Description
“Hard wired” dipole which is preferable for weather proofing….
It should be noted that FM folded dipoles (sometimes – incorrectly ? – known as Full Wave dipoles) theoretically should have a bigger increase in gain over a half wave type than we found in our tests. In fact, there wasn’t much difference between this aerial and the FM Half Wave dipole and this is probably due to the lack of a balun in this model of aerial. A folded dipole has a 300Ω impedance whereas most cable and tuners are 75Ω, one can speculate that the increased signal from the folded dipole is to some extent lost by this mismatch, the previous (no longer available) model had a balun and about 2dB more gain on average. At some frequencies the folded dipole is a bit in front of the half wave but at some others it’s a bit behind. However, where the Folded dipole really scores is that it has probably the strongest construction of any FM aerial since it has none of the relatively weak FM directors and the dipole (being a loop) is obviously much stronger than an open half wave type. So if you live in a particularly exposed location, or you suffer from ample avians, this is the aerial for you, if not then I’d fit the Half Wave dipole.
The aerial is essentially omni-directional if installed vertically polarised and slightly directional if installed horizontally.
It was apparent that the folded dipole antenna did not pick up DAB as well as the half wave, though it was still better than the “Omni” and far better than a TV aerial, i.e. it’d work OK for DAB in a moderate signal area.
The FM folded dipole we stock come with a 2” rotating clamp to enable vertical, horizontal or indeed diagonal mounting, see also: wiring up an FM dipole.
See Aerial Reports for FM and DAB aerials.
Unfortunately a carrier length surcharge applies to this product.
