18 Aug
2011
18 Aug
'11
10:43 p.m.
On 8/18/11 10:31 PM, Dave Guimont wrote:
That's why the quadrifilars work so well. I measured the pattern some time back, and the "beam width" is about 140 degrees....
Yes, something with that kind of beamwidth would be ideal on the nadir-facing surface of a stabilized satellite in low earth orbit. It would be even better if the gain in the straight-down direction could be reduced in favor of gain at the edges. Ideally you'd have a constant power density over the entire visible earth.
You could of course use a much more directional antenna on the ground if it can track the satellite.
--Phil