Antennas 101 / How does an antenna work 

I know this is an older video but SO HELPFUL. Super informative, easy to understand, not long winded...and amazing use of a bagel to explain a concept! Thank you so much - loved it!

Underrated video! I'm a ham and I wish I had viewed this video when I first started. Thanks for explaining antennas in such an easy way to understand. Keep them coming.

Using a bagel to describe a radiation pattern is super clever.

I got my FCC First Class RT Operator license in 1980, but antennas were always a weak point for me. This video bought a lot back, and made a lot clear to me. Nicely done, sir.

I became clear to the concept of impedance matching after watching this video after listening to the word almost for 6 years without any logic. Wow dude... you did great.

Excellent description of the EM field generated by the monopole and dipole, as well as gain antennas! Great use of visual aids!

I just learned more about antennas watching this video, than I did the last couple of years reading forum posts on it... Excellent may I say

Please make more antenna videos! You just explained to me in 8 freakin minutes what no one else has explained to me in 20 years of casual investigation. PHYSICAL demonstrations of the antenna wiring beat every damn virtual/whiteboard drawing EVERY DAY. THANK YOU SIR! I finally actually understand WTF a dipole antenna actually is, in real life... Oh, and YEAH, what the ground plane stuff is for also!!!! 73, KD2OQN

90 seconds into the video, I already loved the donnut or bagel analogy ! Thanks !

Antenna theory is one of the most interesting 'mystery sciences' there is. They just don't work according to 'normal' electrical theory and many people just don't understand that.

Thanks for posting. Very clear explanation. Easy to understand even for a non-native speaker like myself.

Thank you for this informational video! I’m just getting started in Radio Astronomy, but don’t know much about antennas, but this video certainly helps =)

I've watched many videos over time, read books, but have never understood my CB antenna(s), I'm not stupid, I just never found one that made sense, so I was happy to follow the rule that as long as I could get the SWR below 1.5 by adjusting the length of the 'top' part, it was good!. This video made some sense, it helped me understand concepts I wasn't sure about. The way the power is radiated, how and why the cable can be as long as the aerial, but that it's the shield that reflects the power from the center back into itself, split the two, go opersite ways and you've got less reflection, split the shield part further and you get a ground plane, So simple it actually made sense rather than the drawing in books of a upside down triangle! My D-Pole was the best by far, 10mls, and when there was 'skip' I got to chat to people in other countries! But, OMG! I actually have some understanding now! Seriously, this is like the basic 101 that I needed to kick my ass into gear in to wanting to learn and understand this topic rather than just getting the lowest SWR, I hope now to be able to look for another video or wait for you to produce one which can explain CB antennas, base loaded, mag mount vs through hole grounded, you really did a amazing video there... not too much maths, just enough to help... Thank you soooooo much!

Wow, what a fine, clear, imaginative presentation! Best I've seen. You are a gifted teacher!

This Video REALLY Helped Me To Understand HOW Antennas Work.

You did a great job w this video. Very straight forward and clean explain w a nice practice build

Great explanation on Dipole antennas and the formula are really pertinent. Thanks!!

A really good absolute-beginners antenna video.

This video didn't prepare me for tomorrow's test, but made me crave a bagel since I never had one. That thing looks tasty

Thank you for an amazingly informative and concise video...so much learned in so short a time!...JR Bristol..UK

Hell yes! Your vids and explanations are the best.

Well explained. Demo much easier to understand than other videos. Good job

Brilliant...! Thanx for making this video, it has cleared up a number of things for me about making antennas...and the VSWR too! :)

Excellent presentation. Easily understood. Thanks

That is a very well presented video tutorial. A lot crammed in and every bit relevant. Great work

Pretty good simplified explanation.

Great video, thank you for putting it together!

Excellent explanation!!! Thank You!

“We’re not creating power, we’re focusing the power”

Bloody awesome video mate, explained some of the concepts I thought I knew but became so much clearer after watching this, thank you.

Excellent explanation! Thanks!

Brilliantly explained sir, just superb. Greetings from Wales (no call sign yet... hopefully in two weeks if I pass) 👍

Also you have something to eat at the end of the vid! What a great informative vid.

Thank you. Very well explained. Especially that you bend the radials to 45 degrees to match the 50 Ohm impedance --- now I get it. Thank you :)

Great vid. Gonna try to build a monopole tomorrow.

This is a gold mine find. Dude. You explained it better than anyone! Are you gonna make more videos where you go into how this also related to antenna math?

I know this is five years late, but that was the best video presentation of antenna pract app. You sir, should write a book, (failing that, at least more videos) expeditiously. Thanks for sharing. KC3UEE

Really nice video for complete beginners like myself!

Love your video thanks you got a new subscriber keep them coming

Great description with the bagel.

Thanks for making this video.

This is pure gold.

You know what I just liked your video and subscribed you. Thank you.

You are brilliant! Thanks for the video!

Absolutely brilliant video.

Really interesting info. Thank you for passing it on. Definitely will [subscribe] for more possible tidbits of radio-wisdom :) Thank you again!

Learning about antennas, also never had a bagel but those look nice

great help thanks😀

Good demo

Love the bagel btw

I haven't a clue what you were talking about but it was a well informed clip 👍🏾👍👍🏽

Thanks for the video 👍

Excellent explanation for newbies (like me)!

Hello Sir - very nice demonstration and explanation. Just one slight correction I would humbly offer: around 2:40 you refer to maximum power transfer from a stereo amplifier to a loudspeaker. This may be the case in vacuum tube designs but in most solid state designs the amplifier is made to behave as a voltage source, and usually has an equivalent output impedance of milliohms. The designation of 4 or 8 ohms you may see on the speaker terminals of an audio amplifier relates to the design limits of the output stage and to the current and voltage capability of the amplifier to deliver its rated power to a load of a given impedance before either running out of current or voltage. Therefore, it does not exactly relate to the typical RF power amplifier or signal generator, where the output impedance is matched to the rated load impedance for maximum power transfer.

Thanks, i will try to make this kind of antenna for my helium miner

AWE - Video ended too soon :( I was learning so much. --- More videos like this please :D

Love that volume

👍 nice presentation, I like the demonstration using the Donat. But seriously, I like the practical views on how to create a simple antenna.

Very useful information

Great video. Thank you..

Ughhh , like i was back in high school! Very informative

Great video. 👍

excellent! Thank you very much

Thanks for sharing! 👍Good Stuff

assembled a TV antenna tonight, now I'm here to know how it works

спасибо

Thanks.

Great video!

Hi, I want to make an external quarter wave ground plane antenna, mainly to monitor frequencies 118.000 MHz to 136.975 MHz (aircraft band). As far as the 3mm welding rod is concern, is bronze better than aluminum? Also, when using the antenna calculator to determine the length of the radiating element and radial elements, what frequency will I input in the calculator and will I retain the 0.95 velocity factor?

I'm a rf engineer and worked on antenna in the past. Typically when you make an dipole or monopole antenna, you should connect your antenna to a VNA and check your return loss(s11), and make sure it is tuned to the right frequency. The actual size of the antenna is shorter than the calculated value because of fringing effect.

You are so smart. I can remember now because the signal is spread in the pattern of a bagel.:-)

Great videos , informative. Im not so good at electronics and need some help. I have a Sony AIR-7 Scanner radio with Air ,PSB

Plz answer my questions ASAP. I want to know do there is a antenna tht very tiny something like 10^(-3) m, with very narrow beam reaching inosphere. beam so narrow tht it rarely expand when reaches inosphere giving pure one to one connection. Explanation was the best and easiest. By now i have this doubt.

great video..

Thanks a lot.

Great video

I tried putting bagels on my antennas and got less power. Will doughnuts improve my transmission or reception? Are crescents any good?

Thanks!

Aspite some very negative comments i concider this video very informative and well explained! The impedance matching is very important, also the SWR measurement. A NanoVNA ist probably the best and quite inexpensive tool to tune an antenna. Why is a dipole antenna 37 ohm? Is this true for all frequencies and idenpendent from heigt and form/surroundings of the antenna?

Oh great... another number that I got to remember... 377. However, this is a great video!!!!

Thanks for the video. Why 234 vice the 300 for c that they teach in the books? it is clear to see that 234 used in the equations works well. Thanks again for the video and for your time.

AMAZING. THANKSS

What would be the purpose of a 5 director, powered yagi antenna on an easement? I.e. maintained by county? It's approximately 10' off the ground about 1/4 mile from a cell tower

Nice job. According to the formula we see towards the end of the video, when we calculate low frequencies, the wire sizes are quite long. For example; 2832 inch for 1Mhz frequency. An impossible length. Is there a way to shorten the wire sizes?

0:35 That's what she said, "You're vertically polarized"! Bagel?

N Connecters are use for both 1200 Mhz and 2400 Mhz Antenna,

Good video

Thanks

Hey, I have been watching every single possible video on antenna tuners that I can find in order to understand everything I can about this devices, I have a modem receiver that have this single wire antennas that come with a ATU unit "Two of them" each have a this totally miniaturized version of it.. but range on this particular unit really stinks. Now its my hope to increase the range by installing a good set of choked dipoles but don't know if I have not other choice but to use the same type of ATU? with the same value on the capacitors & inductor....your advice will mean the world to me!!

That was really interesting. One point; the radial wires did not look like they where are 45 degrees. More like 30 degrees. I guess you could tune the wires if you have a signal strength meter. Perhaps a smart phone with a WiFi app that shows signal strength. That might make an interesting video. Thanks, I'm enjoying these videos. Short, simple, clear and no frills.

5:10 the input impedance will change of you bend the exposed parts to the black (like 120-130 degrees), more like 50 Ω then

Cool show I like it

How does RF get reflected back in an open circuit?

Can you use a raisin bagel ?

hi what about the antenna with around?

But ground plane antennas don't have any extra gain?

i just wanted to know if i could hook up a coaxial cable to a 32” LED flat screen. LOL. all this talk about free space and ohmes what do i know

now I'm hungry, i want a bagel ...

Just out of curiosity with antenna this small could it be made in a chip form and be able to pick up over the air channels?

Nice tutuorial but would have been better if he had actually hooked it up to a radio and a meter to demonstrate the actual values he was explaining . I did this very stunt back in 1972 when I came back stateside and boughty my first CB radio. I worked with guys who were antenna specialist in AF and we used to play with antenna designs to see if it was possible to take old military antenna and addapt them to Civilian usage for fun. Some interesting experements and drove the FCC crazy at times.