How Do I Choose The Right Omnidirectional Antenna?

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David from Cyntony explains how to choose the right omnidirectional antenna.

Finding the right Omnidirectional Antenna: Key Takeaways

When looking for the right omnidirectional antenna for your application, there are a few key questions that you want to consider.

  1. Is the antenna for receive only?
  2. If transmitting, does it need to account for low, moderate, or high levels of power?
  3. What platform will the antenna mount to?
    Handheld, manpack, vehicle, portable and fixed site, all the way to naval, and spacecraft. 
  4. What’s the frequency of operation?
    For transmit, what’s the maximum continuous power the transmitter will output? And what maximum VSWR can the transmitter tolerate?
  5. What gain and radiation characteristics are required? Relatedly, is a ground-plane dependent or independent omnidirectional antenna desired?

To find the optimal antenna, exploring these questions will put you on the right track!