RF CONTINUITY
Every Bluewave Antenna folded dipole antenna is a closed DC circuit,
however it should be noted that Bluewave manufactures a number of DC open
designs. Please contact Bluewave Antenna for any questions regarding the
DC state of any of our antennas.
Checking our folded dipole antennas with an ohm-meter is a test for DC
continuity, not RF continuity. Simply checking to see if an antenna of
any manufacturer is either DC open or DC short does not imply that the
antenna is functioning and in working order.
Our antennas are designed to have a 50 Ohm impedance at their design
frequencies. This implies (and requires) that the circuit be complete
to an RF signal traveling down the line. If the antenna circuit is truly
open, then there is no possible way it can read 50 Ohms! With a Bluewave
closed circuit design very little current is allowed to return - the energy
is instead radiated as RF energy.
Checking folded dipole antennas with an Ohm meter is a test that will
tell you nothing about our antenna, other than that it is indeed DC continuous.
Will it work when it’s plugged into a radio? Yes, of course it will.
Furthermore, all our antennas are tested to ensure they meet specifications
prior to shipping.
To repeat, an Ohm meter test is inconclusive, use a VSWR meter!
We are all about RF continuity. Our antennas can be checked for RF continuity
only by using a return loss bridge (VSWR meter).
Ordinary Dipole
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Folded Dipole
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