Electrical Engineers and Antenna Gurus

[KG4CGC]

I have a couple of rolls of flat ribbon cable. Spacing between each conductor is about a millimeter and the conductor itself is about 1.5mm wide. The ribbon is about 3 inches wide and there are a total of 30 conductors. Now then, let's say I pulled off a length of about 30 feet and connected the conductors alternately at each end to make it one single conductor.
Would this act like a coil or a capacitor or just what should I expect to actually happen if I used it at the base, center or end of a wire antenna. Keep in mind it is a receive only antenna I'm talking about and I was thinking of using it as part of an AMBCB and Long Wave antenna.
I do plan on NOT coiling the form. I just intend to stretch it out. I may coil it long ways around a PVC or fiberglass pole if need be but I doubt that will happen. I really would rather hang it in the air.
Thanks in advance. I am without a clue as to the actual outcome. ☺

[ab1ga]

My wild guess is that, depending on the operating frequency, it will act as a slow-wave circuit (delay line). It will look like a piece of transmission line, with the terminal impedance changing with frequency and length, and it can be either inductive or capacitive.

73,

.dale.

[NQ6U]

Interesting, Charles. My own WAG is roughly the same as Dale's but I think it would be more capacitive than inductive. If you coiled it around a pole, though, that would probably increase the inductance significantly.

Try it both ways, put an antenna analyzer on it and see what you get; you never know, it might be a good way to get a low band antenna in a small package. After all, a lot of the antennas we use now were invented by some ham saying to himself "I wonder what would happen if I do this..."

[PA5COR]

On QRZ in my bio you can find the helical wound 160 metr antenna i started with.
!/2 wave of wire on a pole of glassfiber 1 1/2 inch in size, top capacity loaded.

This antenna you think of would get a lot of wire in a small length, capacity between the wires is quite large so close together, would be nice to keep my MFJ 269 on that if finished and see what it tells us.

The principle of this folded back antenna a few times is already on the market/books, http://www.nonstopsystems.com/radio/...enna_cobra.htm
Like the Cobra lineair loaded dipole.
http://www.nonstopsystems.com/radio/...C_analysis.pdf

Analysis of the Cobra.

[W9WLS]

do a search for the "COBRA ANTENNA" you will find about the same as you are discribing.

[KG4CGC]

Does anyone think it will act as a really long wire for the bands I want to use it for?
Thanks for all the advice so far.

[PA5COR]

Even the Cobra antenna based on the same principle needs a certain length and distance between the wires and number of folding sections to be able to work on the bands designed for,
Getting so many wires so close together in the small place will be very difficult to calculate .
Trial and error, for AM you could try to mimic a Cobra antenna designed for 160 meters, all my 160 meter antenna's give good results on the Braodcast AM band.

That Cobra antenna is already described in the links, is relative short and easy to reproduce.
With the setup materials you have now i think the capacity between the wires and number of wires will make a lousy antenna.
;)

[WØTKX]

You'd probably be able to get a workable SWR by playing around with it.
Likely it would be a dummy load. Oh well.

[KG4CGC]

You'd probably be able to get a workable SWR by playing around with it.
Likely it would be a dummy load. Oh well.

It is not a transmitting antenna.

Teh Barkeep Sez: Keep in mind it is a receive only antenna I'm talking about and I was thinking of using it as part of an AMBCB and Long Wave antenna.

[WØTKX]

Oh, sorry. Build a multi turn receiving loop.