ANTENTOP- 01- 2007, # 009

Mystery of the Broom Antenna

Lots of the all description of the Broom Antenna pointed that the efficiency of the antenna depends from the factors, factors that increase the atmospheric current in the antenna. But how increasing of the current can influence to the reception?

I may suggest the follow hypothesis. Ion current flowing from the broom wires looks like short conductive path. Incoming radio signal may modulate the conductive path. So, atmospheric current going into antenna wire may be modulated by nearby radio signals. Antenna circuit is tuned to desired incoming radio signals, so only wanted radio signals would have maxima strength of the current...

 

Another suggestion. Ion current flowing from the broom wires may create a column of ions above the antenna. The column may work like an additional antenna connected to the broom, so, it looks like our broom antenna physically making longer by the column of ions.

I have read in one old book interesting note. Reception of DX stations coming better at winter windless evening when in the home began light the oven. When I read it I though it is nonsense. How an oven can improve radio reception? But for now I understood that it is not nonsense. Smoke from a chimney goes straight in the sky at windless weather. However the smoke column is a stream of easy- ionized air, so, the column has a little conductivity. Of course, such smoke antenna may improve performance of existing antenna or by re- radiation or adding its height to the existing antenna.

 

BTW from I.G.: It is really that a Russian Oven may be treated (with some limitations) like an ion generator...

 

Note by I.G.: At first it was strange to me. Why atmospheric current that flows in the antenna wire can improve the antenna performance? Another puzzle for me: in Russia Broom Antenna has another name- low noise antenna. Lots Russian amateurs handbooks described the antenna like low noise. For example, [06] described the antenna like low noise antenna for reception. I had used the antenna in 70s, I could speak that is really low noise antenna that gave good reception. However next chapters of the articles are cleared for me the puzzle.

4. Parameters of Silent and Corona discharge

 

Lets examine volt/ current parameters of the broom antenna, i.e. how depends discharging current from potential between the air and antennas ends. If we will increase potential between the air and wires of the Broom Antenna the current that flow in the antenna also will increase. It is so called Silent Discharge that going because always there are some quantity of "free" ions in the air. Figure 3 shows Antenna Current Vs Potential between antenna wires and the air.

Russian Oven- an Ion Generator?

Low Noise Broom Antenna from [06]

 

The further increasing of the potential between the air and broom wires result to dramatically increasing free ions near the wire the ions can do further ionization of the air near the broom wires and current in the antenna wire increase significant.

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