Antenna Performance Tests

Active Antenna and Mercury

One of the great features of Mercury is its wide band capability. Most amateurs have antennas that are tuned to one amateur band. Often, these antennas do not perform well when used to listen on other frequencies. One type of antenna that is suited to wide band performance is an active antenna.

I purchased a Z1501D Active Antenna and Z1203A Active Antenna Coupler from Clifton Laboratories [1]. These are both kits that are straightforward to put together and in my opinion are first class.

The active antenna at my station is using a 60 inch whip and the unit is mounted on a wooden fence post approximately 1.25 m above ground. I have a ground plate (piece of electrical bus) buried in the earth about 0.6 m below ground.

Tests

The following is a screen shot of a wide band scan (0-20 Mhz.) of the output of the antenna coupler when connected to a Tektronics 495P Spectrum Analyzer.

Sensitivity

by Rick VE3MM