmofcladdingfromeachsidethecoaxsegment.
Setasideandpreparetherestofthesegments.
Don'tforgetthatthefinalelementofthearrayisa1/4waveelement.Cutasegmentofcoaxtofitthe
1/4waveelementaswell.

Markofffirst44.2mmsegmentofthe5/16"brasstubing.Usingacircularpipecutter,setthewheelofthecutteronthesideofthemarktomaketheelementabitlongerthanthe44.2mm
measurement.Cutthebrassbymovingthecutterinacircularmotionaroundthebrasstubing,slightlytighteningthewheelwitheverythreeorfourrevolutions.Repeatuntilalluncut5/16"brass
tubingisexhausted.
Again,don'tforgetaboutthefinal1/4waveelement!Cutalengthofbrassaccordingly.

Elementassembly:
Pairupeachofthebrasstubingandcoaxsegments.

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The5/16"brasstubingfitssnugglyovertheLMR400foamdielectric.Slipabrasselementovereachcoaxsegment.Slowlytwistthebrasstubingasyoupassitoverthedielectric,untilitisin
placewithanequalamountofexposeddielectriconeachsideofthetubing,asbelow.

FigureX:Diagramofcompletedelementassembly.
Ifyouthinkyouhavethedexteritytosoldertheelementswithouttheuseofajig,oryouplanononlymakingoneortwooftheseantenna's,thenskiptheJigconstructionandjumpaheaddirectly
totheelementsolderingsection.

JigConstruction:
Constructingajigwillhelpwiththeconstructionoftheantenna.

Evenwhennotbuildingmultiples,thejigreallyhelpswhentryingtosoldertheindividualelementstogether.
Ourjigwasconstructedoutof5ftlong1x2inchscrappinewood.asectionofthewoodwascuttomakethefourguidingpostsusedto"hold"theantennaelementsinplacewhensolderingtogether.
Youwillneed10nailsandsomescrapmetalapprox1/16ththick(samethicknessofthebrasstubing).MetalPCslotfillersworkwell,andcanbefileddowntotheproperwidth.Pleasereferto
Figure2and3whilereadingtheassemblyinstructionsforvisualassistance.

Step1:Obtaina5footlong1x2inchscrappinewood,10finishing

nailsand1PCexpansioncardslotfiller.
Step2:Cuta1inchsectionoffoftheendofthe1x2board,
resultingina1x1x2pieceofwood.

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Step3:Cutthe1x1x2woodinto4separateequalpieces.
Step4:Drilltwoholesintoeachofthe4woodpiecesto

accommodatethefinishingnails.Makesuretheholeyou
drillisnottoolarge,asweonlywanttoavoidsplitting
thewoodwhendrivinginthenails.
Step5:CutawaytheexcessmetalfromthePCexpansionslot
filler,leavingatwoinchlongpieceofmetal.Fileaway
oneside(oralittleofboth)to8mm,anddrilltwoholes
intothemetaltoaccommodatetwofinishingnails.These
nailswillbeusedtoattachthemetaltothelargepiece
ofwood.
Step6:Attachthepieceofmetal31/4inchesfromoneendofthe
largepieceofwood.

Step7:Arrangetwooftheantennaelementsinthejig.Usethisas
aguideforwheretoattachthewoodblockstothelarge
pieceofwood.
That'sit!

Elementsoldering:
Elementsolderingisprettystraightforward.Don'tdinkaroundwithlittle8USdollarsolderingironsforthis.Youneedahighwattagesolderinggunforthisjob.Spendthe$30,itisaworthy
investment,andpurchasethepropertoolforthejob.Ifyoubuiltthejig,followtheinstructionsinStep7oftheproceedingsection.Seehoweasyitistodoitinthejig?Ifnot,thenyou'll
beperformingabalancingact,andIhopeyouhaveasteadyhand.

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Whensolderingthefinalelement(1/4waveelement),rememberthatthecenterconductorisbentoverandsolderedtoit'sownbrasstubing.Whencompleted,itshouldlooklikebelow.

Note:Becarefulwhenapplyingtheheattothebrasselements.Itdoesn'ttakemuchtimetogenerateenoughheattobegintomeltthefoamdielectric.
Solderalltheelementsatthispointbeforeproceedingtothenextsection.Thisiswhatyourelementarrayshouldlooklike.

QuarterWaveWhipAssembly:
The1/4wavewhipassemblyslidesovertheendofthelastelementoftheantenna.SeeFigure4forexactmeasurements.Becausethecenterconductorofthelastelementissolderedtotheelements
brasstubing,thetopofthebendofthecenterconductorwillbeanarbitrarylengthuniquetoeachantenna.Theimportantthinghereisforthetopofthewhiptobe1/4waveinlengthfromthe
endofthefoamdielectricofthelastelement.Lineupthe1/4wavenexttothelastelementanddeterminethelengththenotchwillneedtobe.

Figure4:QuarterWaveWhipMeasurementsandposition
Cutoutthenotchtoaccommodatethesolderedcenterconductorofthelastelement.Ifyouarereallyslummin',useahacksawandfiletomakethenotch.Afterthenotchiscutandburrsarefiled
awaymountthe1/4wavewhipontheendofthelastelement.

DecouplingandRFConnectorAssembly:
Thedecouplingsectionisabitinvolved,asitrequiresdrillingaholeintoaUSQuarter,orsimilarlysizedslug,andusingapropanetorchtosolderittothedecouplingbrasstubing.
Therearetwopartstothisassembly.First,thereisthefeedlineelement,constructedinthesamemannerastheantennaelements.Second,isthedecouplingsleeve,mountedoverthefeedline
element.
Thedecouplersleeveisconstructedoutof1"brasstubingequalto1/4wavelength,alengthof11/32"brasstubingatleast1/4wavelength,and1USQuarterwithacenterdrilledholeto
accommodatethe11/32"brasstubing.

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Aboveispictureofthe1/4wavelength1"brasstubingwiththe11/32"brasstubingsolderedintothecenteroftheUSquarteralongside.Belowisthefullyassembledunitfromthetopandbottom

FigureX.Diagramofdecouplingsleeve
Thefeedlineissimilarinconstructiontotheantennaelements.Thedifferenceisthecoaxisofmuchlongerlengththanthe5/16"brasstubing.Thecoaxispreparedinamuchdifferentfashion
sincewesolderthebraidofthecoaxtotheendofthebrasstubing1/4wavelengthupfromtheendoftheNconnector.Belowthis,thecladdingremainsintactandterminatesintheNconnector
assembly.Thebrasstubingmustbecutsothatatleast1/2wavelengthof5/16brasstubingisbetweentheendofthedecouplersleeveassemblyandthe1stantennaelement(seediagram).Itmust
alsoaccommodatethelengthofthedecouplersleeveassemblyplusallowingalengthfortuningofthesleevetothefeedline(thisisdonemyslidingthesleeveupanddownoverthefeedline
tubing).Inourexample,thecoaxwas10.8cm(41/4"),andthe5/16"brasstubingwas6.8cm(211/16"),inlength.
Whencompleteditshouldlooklikethis:

Aspartofthefinalassemblyitlookedlikethis:

Tuningandfinalassembly
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Tuning:
Unfortunately,withoutaspectrumanalyzerorSWR/Powermeteronecannotoptimallytunetheantenna,butonecancoarselytuneitusingtheLinuxwirelesstoolsandtwowirelessNIC's.Byadjusting
thedecouplingsleeve,youwillnoticeachangeintheRSSIreadingasyouslidethedecouplingalongthefeedlineelement.AdjustuntilyoureachapeakintheRSSIinthereceiver.Onlytake
measurementswhennottouchingtheantenna,andalwaysreturntoasimilarpositionwhentakingareading.YourbodychangestheRFcharacteristicsoftheroomyouareworkingin.Oncetheantenna
hasbeenproperlymatched,fixthedecouplerinplacewithabeadofsolderandproceedtothenextsection.
Radomeconstruction:
OutdoorelectricalUVresistantconduitwasusedfortheradome.Itwascuttotheappropriatelengthtoaccommodatetheentirearray,leavingthefemaleNconnectorhangoutthebottomby1/2inch.
Thearrayisheldinplacewithplumbersepoxy.WeusedaPVCcaptocoverthetop,butitcouldhavebeensealedwithplumbersepoxyaswell.Usingdoublesidedstickytape,thearrayisheldin
placeattwolocationswithinthetube.

FigureX:diagramoffinishedantennainradome.
Goodluck!

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