387:
407:. Larger log periodics provide wider frequency coverage with comparable gain to rhombics. Distributed feed curtains or HRS curtain arrays provided a cleaner pattern, ability to steer the pattern in elevation and azimuth, much higher efficiency, and significantly higher gain in less space. However, rhombic antennas are used in cases where the combination of high forward gain (despite the losses described above) and large operating bandwidth cannot be achieved by other means, or where a directional antenna is needed, but construction and installation costs must be kept low.
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25:
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343:. This reflects the power that would have been wasted in the termination resistor back into the antenna with the correct phase to reinforce the excitation from the transmitter. This circuit can increase the radiation efficiency of transmitting antennas to the 70-80% range, at the cost of increased complexity.
557:
The rhombic suffers from efficiency problems due to earth losses below the antenna, significant power-wasting spurious lobes, termination losses, and the inability to maintain constant current along the length of the conductors. Typical radiation efficiency is in the order of
148:
If the sections are joined by a resistor at either of the acute (pointy) ends, then the antenna will receive from and transmit to only the direction the end with the resistor points at. Its principal advantages over other types of antenna are its simplicity, high forward
584:
398:
Prior to World War II, the rhombic was one of the most popular point-to-point high frequency antenna arrays. After World War II the rhombic largely fell out of favor for shortwave broadcast and point-to-point communications work, being replaced by
603:
137:" shape. Each of the four sides is the same length – about a quarter-wavelength to one wavelength per section – converging but not touching at an angle of about 42° at the fed end and at the far end. The length is not critical, typically from one to two
304:
off the terminated end, so this end of the antenna is oriented toward the intended receiving station or region. When unterminated, the rhombic is bidirectional with two opposite lobes off the two acute ends, but is not perfectly bi-directional.
534:
Rhombics' input impedance & radiation pattern are relatively constant over a 2:1 range of frequencies. Their impedance can be made relatively constant over a frequency range 4:1 or more, with the forward gain increasing at 6 dB per
269:
A horizontal rhombic antenna radiates horizontally polarized radio waves at a low elevation angle off the acute end of the antenna opposite the feedline. Its principal advantages over other types of antenna are its simplicity, high forward
386:
316:
The rhombic antenna can radiate at elevation angles close to the horizon or at higher angles, depending on its height above ground relative to the operating frequency and its physical construction. Likewise, its
410:
In addition to its use as a simple and effective transmitting antenna (as described above), the rhombic can also be used as an HF receiving antenna with good gain and directivity. For example, BBC Monitoring's
538:
Multiple rhombic antennas can be connected in an end-to-end fashion to form MUSA (Multiple Unit
Steerable Antenna). MUSA arrays can receive long distance, short wave, horizontally polarized downcoming waves.
554:
A rhombic requires a large area of land – especially if several antennas are installed to serve a variety of geographic regions at different distances or directions or to cover widely different frequencies.
145:), but there is an optimum angle for any given length and frequency. A horizontal rhombic antenna radiates horizontally polarized radio waves at a low elevation angle off the pointy ends of the antenna.
598:
312:
A horizontal three-wire rhombic antenna. This example is terminated with a resonant stub transmission line power reflector instead of a resistor to increase efficiency.
579:
525:
The rhombics' low cost, simplicity, reliability, and ease of construction sometimes outweighs performance advantages offered by other more complex arrays.
804:
336:
It is possible to improve the low efficiency and gain of unidirectional rhombics by replacing the termination resistor by a low-loss balanced
541:
The rhombic remains one of the least complex medium-gain options for sustained long distance communications over point-to-point circuits.
912:
125:
Small rhombic UHF television antenna from 1952. Its broad bandwidth allowed it to cover the 470 to 890 MHz UHF television band.
561:
The low efficiency significantly reduces gain for a given main lobe beamwidth when compared to other arrays of the same beamwidth.
715:
293:
transformer. The end of the wires meeting at the opposite vertex is either left open (unconnected), or is terminated with a non-
1170:
493:
254:" (diamond) shape. Long versions are typically supported by a pole or tower at each vertex to which the wires are attached by
89:
465:
61:
544:
Rhombics also handle considerable transmitter power, since they have essentially uniform voltage and current distribution.
266:) end-to-end, but for any given length and frequency, there is an optimum acute angle at which the sections should meet.
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can be narrow or broad, depending primarily on its length. The shallow radiation angle makes it useful for
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of each segment of the antenna illustrates how it works. By using the correct vertex angle, one of the
1175:
1047:
355:
AT&T 2 wire rhombic in Dixon, California, in 1937, used for telephone service to
Shanghai, China
1042:
952:
258:. Each of the four sides is the same length. The length is not critical, typically from one to two
942:
751:
439:
255:
181:
35:
1124:
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238:
of each of the four sides point in the same direction, reinforcing each other, increasing the
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82:
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8:
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has three rhombic antennas aligned for reception at azimuths of 37, 57 and 77 degrees.
329:, in which radio waves directed into the sky at the horizon reflect from layers in the
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1027:
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is made of four sections of wire suspended parallel to the ground in a diamond or "
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It is typically fed at one of the two acute (sharper angle) vertices through a
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300:. When resistor-terminated, the radiation pattern is unidirectional, with the
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consists of one to several parallel wires suspended above the ground in a "
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121:
453: in this section. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
330:
294:
259:
195: in this section. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
138:
972:
879:
582:, Bruce, Edmond, "Directive antenna", issued June 9, 1942
376:
372:
318:
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235:
428:
170:
24:
1129:
927:
733:
601:, Friis, Harald T., "Radio system", issued May 19, 1936
297:
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322:
251:
134:
693:
1103:
157:, and the ability to operate over a wide range of frequencies.
1082:
290:
278:, the ability to operate over a wide range of frequencies.
263:
142:
394:
pole farm which was located in Mercer County, New Jersey
390:
As of 2023, one last remnant pole still stands from the
654:. McGraw-Hill EE series. McGraw-Hill. pp. 408–412.
639:. Prentice-Hall EE Series (2nd ed.). McGraw-Hill.
634:
49:. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
1162:
597:
418:
709:
578:
359:The rhombic antenna was designed in 1931 by
333:and return to Earth far beyond the horizon.
664:
637:Electromagnetic Waves and Radiating Systems
325:propagation, the longest distance mode for
716:
702:
591:
572:
513:Learn how and when to remove this message
211:Learn how and when to remove this message
109:Learn how and when to remove this message
385:
350:
307:
222:
120:
681:
1163:
697:
649:
367:, It was mostly commonly used in the
451:adding citations to reliable sources
422:
193:adding citations to reliable sources
164:
47:adding citations to reliable sources
18:
13:
14:
1187:
1145:Circularly disposed antenna array
963:Folded inverted conformal antenna
723:
671:. McGraw-Hill. pp. 315–334.
427:
169:
23:
684:Antennas and Transmission Lines
438:needs additional citations for
413:Crowsley Park receiving station
180:needs additional citations for
34:needs additional citations for
675:
658:
643:
628:
610:
160:
1:
1171:Radio frequency antenna types
565:
785:Dielectric resonator antenna
419:Advantages and disadvantages
7:
635:E.C. Jordan; K.G. Balmain.
10:
1192:
346:
283:balanced transmission line
1096:
1048:Regenerative loop antenna
898:
750:
732:
668:Radio Antenna Engineering
1043:Reflective array antenna
953:Corner reflector antenna
943:Collinear antenna array
1125:Reconfigurable antenna
1088:Yagi–Uda antenna
1063:Short backfire antenna
800:Folded unipole antenna
395:
356:
313:
243:
126:
16:Rhombus-shaped antenna
780:Crossed field antenna
401:log periodic antennas
389:
354:
311:
285:, or alternatively a
226:
124:
1097:Application-specific
988:Log-periodic antenna
860:Rubber ducky antenna
835:Inverted vee antenna
810:Ground-plane antenna
665:Laport, E.A (1952).
447:improve this article
189:improve this article
43:improve this article
1008:Offset dish antenna
855:Random wire antenna
1150:Television antenna
998:Microstrip antenna
938:Choke ring antenna
933:Cassegrain antenna
830:Inverted-F antenna
742:Isotropic radiator
624:. 4 December 2019.
396:
357:
314:
244:
229:radiation patterns
127:
1158:
1157:
1135:Reference antenna
1028:Parabolic antenna
948:Conformal antenna
870:Turnstile antenna
765:Biconical antenna
618:"Harald T. Friis"
523:
522:
515:
497:
462:"Rhombic antenna"
341:transmission line
221:
220:
213:
119:
118:
111:
93:
58:"Rhombic antenna"
1183:
1176:Antennas (radio)
1109:Corner reflector
923:Beverage antenna
885:Umbrella antenna
850:Monopole antenna
805:Franklin antenna
718:
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1115:Evolved antenna
1092:
1078:Vivaldi antenna
1053:Rhombic antenna
978:Helical antenna
968:Fractal antenna
913:AS-2259 Antenna
894:
825:Helical antenna
795:Discone antenna
775:Coaxial antenna
760:Batwing antenna
752:Omnidirectional
746:
728:
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248:rhombic antenna
217:
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131:rhombic antenna
115:
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5:
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1140:Spiral antenna
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1112:
1106:
1100:
1098:
1094:
1093:
1091:
1090:
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1073:Sterba antenna
1070:
1065:
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1058:Sector antenna
1055:
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1045:
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1035:
1033:Plasma antenna
1030:
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1005:
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908:Adcock antenna
904:
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887:
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877:
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867:
865:Sloper antenna
862:
857:
852:
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842:
840:J-pole antenna
837:
832:
827:
822:
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802:
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790:Dipole antenna
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405:curtain arrays
369:high frequency
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1120:Ground dipole
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1024:
1021:
1019:
1016:
1014:
1013:Patch antenna
1011:
1009:
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1004:
1003:Moxon antenna
1001:
999:
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994:
991:
989:
986:
984:
981:
979:
976:
974:
971:
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958:Curtain array
956:
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845:Mast radiator
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549:Disadvantages
543:
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531:
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517:
514:
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488:
485:
481:
478:
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467:
464: –
463:
459:
458:Find sources:
452:
448:
442:
441:
436:This section
434:
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424:
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408:
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402:
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338:resonant stub
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287:coaxial cable
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178:This section
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113:
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74:
70:
67:
63:
60: –
59:
55:
54:Find sources:
48:
44:
38:
37:
32:This article
30:
26:
21:
20:
1068:Slot antenna
1052:
1038:Quad antenna
1023:Planar array
1018:Phased array
993:Loop antenna
983:Horn antenna
890:Whip antenna
875:T2FD antenna
820:Halo antenna
815:G5RV antenna
683:
682:Kuecken, J.
677:
667:
660:
651:
645:
636:
630:
622:IEEE GHN.org
621:
612:
593:
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548:
547:
528:
527:
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509:
503:October 2015
500:
490:
483:
476:
469:
457:
445:Please help
440:verification
437:
409:
397:
379:directional
365:Harald Friis
361:Edmond Bruce
358:
335:
315:
280:
268:
247:
245:
231:
207:
201:October 2015
198:
187:Please help
182:verification
179:
147:
130:
128:
105:
99:October 2015
96:
86:
79:
72:
65:
53:
41:Please help
36:verification
33:
918:AWX antenna
900:Directional
770:Cage aerial
599:US 2041600A
260:wavelengths
227:Diagram of
161:Description
139:wavelengths
1165:Categories
650:Kraus, J.
580:US 2285565
566:References
529:Advantages
473:newspapers
375:band as a
331:ionosphere
256:insulators
236:main lobes
69:newspapers
1111:(passive)
973:Gizmotchy
880:T-antenna
734:Isotropic
377:broadband
373:shortwave
327:shortwave
319:beamwidth
302:main lobe
295:inductive
276:bandwidth
274:and wide
155:bandwidth
1130:Rectenna
928:Cantenna
652:Antennas
392:AT&T
371:(HF) or
298:resistor
725:Antenna
558:40–50%.
535:octave.
487:scholar
381:antenna
347:History
323:skywave
289:with a
252:rhombus
153:, wide
135:rhombus
83:scholar
1104:ALLISS
605:
586:
489:
482:
475:
468:
460:
232:(grey)
85:
78:
71:
64:
56:
1083:WokFi
727:types
494:JSTOR
480:books
291:balun
90:JSTOR
76:books
466:news
403:and
363:and
272:gain
240:gain
151:gain
62:news
449:by
191:by
45:by
1167::
620:.
383:.
246:A
129:A
717:e
710:t
703:v
686:.
516:)
510:(
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501:(
491:·
484:·
477:·
470:·
443:.
264:λ
262:(
242:.
214:)
208:(
203:)
199:(
185:.
143:λ
141:(
112:)
106:(
101:)
97:(
87:·
80:·
73:·
66:·
39:.
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