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4NEC2 Definitive Guide
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1. Add new pattern Ins 15 200 MHz Remove pattern Del 135 Tetas 2197 dires 15 Hor gain 150 12 lt dBi 2 12 V er gain 959 lt dBi 99 Phi 0 TES agg 1 Max gain The 180 Pattern Compare Add new pattern Remove pattern Allows the adding or removal of another antenna pattern from a previous calculation This allows comparing antenna designs Chapter Two Learning Your Way Around 54 Transfer Menu Pattern F4 B Show Farfield Wearfield Compare Transfer FFtab Plot Tot gain dBi Full 3D data txt 200 MHz Multi Fr Ver txt i Multi Fr Hor txt OpenPF data pf 50 2 12 dBic 2 12 Max gain The 180 Pattern Import Import Imports Full or 3D data multiple frequency vertical plane and horizontal plane and OpenPF data files Export Exports OpenPF Full 3D and OpenPF 2D slice of an antenna pattern Chapter Two Learning Your Way Around DD Pattern FA n Show Farfield Nearfield Compare Transfer FFtab Plot Tot gain dBi l lane OpenPF Full 3D pf OpenPF 2D slice pf 200 MHz i3 135 Tot gain 212 lt dBi 2 12 Hor gain 150 2 12 dBi 2 12 V er galn 999 lt dBi 99 Phi 0 Max gam The 180 Pattern Export FFtab Menu Elevat Theta Slices Exports individual elevation calculations for each slice of the pattern Data is displayed in the default text editor Azimuth Phi Slices Exports individual azimuth calculations fo
2. eee es 103 Appendix B NEC User Manual Installation 104 Appendix C Gnuplot Installation amp Configuration 105 Appendix D ItsHF amp VOACAP Installation amp Configuration 106 4NEC2 Function Keys amp Keyboard Shortcuts Cheat Sheet 107 Mundi iui ln 107 Geometry WIndOW acus iras Se ee dee Speed Kon We ge ae uu a Rd 108 CONTENTS Pattern WOW ze cac oc as od iia Bay ir s A E UR ICQ S d we ge 110 A A Nm Argen Maitt o a EPA sers uds s EE 111 Appendix A 4NEC2 5 8 15 README File len 113 To install the 4nec2 package follow the below steps ln 113 Change DOS sega En eat 119 Introduction Thanks for downloading and reading this Definitive Guide to the widely popular 4NEC2 Antenna Modeling software 4NEC2 is a NEC based antenna modeler and optimizer developed by Arie Voors This is a 3 party book and is not connected to Arie in any way If you find mistakes in this book they are all mine The sample version of the book is complete but the full version is in progress I m releasing the sample version first to gauge interest in this book while I continue working on chapter 4 As chapters or appendices are completed they will be released as updates All updates for the sample and full version of this book are FREE and it s available in PDF ePUB and MOBI formats The full version of the book starts with chapt
3. 33 01 feet We can call that 33 feet for this demonstration When building this antenna you d want to make the overall length longer to account for the feedpoint and supporting the ends of the antenna Plus the ground underneath the antenna will also come into play so the length derived from the equation could be slightly shorter or longer Helpful Math Trick Here s a simple math trick to figure out if 468 isn t correct for your area When the dipole is installed at the length of the standard equation determine the SWR at resonance For example resonance happens to be 14 234 Mhz Slightly higher than calculated Here s the math to figure out a new constant where Original Length 33 New Resonant Freq 14 234 33 14 234 470 Now the equation for a dipole at your location is ATO J M Hz L feet Do the calculation one more time using the new constant to determine the new length and the new dipole will be resonant at the design frequency Anyway back to using 4NEC2 To draw the antenna in the Geometry Editor click on the xv toolbar button on the right use the Zoom slider to make each grid square 1 foot long then enter the design frequency in the Frequency textbox When you re done the Geometry Editor should look like this Chapter Three Building and Analyzing a Dipole Antenna 76 9 20MDipole nec Geometry Edit file changed EE File Options Edit Create Show Nec Segm info 30 xz vz xv Adaf e De A Z
4. 4 Abe aapas n Res Zoom gt Grid sf Segs Y Ends Wien Tagnr Y Snap to grid Y Snap to wire LI A Y Z EOS Wire Al n 3 Element Beam in XY Plane The driven element DE is drawn on the Y axis with the reflector REF and director D1 are drawn parallel to the Y axis and spaced along the X axis Right now this antenna is laying on the ground 4NEC2 will not like this that s where the Z axis comes in Chapter Three Building and Analyzing a Dipole Antenna 73 The Z axis is the height of the antenna above ground Working this way allows you to concentrate on drawing the antenna in two dimensions then by adding in the antenna height in the Z axis the antenna will move up in height You won t see this in the XY plane view because the Z axis is coming out of the display right at you Put your finger over the letter Z and that s where the Z axis is right now To raise the height of the antenna click on a wire then in the Wire data section add the height to the Z axis the Z axis is the highlighted text boxes e _new nec Geometry Edit file changed 0 File Options Edit Create Show Nec Segm info 3 xz vz nxv aale va 0 3 8 cpu n Res Zoom f gt Grid f V Segs M Ends Wien Tagnr Snap to arid 4 Snap to wire E A Y Z 20 13 Wire _4 gt Wire data Nr 1 Tag CN Segs Zz Radius 0 0394 in End 1 ft B fs End 2 ft 5 ss V Keep c
5. Print Ctrl P Zu 10 d 8 T B 5 4 3 e Freg 300 Mhz 0 tra SNO Nasi a i a Mun 511 0 181 amp 0 Retu LI a Loss in dE Fefl cosff l i Mouse 15 113 6 ohm 41 221 30 4 ohm Smith Chart Show View Increase Decrease the frequency to be displayed on the Smith Chart and move closer away from the generator or source Chapter Two Learning Your Way Around 65 Export e Smith Chart F11 Show WI Source Export Import 10 0 6 4 os 1 T E 15 5 2 Ps 3 3 4 2 5 p 1 10 333 0 Refl Retu Loss in dB Next frequency Right iad lt 100 3 eu gt Towards Generator gt Prev frequency Left Move to gen shift Left Mowe to load shift Right 14013 5rc nr 1 15 5 4 10 Ls 8 25 01 03 04 0 2 0 5 0 3 0 6 04 Os 0 7 DET ns 0 7 ost og 0 9 Freq 300 Mhz hi 511 0 181 amp n Fiefl caeff Mouse 56 83 2 ohm 123 221121 ohm Smith Chart View Chapter Export Import Two Learning Your Way Around E Smith Chart F11 n Show View V I Source Import Touchstone b Z par R jX Towards Generator gt GAM Z par magn ATT SWA SWA dE dB wolt ratio 333 T 999 ou and 5 par Magn 5 par dB i 20 10 SER Y 15 A 5 4 3 WE s a 5 4 z 18 1 6 4 12 11 0 0 1 l 0 2 0 6 d 0 8 3 0 4 i 7 0 2 0 5 15 5 03 B 2 Es dat c 3 3 0 5 oF 4 2 0 6 08 E 0 7 i 1 037 0 8 i 3
6. The Geometry window is detailed in the Geometry Window section Pattern Fa gt opens the Pattern window The Pattern window is detailed in the Pattern Window section Line Chart F5 Opens the Gain SWR Impedance window 3D Viewer Start select 3D viewer window The 3D Viewer is detailed in the 3D Viewer section Smith Chart F11 View interactive Smith Chart The Smith Chart is detailed in the Smith Chart section 17 Chapter Two Learning Your Way Around 18 Show File Edit Settings Calculate Window Run Help au ODA Al Excit Load info w Filename EXAMPLET out Frequene Polar notation x Show Menu Excite Load info Displays calculated information in Rectangular Form by replacing the Environment section of the Main Window p Main V5 8 15 F2 NE File Edit Settings Calculate Window Show Run Help Filename EXAMPLE out Frequency 200 Mhz Wavelength 0 999 mtr Voltage 84 3 j 0Y Current 1 18 j 3e 5A Impedance 72 1 2e 3 Seres comp Gey uH Farallel form 72 1 385 Parallel comp 1541 uH SWAB 1 44 Input power 100 Ww Efficiency 100 A Structure loss T La Radiat eff 99 59 pl Network lass T La RDF dB 214 Radiat power 100 Mw Excitatian Load data Iv Loads Polar Type Tag 5eg lmpedance Voltage Pwr SWH EXO W s 1 8 fal jz2e3 84 94 0 100 1 44 Segs patches q start stop count step Pattern lines 5329 Theta Um Ha Hi Freq E val steps 1 Phi O 360 73 5 Calcula
7. ahum explanation how to create install the 4nec2 environment Radiat eff Network loss W a Windows 95 98 ME NT 2000 XP W7 RDF dB Radiat power Wi Environment n ISPs PP IMPORTANT Starting with version 5 8 3 the none 3D style 4nec2 exe program has Loads ola FIER IDEEN become obsolete The full featured 4nec2X exe program is renamed to p s 4nec2 exe without the X and is now the default program to use ch i y In case of problems be sure you red the sections next to the below on installation steps Comment IG cesi uon Dipole in free space Comment cards install the 4nec2 package follow the below steps ee GetStarted tx End lt Extract the setup 4nec2 gxe program from the 4nec2 zip file and copy or move 5 c it into a temporary folder Seg s patches 9 start stop count step 1 _ Paltern lines pt Double click the setup 4nec2 exe program This wil automatically install 4nec2 exe Freq Eval steps 1 mp and other required files used by the 4nec2 package Calculation time Start the 4nec2 program If 4nec2 was not installed in the default folder the Open file box could show up Then krowsw to you 4nec2 models folder and select 51 It s best to start reading these files The READ mie db phe Cee Piles EH doi NOM lol ibi ane 4nec2 _ReadMeFirst txt When using 4nec2 together with a licensed Nec 4 engine instead of the default public domain Neg 2 engines read below item d first Te use GnuPlot for a
8. and far field radiation patterns Also SWR input impedance F B and or F R ratio for a range of frequency s on a linear or logarithmic graph or Smith Chart can be displayed Furthermore an optimizer and sweeper is included With this optimizer you are able to optimize antenna and or other environment variables for Gain resonance SWR efficiency and or Front to Back ratio With the sweeper you are able to graphically display the effect of changing one or more antenna and or environment variables for a specified range of values frequencies For the starting antenna modeler a graphically based 3D geometry editor is included which required no additional NEC knowledge while still enabling you to create and visualize current distribution far near field patterns and Gain SWR charts To be able to use one of both optimizers or the sweeper some basic knowledge about the NEC syntax is required So one is able to textually create NEC based geometry structures and know something about the results when using GN EX LD and FR cards Although this help file might look comprehensive this is not directly related to the complexity of the 4nec2 package but much more to the large amount of features available Considerable effort was taken to get used to 4nec2 without the need to first read the complete help file The 4nec2 tool consists of four general forms windows Main Geometry Pattern Line chart plus an Edit Matching Smith chart and an Optimizer Sw
9. antennas To add a source click on the xv then LI buttons Click the Baal button move the cursor on the grid and it will change to dark cross hairs Hold down the left mouse button and drag the source to Chapter Three Building and Analyzing a Dipole Antenna 62 the center of the dipole coordinates 0 0 The Geometry Editor will look like this i 20MDipole nec Geometry Edit file changed File Options Edit Create Show Mec Segm info a xz vzlfxv fa Rl ost lo El 4 4 Pel cera ne Y Zoom al J Grid IS W Segz W Ends Wier Tag LU T 5 YH Z 18 48 5 O Source 4 a Weil sources PEAK value Nr fio Voltage JHH HHAH HHH HHHH Tag Segm B i J O Y i V cel O deg W Fixed power level Source Added The source is the circle centered on the origin Sources will always be placed in the middle of a segment The very light gray rectangle represents that there is a ground underneath the dipole Click on the a button to see the final creation O Where Did the Dipole Go The dipole probably went off the top of the screen Use the Zoom slider to zoom the grid to 50 feet The dipole will be in view but it ll look much smaller Nothing to worry about Chapter Three Building and Analyzing a Dipole Antenna 83 ie 20MDipole nec Geometry Edit D File Options Edit Create Show Mec Segm info s xz vz xv ak on 7 SISI A bel hl ae Rr n Hes zoom Af Gnd af W S
10. sa 2H Prev Z YorXpos Left l Inc line plot Y Z pos Up 365 20 A Decr line plot Y Z pos Down 31 3 15 26 1 Change to line plot Pg up 2008 de Change to 2D view Pq down 156 3 10 4 521 7 0 25 20 15 10 5 OF 5 10 15 20 25 A 0 mtr 1 3 Ym 83 4 EXAMPLE out Max 4 0 8 0 Pattern Near field The near field calculations are vastly different than far field calculations In order to calculate the near field choose the Near Field radio button in the Generate window Both the voltage field E field and magnetic field H field can be calculated E Generate F7 Nec2dX51k5 Use original file Far Field pattern Frequency sweep Hear Field pattern wee te t tsHF 360 degree Gain table t tsHF Gain amp 30 frequencies fe Edi Hd Start Stop Step A 20 20 1 6 mt test Y 0 1 Tot points Z 0 50 2 Generate Batch Exit Calculating the Near Field Set max scale value Change the maximum value for the left scale instead of using the 4NEC2 calculated maximum value Chapter Two Learning Your Way Around 48 Inc log factor Decr log factor Changes the scaling logarithmic factor Displays a course to fine details of the E field or H field XY XZ or YZ plane Displays the XY XZ or YZ planes XY plane fixes the Z plane and displays just the X and Y planes of the near field Pattern F4 zm Show Farfield Nearfield Compare Transfer FFtab Plot H tot i
11. v Axis I Ground IY Surfaces Structure Multi colo Tot gain V er qain Hor galn Tot galn E theta E phi Qualiky 4 k FPS Tris eo 5792 Gain Quality 62 Changes the quality of the pattern Author didn t notice any perceptible changes to the pattern moving the slider back and forth Smith Chart Displays impedance and S parameters on a Smith Chart Chapter Two Learning Your Way Around 63 e Smith Chart F11 D Show View V l Source Export Import ATT SWA SWA dE de 0 398 30 i 20 15 2 3 10 g 4 10 0 1 og t 4 og 3 1 7 0 2 E 15 5 0 3 Fa 0 4 3 3 05 4 2 0 6 z 0 7 1 08 10 0 9 999 y 1 Refl Retu F Loss in dB Refl c0eff Show Towards Load lt 100 30 eu Towards Generator gt volt ratio 999 AL 20 0 5 0 6 0 7 03 0 3 Freg 300 Mhz 511 0181 0 Mouse 4 25 58 1 ohm 800 58 5 ohm 1 I Smith Chart Customize the Smith Chart normalize the chart change the grid density display rectangular results display and remove measurement points on the SWR circle and print out the chart Chapter Two Learning Your Way Around 64 Te Smith Chart F11 View V I Source Export Import Normalized Home z Towards Load lt Towards Generator gt Coarse grid G i ao n8 5rc nr 1 Polar notation X SWR circle 5 Insert Z Y Ins Delete Z Y Del
12. 152 Parallel comp 1 711 uH 5 Ww H hl 212 Input power 100 Mw Efficiency 100 Radiat eff 71 47 Structure loss T La Network lass T La p pt ROF dB B JF Radiat power 100 Mw Environment Loads Polar FINITE GROUND SOMMERFELO SOLUTION RELATIVE DIELECTRIC CONST 10 000 CONDUCTIVITY 1 0008 03 MHOS METER COMPLE DIELECTRIC CONSTANT 1 000006 01 1 25815E 00 Comment Segs patches 11 start stop count step Fatter lines 2701 Theta 30 90 far 7 5 Freq Evalsteps 13 Fi 0 sn 73 5 Calculation time Q125 s Main Window The part we re interested in is the vertical gain where is the signal going when it leaves the antenna and heads towards the horizon At above ground it looks like this Chapter Three Building and Analyzing a Dipole Antenna 66 Pattern FA 5 Show Farfield Wearfield Compare Transfer FFtab Plot Tot gain dBi 45 o 7 15 Vertical plane 14 18 MHz i T DIM ue LOREM LR 333 lt dBi lt 5 73 2 MDIPOLE out per Max gain The 60 Phi 0 180 Half Wave Vertical Gain The main lobe is 30 above the horizon over real dry sandy coastal soil What would the vertical gain look like at different heights Change the Z axis to 16 feet or about above the ground After calculation Chapter Three Building and Analyzing a Dipole Antenna 87 Pattern F4 5 Show Farfield Wearfield Compare Transfer FFtab Plot Tot gain dBi o Z Vert
13. To be able to run the 4nec2 3D viewer the Microsoft DirectX software available on your system used for 3D rendering must be Version 8 0 or later The check your current version use DirectX version on the 4nec2 Help menu or run the GetDxVersion exe program located in the 4nec2 exe folder If DirectX version 7 x or before is installed please download the latest DirectX version from www microsoft com and install this on your system Most modern computer systems 2001 and up should have an 8 0 or later version already available Note that according the microsoft website after installation of DirectX8 1 or later this version can not be removed anymore so read carefully what is written about this on the microsoft DirectX download page If you are still experiencing problems be sure you are using the latest drivers belonging to you graphics card Consult the manufacturers website to check for this The DirectX based 4nec2 version does not run on windows NT because windows NT does not allow the installation of the DirectX package You can get additional DirectX diagnostic information by running opening the DXDIAG tool from Start gt Run on the windows task bar FURTHER IMPORTANT GENERAL NOTES a If the 4nec2 help file can not be found after pressing the b In case this should not work on older systems the old version 4nec2 hlp and for direct reading the 4nec2 rtf help files are available Double click on these files to opan
14. or dipole in free space What about the measurement at your location Would comparing your real antenna to theoretical antennas be beneficial I would say yes and no Yes when discussing with your ham buddies but when it comes right down to it we re only interested in the gain of real antennas at our physical location If you d like to know what the gain of your antenna is at your location model a dipole antenna at the same height ground type and materials your antenna of interest will be made of Analyze your new antenna design then compare the two With this approach you ll have real world antenna measurements at your exact location This approach might make more sense to you but it wouldn t make sense to other hams because they won t understand a reference dipole at your location You ll also find claimed antenna gain measurements in many radio related magazine ads articles and books Now that you have an understanding of theoretical antennas the units of gain in the ads articles books should either be dBi or dBd If the units are simply dB be VERY WARY of the manufacturers gain claims Antenna gain is always compared to another antenna be it isotropic or a dipole in free space Using the Geometry Editor Getting Ready Select the Geometry Editor from the Main Window as the default editor Settings gt Geometry edit If you need to work with Imperial Units instead of Metric it can also be changed from the Main Window Settings gt Le
15. s held his call since 1982 and don t have any plans to obtain a vanity call He enjoys homebrewing and contesting from his pip squeak station in southern California Professionally he has a degree in Computer Science and Software Engineering He switched from Electrical Engineering when the internet became publicly available Currently he s a Senior Systems Engineer for a major health care provider in the United States He s been married to his best friend for 23 years and they have three boys all in college On the occasions they are being too loud he s been known to launch a denial of service attack against their gaming computers Chapter One Installation Downloading and installing 4NEC2 will be covered in this chapter Installation is straight forward and the default settings will be used throughout this book for all screen captures The author is using Windows 8 64bit for this book Screens in other operating systems may look slightly different but otherwise 4NEC2 will function identically Downloading 4NEC2 4NEC2 can be downloaded from http www qsl net 4nec2 This book will cover version 5 8 15 released in January 2015 and will be updated as new versions of 4NEC2 are released There are several different files available to download For this book you ll need to download 4nec2 setup exe from the left menu If you don t see the download menu section scroll down Simply right click on 4nec2 setup exe and save it to your desktop or
16. selected Chapter Two Learning Your Way Around 46 Next The El slice Prev The El slice Step through horizontal traces red by the configured resolution The Show both hor ver must be selected No normalization Default setting Normalize overall Show the outer ring of the graph at zero scale All calculated values are then compared to this value Normalize each 222 High low ranges Increases Decreases the scale of the graph Near Field Menu The near field of an antenna is the distance from the radiating element out to a distance less than two wavelengths lt 2 This area is critical to antenna performance and matching because if other metallic objects are within this area they could act like unintentional antennas causing a change in the magnetic field about the antenna This change in magnetic field alters the overall impedance of the antenna impacting the match to the transmitter By understanding the near field you ll have a much better understanding of how multi element antennas work Chapter Two Learning Your Way Around 47 Pattern FA 5 Show Farfield Wear field Compare Transfer FFtab Plot E tot in Y m Set max scale value Delete 300 MH gt i i 834 3g Incr log factor Alt Pg up 7B 2 Decr log factor Alt Pg down 3 9 AY XZ or YZ plane spacebar b7 8 i Smooth line plot O 62 6 573 35 Show MPE colors H 32 1 30 Next Z Y orX pos Right
17. this book Auto segmentation When checked allows long segments to automatically be broken into sub segments Default is 20 segments per halfwave length Qi Minimum Segments Minimum number of segments should be no less than 10 per half wavelength Stepped radius corr Option not available Input Power Input power in Watts used to calculate voltages and currents in the near field Char Impedance Characteristic impedance of the system in Ohms Normally 50 Ohms Pre defined Frequencies Opens the default editor where frequencies are added for frequency sweeping Pre defined Symbols Constants for Pi and wire sizes Additional constants can be added to the Freq txt file Show Circular Polar Changes the display to show circular or polar coordinate system Phi azim unit Length unit Radius unit Changes the units for azimuth as Phi Theta circular or CCW azimuth length in meters feet or radius in mm inches AWG of wire elements The next group of settings should rarely be used and will be left at their defaults for this book NEC Engine Which NEC engine to use There are several but we ll be using the default Nec2dXS exe See Directory and File Locations Appendix Chapter Two Learning Your Way Around 16 Memory Usage Optimize memory usage for number of field points number of sweep steps EX LD TL Cards number of SYmbols 3D points and patches Optimizer ItsHF Settings Other Settings Additional analysi
18. 02 0 0 reg be 3 be 3 Theta 30 Axis 2 mir Phi 280 Current Magnitudes amp Phases Log Factors Next frequency Prev frequency Step through a frequency sweep to the Next or Previous frequency used in the calculations Far field Menu Displays the far field antenna pattern on the antenna geometry Next pattern Previous pattern Displays the next or previous Phi or Theta far field patterns Change grid Rotates through vertical pattern horizontal pattern or both patterns Linear ARRL Displays the grid in linear format or ARRL format Gain as color Displays total gain in V m with corresponding magnitude legend Chapter Two Learning Your Way Around DO Show View Validate Currents Far field Near field Wire Plot E phi 4 BAND out vm 130 122 114 106 37 6 09 5 91 4 roe 65 1 56 9 40 5 40 7 325 24 4 16 3 8 14 O Theta 80 Tilt Phase Displays phase magnitude in degree Geometry F3 Axis 2 mir Gain as Color Phi 280 36 Chapter Two Learning Your Way Around 37 y Geometry F3 J Show View Validate Currents Far field Near field Wire Plot 4 BAND out E phi 50 MHz Phase 180 163 157 146 135 124 113 102 31 4 90 4 69 4 56 3 47 3 35 3 29 3 14 3 3 25 Theta 99 Axis 2 mir Phi 278 Phase as Color Axial Ratio Displays the ratio in dB between electric fields that are ninety degrees to each other on a circularly polarized antenna Antenna Sense Y
19. 180 Max gain The 75 Halfwave Vertical Gain 89 The major lobe is now 15 above the horizon but the lobe pointing straight up has been squished down some and widened What does 2A above ground look like Enter 123 for the Z axis and generate another set of results It looks like this Chapter Three Building and Analyzing a Dipole Antenna 90 Pattern FA n Show Farfield Wearfield Compare Transfer FFtab Plot Tot gain dBi 45 k o Z 15 Vertical plane 14 18 MHz O 197 lt dBi lt 5 38 150 20MDIFOLE out 165 180 Max gain The 80 Phi 0 Halfwave Vertical Gain The major lobe is now 10 above the horizon but more lobes have appeared and the straight up portion is narrower than before Conclusion Modeling antennas isn t all that difficult This example we used a 20M antenna modeled at various heights above real ground The pattern that shows for every the antenna is above ground the major lobe angle drops by about 20 It s not until we reach 1A where the major lobe is at its lowest the best for DX communications Going another wavelength higher the major lobe angle starts to increase again so going higher isn t always better Chapter Three Building and Analyzing a Dipole Antenna The following chapters are in the full version of 4NEC2 The Definitive Guide 91 Chapter Four ANEC2 Editors 4NEC2 Geometry Editor NEC Editor New NEC Editor Notepad Editor Chapter Five Ge
20. 2 12 Hor gain 15 150 0 3 dBi 0 39 V er gain 999 dBi 2 7 Phi 35 155 480 95 Max gain The 180 Pattern Indicator Info Structure Switches to the Geometry Window Inc struct size Dec struct size Increases or decreases the size of the structure supporting the antenna Print Prints out the pattern Best results obtained from a color printer Change colors Changes the colors of the Major Minor axis and traces This book will use the default settings Chapter Two Learning Your Way Around Objects Major grid Minor grid f Main trace f Trace 2 Trace 3 Trace 4 Trace 5 44 Color properties Color Red J Green al J Blue al J E ae Ex Ex n Indicator line Max gain line f 3 dB lines f Structure Pattern Change Colors Far Field Menu The far field of an antenna is the distance from the radiating element greater than 2 wavelengths gt 2 This is the field responsible for long distance communications and of primary concern to radio amateurs E Show Farfield Nearfield Compare Transfer FFtab Plot Pattern F4 Totgal v Vertical plane Vertical plane 200 MH 5how both hor ver D Show Multi pattern M 5how Bold lines B env ARRL stylescale L Font scaling Spacebar Next Phi Azslice Right Prev Phi Az slice Left 30 Next The El slice Up 2 Prev The El slice Down 10 Mo normalization Home 105 Morma
21. 5 70 S A 50 10 0 9 e ra dA 85g 05M 17 oc i Freq 300 Mhz 9994 1 1 l i E 211 0181 0 Refl Metu F LU Lossin dE Refl coeff Mouse 12 4 72 ohm 14 4 34 2 ohm Smith Chart Export Smith Chart data in Touchstone or GAM formats 66 Chapter Two Learning Your Way Around 67 9 Smith Chart F11 Show View WISource Export er sed n 30 an gt Towards Generator gt ATT SWA SWA dE dE voltratio GAM Src nr 1 0 ii 399 C P 20 i icr i 20 10 i 2 DE 40 15 Na A 2 i 25 0 Mad 04 3 10 3 AAA ap z E i CA 8 5 j CE la vi E 03 20 i Es Cud Mines A Y SS UE EHE 2 A LARA A RAI 1 j 1 y x 8K cen CX A8 i y f EA Tr Y r j pan M A Re ad LS 10 Li 44 AA AREA Deo HE REST NI E UT JJ l I LLL ao ae fi 01715702 0304 05 O87 08097 Te 818 E META i i i I i AAA ener POET E MEER SO uo KS EE i i i e Vd Tr 0 mer B2 di i e II STE A n3 ET CI SA Ten IMP ag ES dip 4e RR se PREFE a i 0 7 1 x O en 5 os 0 4 160 264 x z Pn O y Ag 20 7 02 ri A ata f A ax CAU TE S s zi B4 DIA RAI LA 5 15 E C ue Ad 30 4 0 4 a 0 4 ka UU dl E 3 Ea ost 0 7 a 78 MB 31 5 E 44 40 4 0 6 i i or EN 0 6 As A 1 og og 13 4 7 dA c 50 i o da rasa del e d Freq 300 Mhz 883 0 1 1 zit i i 511 0181 2 0 Ref Retu FP u Lossin dB Refl coeff Mouse 11 25 3 ohm 70 8 30 3 ohm Smith Chart Import Import Smi
22. ANEC2 The Definitive Guide Mark Schoonover 4NEC2 Definitive Guide Mark Schoonover KA6WKE 2015 Mark Schoonover KA6WKE I d first like to apologize to all my junior and senior high school English teachers when I told them writing isn t fun If it wasn t this book would have never been written I d like to thank my wife and children for tolerating this great hobby of Amateur Radio despite setting off smoke alarms and other RFI that infiltrated their computers the Donald Duck voices and that incessant beeping I love as Morse Code I d like to thank my long time friend Paul Cater WD8OSU for the time we ve spent together bending the ionosphere to our will I learned so much from you thank you for being such a great friend Another long time friend is Otto Tune KV7J SK who really pushed my CW skills hard during many MARS CW nets and taught me the fine art of Front Panel Troubleshooting Nearly last but not least are my parents for introducing me to Dennis Langheir K2CEC SK that sparked my love for all things electronics and especially Amateur Radio Sorry about hearing Morse Code at 2 AM out of your alarm clock radio when I was a teenager The DX was worth it This book is dedicated to Dennis Langhier K2CEC SK and Edward Otto Tune KV73 SK This is a 90 minute at a time publication Contents IMtroductio n sabs ok ee y ac Ea a dr ia ati 1 CODVEDDODS x ca ads a o A E AA 1 PCARGGUIRCINGUIES s 2 5 aia Sob SS A S
23. CL3600 exe nec4dCL7500 exe and nec4dCL10600 exe After this click Settings gt NEC engine gt Nec4d exe on the Main window to let 4nec2 know it must use the Nec4d exe executable instead of the default nec2d XS exe files to calculate results Place your Nec4UsersMan pdf file in the 4nec2 folder for easy access through the 4nec2 Help function Note however that Nec 4 is a licensed product so no Nec4 engines are included in the 4nec2 package A Nec 4 license and corresponding executable files can be purchased at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory LLN Due to the fact that the Nec4d exe files as delivered on the LLN CD are not built with command line argument and or input file redirection support the starting and file name interfacing between 4nec2 and the Nec4d exe engines is somewhat cumber some You could contact Jerry Burke at LLN to see if he is willing to create a special Nec4d exe file including command line support for you or you could compile your own Nec4d exe file using the freeware G77 fortran compiler If so let me know and I will include the command line support for the Nec 4 engine into 4nec2 Because of the above it s possible that after a system re boot the first time the Nec4d engine is called an exception is generated due to a time out when loading the Nec4d program file You can avoid this by doing a single manual start of the Nec4d exe executable so it s loaded in your system cache When
24. IE a Gid 1 ft Res Zoom s Grid f v Segs M Ends wien Tagnr v Snap to grid Iw Snap to wire LI ud E aa Frequency avs Mhz Wavelength 21 15 Mtr Use extended thin wire kernel Editor Configuration Now that the Geometry Editor is configured click on the EG button then draw a line as evenly as possible along the Y axis with half the wire on the negative Y axis and the other half on the positive Y axis Click OK on the Wire Radius dialog box Chapter Three Building and Analyzing a Dipole Antenna 77 Wire radius first element in OK Cancel 0 0354 Wire Radius There s a few more configuration steps before analysis This dipole will be made out of 14AWG wire and right now it s 32 feet long We need 33 feet so enter 5 in both Y axis textboxes The dipole is one long segment that needs to be changed as well Enter the following into their respective textboxes e Segs 11 e Radius 14 e End 1 ft 16 5 e End 2 ft 16 5 Segments are Odd O 8 Remember to choose an odd number of segments This makes it much easier to place the source right in the middle of the dipole The geometry editor should look like this Chapter Three Building and Analyzing a Dipole Antenna 78 Ust 20MDipole nec Geometry Edit file changed H X File Options Edit Create Show Nec Segm info am xz vz xv aale Dal 7 e ss 4 a cara ne Zoom Grid f Se
25. L Pi T Matching FI gt View interactive Smith Chart Fiz gt Opens Optimizer Frequency Sweep window Keyboard Shortcuts gt Exciter Load Info Window gt Polar notation Carl O gt Open 4NEC2 file Carl P Print current window Cu 5 gt Save 4NEC2 output file 4NEC2 Function Keys amp Keyboard Shortcuts Cheat Sheet Carl Z Esc Or gt Quit 4NEC2 Car Fl gt Use Notepad Edit Cu F2 Use NEC editor Cn F3 gt Use Geometry Edit or Cul FA Use NEC editor new Geometry Window Function Keys Sisi Fd Es m gt Export Structure Keyboard Shortcuts A gt Auto segm log B gt Current Phase C gt Current magnitude D gt Last NEC input E gt Open ends F gt Fix rot center G gt Change orientation gt Input file J Junctions gt 2 gt Step rad log N gt Wire Numbers O gt Output file P Phase only El gt Run geometry check R gt Near Far field 108 4NEC2 Function Keys amp Keyboard Shortcuts Cheat Sheet te oe POE E de dp ae E O AH AH AH AH gt Segments Tag Numbers Use traditional disp Struc Wire load Polar notation Current real Show geo check Current imaginary Segm L ength Segm R adius Segm Len Rad Junc L big L small Junc R big R small Len Rad ourface patch Area Run segment checks Show all seg checks Reset Zoom In Zoom Out Next freq
26. Series comp Gey uH Parallel comp 1641 UH Input power 100 WwW Structure loss gg uw Network loss 0 uW Hadiatpower 100 Ww Loads Polar Example 1 See GetStarted tet Segs patches 9 Pattern lines T Freq E val steps 1 Calculation time 0000 s Dipole in free space Comment cards Ends start stop count step Tea T EL WT WT WW 4NEC2 Main Window Chapter Two Learning Your Way Around Menus Files Main V5 8 15 F2 na Edit Settings Calculate Window Show Run Help Open 4nec in out file Ctrl 0 Save Output file as Ctrl S Import Far Field data OpenPF pf Ctrl P Ctrl Z Full 3D data txt Multi Fr Ver txt Multi Fr Hor txt Exit Esc or CAINEC2ZAMODELSXERAMPLET MEC CMINECZAMODELSXHFBEAMSA2L Y AGI20 NEC CMINEC2ZAMODELSXHFBEAMSASABQ MEC CAINECZAMODELSSHFMULTIBAND A BAND NEC FREE SPALE Comment Example 1 Dipole in free space See GetStarted tet Seg s patches q start stop count step Pattern lines 5328 Theta 480 180 73 F Freq E val steps 1 Phi o 360 73 F Calculation time 0 047 amp File Menu Open 4nec2 in out file Used to open existing 4NEC2 input or output files Save Output file as Save current open 4NEC2 file to another filename Import Far Field Data Far Field Data is used by HF propagation prediction software Print Print 4NEC2 project to your printe
27. Ti Geometry Builder V2 5 EXE Patch Plane Box Cylinder Parabola Helix Sphere Help Patch Length x1 Length 2 Length Y 2 sections Y sections Use Surface patches Start with tagnumber n Rotate X Y Z o o io I symbols also allowed Move X Y Z rT E xit Geometry Builder The Geometry Builder is detailed in the Geometry Builder section Picture Viewer Displays plots saved in graphic format or plot files Chapter Two Learning Your Way Around 21 ES Picture Viewer v2 0 da File View Help Picture Viewer ItsHF This menu section is covered in the ItsHF Chapter in the full version of this book Toolbar Open NEC File Far Near Field Show 4NEC2 Help Display Main Window Line Chart Optimizer 3D Viewer Smith Chart Matching Edit NEC input file View NEC user manual 3D Geometry Calc new NEC output Save Output File as View NEC output file Main Toolbar Chapter Two Learning Your Way Around Remainder of Main Window Main V5 8 15 F2 File Edit Settings Calculate Window Show Run 22 EN Help at 106218 Ia EL Filename EXAMPLE 1 nut Voltage 849 j0V Impedance 721 j2e3 Parallel form 72 1 j 385 544 A 50 1 44 Efficiency 100 ka Hadiat elf z RDF dB Environment FREE SPACE Comment Frequency 300 Mhz Wavelength 03999 mtr Current 1 18 3e 5 Series comp Ye uH Parallel comp 1647 UH Input power 100 WwW Structure l
28. Z Y or X pos Prev Z Y or X pos Clicking on the pattern displayed will show a cross hair at the location of the mouse click Using the arrow keys will move this cross hair around the pattern Chapter Two Learning Your Way Around 51 Pattern F4 Show Farfield Mearfield Compare Transfer FFtab Plot H tot in mA m 46 37 m m for 4 4 D 4 0 200 MB 7 232 gn 217 203 188 40 174 153 145 30 130 116 101 20 06 3 r25 se 10 135 5 29 145 0 25 20 15 10 5 O A 10 15 20 25 X D mtr 3 44 m amp m 232 EXAMPLE 1_out Max lt 0 8 0 45 3a z5 15 O Next Prev X Y Z Inc line plot Y Z pos Decr line plot Y Z pos Increases or decreases the Y axis and Z axis on the line plot view of the near field pattern Must be viewing the near field as a line plot Change to line plot Changes near field pattern to display X Y Z values as a line plot Chapter Two Learning Your Way Around Change to 2D view E Pattern F4 E Show Farfield Mearfield Compare Transfer FFtab Plot Near Field in m m T 0 4 mtr 300 MH H 232 182 132 H tat Hz H y Hx 31 8 25 20 15 10 5 0 5 10 15 40 2 A Y 0 4 mtr EXAMPLE1 out Near Field Line Plot Changes from line plot view to 2D view of the near field pattern 52 Chapter Two Learning Your Way Around 93 Compare Menu Pattern F4 n Show Farfield Wear field Transfer FFtab Plot Tot gain dBi Compare
29. a s lv Ends Wien Tagnr Y Snap to grid Snap to wire LI Y J Z EAN wie 4 lol Wire data Nr weh Bi End 1 ft io io End 2 ft oOo io w Keep connected FixE 1 C FixE 2 Thet 90 Phi 270 Antenna Details One more issue to address and that s getting the antenna off the ground We ll analyze this antenna at above the ground which is 33 feet Remember the Z axis is for height above ground so enter 33 into both End 1 and End 2 text boxes Chapter Three Building and Analyzing a Dipole Antenna 9 20MDipole nec Geometry Edit file changed File Options Edit Create Show Nec Segm info x2 vz av asa pel The dipole is now 33 feet long with 11 segments and is 33 feet above ground O Just One Wire 7 ejx 4 4 fo mm Antenna Details 79 DEE Grid 7 ft Res Zoom gt Grid Sea s w Ends Wien Tagnr WV Snap to grid Y Snap to wire LI Y Z aa Wire gt Wire data Nr f Tag 1 Segs um Radius E 4 v End 1 ft o fies End 2 ft o fies FixE 1 C FixE 2 Length 33 ft Thet 90 Phi 270 This dipole is a single wire in 4NEC2 and not cut in half like a physical antenna 4NEC2 understands this so don t worry about it Chapter Three Building and Analyzing a Dipole Antenna 80 Adding Ground Underneath the Dipole 4NEC2 has a wide
30. actor AH Page e gt Decr log factor far P gt Print Carl gt Change colors gt Show Vertical Plane gt Each tap will display XY XZ or YZ Plane Smith Chart Keyboard Shortcuts gt Course grid SWR Circle gt Polar Notation 111 4NEC2 Function Keys amp Keyboard Shortcuts Cheat Sheet Homo gt Normalized ES gt Insert Z Y ES gt Delete Z Y gt Next frequency gt Prev frequency Con P Print EM gt Move to gen E NW gt Move to load 112 Appendix A ANEC2 5 8 15 README File version 5 8 8 Short ahum explanation how to create install the 4nec2 environment Windows 95 98 ME NT 2000 XP W7 IMPORTANT Starting with version 5 8 3 the none 3D style 4nec2 exe program has become obsolete The full featured 4nec2X exe program is renamed to 4nec2 exe without the X and is now the default program to use In case of problems be sure you read the sections below the installation steps To install the 4nec2 package follow the below steps 1 Extract the setup 4nec2 exe program from the 4nec2 zip file and copy or move it into a temporary folder 2 Double click the setup 4nec2 exe program This will automatically install 4nec2 exe and other required files used by the 4nec2 package 3 Start the 4nec2 program If 4nec2 was not installed in the default folder theOpen file box could show up Then browse to you 4nec2 models folder and
31. and read them c When key s F6 Edit input file F8 View output file and or Help gt Nec2 user manual won t work you probably have a different path to the Notepad Wordpad or Word text editor s You may customize these by changing the folder settings in the Settings gt Folders gt xxx editor menu on the Main F2 window To locate your Notepad Wordpad or Word text editor executables NOTEPAD EXE WORDPAD EXE or WINWORD EXE use Start gt find gt files or folders on your windows task bar d Somewhere around mid 2013 the nec4 2 version became available If you have the command line based NEC42W32CL exe or NEC42W64CL exe versions available in your Nec4 package and you would like to use this please first specify that you are using a Nec4 base engine by selecting Settings gt Nec engine gt Nec4d exe After this manually specify the name for the fixed Nec4 engine to use You do this by selecting Settings gt Nec engine gt Manual select Appendix A 4NEC2 5 8 15 README File 115 and specify the Nec4 2 engine name e g NEC42W32CL EXE After OK fill in the max number of segments to use Any number below 32000 is accepted Below is the description for using 4nec2 with the older Nec4D exe engines When using 4nec2 with a Nec 4 engine it is required to copy a number of Nec4 engine files from your NEC4 CD into the 4nec2 exe folder these are nec4dCL600 exe nec4dCL1200 exe nec4dCL2000 exe nec4d
32. ar field Segm Flot EXAMPLE cut 300 HHz A Theta 80 Axis 0 2 mtr Ph 280 Geometry Chapter Two Learning Your Way Around 26 Show Menu va Geometry F3 A View Validate Currents Far field Wear field Segm Plot Input file T 300 MHz Output file O Wire numbers Tag numbers Open ends Junctions gt 2 Segments Struc Wire load Mear Far field R Povray 3 Export Structure Shift G Print Ctrl P Export Far field Shift R Change colors Ctrl Q Phi 280 Geometry Show Input file Output file View antenna geometry based upon the input file data or the 4NEC2 calculated output file Wire numbers Displays the number of wires in the antenna design Tag Numbers Displays the Tag number of the wire Each wire should have different Tag numbers Wire numbers and Tag numbers are displayed at the center of the wire It s easy to confuse these numbers Use the Show menu to check which number is being displayed Open ends Displays red filled circles on wire ends that are not attached to anything Junctions 22 Displays the number of junctions on the antenna Segments Displays each segment between a set of empty circles that are the same color as the wire Struc Wire load Displays in a brown line the load on the wire or structure IE tubing Chapter Two Learning Your Way Around 27 Near Far field Displays vertical El amp horizontal Az antenna pattern lines Povray gt Export Stru
33. ays the current values for Phi Azimuth amp Theta Elevation as the antenna pattern is rotated Zoom Zooms into the antenna pattern Can view the far field area around the feed point Ident View a specific segment or tag within the far field area Chapter Two Learning Your Way Around 60 Res Resets the pattern to the center of the window Rotc Selects which segment to be the center of rotation ri ai 1 Col Displays instructions on how to change the color settings Use True Rad Toggles between the true radius of the segments and relative radius of the elements Axis Checkbox Hides the X Y and Z axis from the display Structure Displays or hides the antenna structure under analysis Hide patt Displays or hides the antenna pattern under analysis Displays different far field slices in 3D Chapter Two Learning Your Way Around 3D Viewer F9 EXAMPLE out 300 Mhz Ax 2 mtr Fhi 74 21 x zoom gt Roc Col Relrad q k v Axis I Ground 4 Surfaces Structure Multi colo Pattern Multi color Transparent 2D slice DO Mult col Qualiky 4 k FPS Tris eo 5792 Slices Tot gain Displays the Vertical Horizontal Total Gain pattern including E fields of Phi and Theta 61 Chapter Two Learning Your Way Around 3D Viewer F9 EXAMPLE out 300 Mhz Ax 02 mtr Theta Phu fra 21 x zoom gt Roto Cal Relrad 0
34. cture Povray gt Export Far field Only used in the Standard version of 4NEC2 View Menu m Geometry F3 02 Show Validate Currents Far field Near field Segm Plot EA Reset Home 300 MHz Fix rot center F Zoom in Pg up Zoom out Pg down Shift Left Ctri Left Shift right Ctrl Right Shift up Ctrl Up Shift down Ctrl Down Last NEC input D Auto segm log A Step rad log K SYmbol conversion Shft Y Theta D Phi 280 Geometry View Reset Returns antenna geometry to the center of the screen and default view Fix rot center Fixes the center of rotation of the antenna Makes it easier to rotate about a fixed point Zoom in Zoom out Shift left Shift right Shift up Shift down Zoom in and out of the geometry Shifting moves the geometry around the Geometry Window Last NEC input Displays the NEC input data in raw form using the default text editor Auto segm log Step rad log Not available SYmbol conversion Opens the symbol log file in the default text editor for custom symbols and their definitions This is discussed in Chapter 4 NEC Editors in the full version of this book Chapter Two Learning Your Way Around 28 Validate Menu m Geometry F3 2 Show View Currents Far field Near field Segm Plot EXAMPLE 1 1 Run geometry check QY 300 MHz Show geo check Y Set auto geo check Run segment checks 9 Show all seg checks D Segm L ength T Segm R adius fs X Segm Len Ra
35. d EJ June L big Lsmall 4 Junc R big R small 5 Junc Len Rad B Surface patch area 7 Phi 280 Theta 80 Geometry Validate Run geometry check Manually validate the geometry of the antenna Show geo check Displays the geometry check results log file Set Auto geo check Configures 4NEC2 to automatically check antenna geometry Qi It s best to leave this selected Run segment checks Checks each segment for validity then displays the results from the Model log file in the default text editor Show all seg checks Shows all the segment checks from the antenna geometry Segm L ength Validates segment length Default in Meters Segm R adius Validates the segment radius Default in Meters Chapter Two Learning Your Way Around Segm Len Rad Validates segment length and radius as a ratio Junc L big L small du Junc R big R small 20 Junc Len Rad P Surface patch area Validates the patch area on antennas so designed Currents Menu m Geometry F3 zB Show View Validate Far field Near field Segm Plot EXAMPLE out Current magnitude C Phase only P Current Phase E Current real Y Current imaginary Z Magnitude as color M Phase as color Shift P Change orientation G Use traditional disp U Incr Log factor Alt Pg up Decr log factor Alt Pg down Theta 80 Next frequency Right Prev frequency Left Geometry Currents Qi Zoom in ou
36. d d Decrease lines Increase lines Decreases or increases the number of lines representing the far field antenna pattern Near field Menu Displays the Near field antenna pattern This is covered in the Pattern Window section Chapter Two Learning Your Way Around 38 Wire Menu Geometry F3 2 Show View Validate Currents Far field Mear field 4 BAND_out Identify W S 50 HHz Identify Tag Shift 7 Mext Alt Right Previous Alt Left Set as Center Alt Home Polar notation X oS ON PTA OY ha cc LTT EN 7 pil n F q W E HT HE t se NS P La aia PAR VERE Y N I E A FTT T rs zi Lir Og Lr fg i F i cat F F I l E Theta 99 Axis 2 mir Phi 278 Wire Menu Identify W S Identify Tag Display a specific wire number segment number or tag number in the antenna geometry The found wire segment tag will be displayed in a bright green color A Wire segment information box will be displayed showing relevant information on the specific segment Chapter Two Learning Your Way Around is Geometry F3 NQ Show View Validate Currents Far field Wear field Wire Plot 4 BAND out AV ae a y 229 X a z UR W de LI r i A E 1 ee L sl LN ss S A Y AT e SM SE an presa EZ S Q e n T F4 LU A DI ITA SP ADO o Di Y
37. dditional plotting download GnuPlot version 4 0 from the 4nec2 website and unpack the gp400win32 zip file into one or the other folder on M CO Words 288 Characters 2160 4 1 2015 4NEC2 Installed On the desktop there should be three new icons 4NEC2 Desktop Icons Additional 4NEC2 information is located in C 4nec2 directory The _GettingStarted txt file may be slightly out of date but feel free to use as needed This completes the default 4NEC2 installation Chapter Two Learning Your Way Around Let s work our way through the 4NEC2 user interface Double click on the 4nec2 desktop icon 4NEC2 Desktop Icon to launch the program When first started 4NEC2 will display two windows the Main Window and the Geometry Window Keep the Help File in mind as well Finding Help 4NEC2 comes with context sensitive Help To access Help at the point you want additional information press the L key From the 4NEC2 website there s also a forum dedicated to the software and can be found at the 4NEC2 forums General antenna discussions can be found on the eHAM net antenna forum and the QRZ com antenna forum as well There is a Yahoo Group dedicated to this book It s a closed group for discussing the book asking for clarifications or taking the author to task for an egregious error To subscribe send an email to 4nec2defguide subscribe yahoogroups com or from Yahoo Groups web GUI https groups yah
38. downloads folder 4NEC2 can be installed from any directory Installing 4NEC2 and Configuration Extract 4NEC2 by right clicking on the 4nec2 zip file and select Extract A11 from the flyout menu Double click on the 4nec2 folder that was created then double click again on the Setup4nec2 exe file The following window will appear http www qsl net 4nec2 Chapter One Installation Setup 4nec2 c Welcome to the 4nec2 Setup Wizard This will install 4nec2 full version 5 8 15 on your computer It is recommended that you close all other applications before continuing Click Next to continue or Cancel to exit Setup 4NEC2 Opening Screen Click Next to continue and Next again to accept the default installation directory 15 Setup 4nec2 Destination Location Where should 4nec be installed A Setup will install 4nec2 into the following folder A least 13 6 MB of free disk space is required lt Back Nex Cancel 4NEC2 Default Installation Directory The Start Menu window will be displayed Chapter One Installation 15 Setup 4nec2 Where should Setup place the program s shortcuts A Setup will create the program s shortcuts in the following Stat Menu folder To continue click Nest If you would like to select a different folder click Browse Dont create a Start Menu folder p Add to the Windows Start Menu Click Next to continue The create desktop icon window will be di
39. e Introduction 2 Program Specific Text Program specific text IE menu text and screen output etc will look like this Program Specific Text a fixed monospaced font Warnings Tips Errors Information A This is a warning Warning this is a warning Qi This is a tip Tips look like this 1K This is an error ERROR Antennas work the first time they re built This is just info O J QST QST Bulletin about 4NEC2 Definitive Guide PC Requirements Just about all computers of recent vintage can run 4NEC2 without issues Obviously the more memory and CPU speed you have the faster the analysis will go and the more complex of an antenna that can be analyzed Supported Operating Systems Basic functionality was tested on the following operating systems e Windows XP SP3 e Windows 7 64bit e Windows 8 64bit Running 4NEC2 under Linux Wine will be tested and documented in a later version of this book 4NEC2 most likely works on Windows 32bit versions as well but the author doesn t use 32bit versions of operating systems About the Author Mark Schoonover has been licensed since 1982 when he got his Novice license on a wager with his dad If he didn t pass his Novice test he had to mow the lawn for FREE all summer break He got his General license in 1983 from the now long closed FCC Field Office in San Francisco Upon his return from Navy active duty in 1987 he got his Advanced license Around 2000 he got his Extra He
40. e aa E ee TES eS 95 CONTENTS Chapter Eight Graphing with gnuplot enn 96 Chapter Nine Using ItsHF amp VOACAP 000000 pee 97 A E A A D 97 AFC COVCCACC s su oe A AR ae d Dr ARA RA enni 97 Pointo PONT 2 3 po o a eo ee e a A do ix deu iod 97 Chapter Ten Verticals sido ral de Nora ore ai 98 Ver o NV a xs so cesoie an Xie OR TROU UPS card ue e t Bn 98 OGAE WAVE adele e ARR LL a ee 98 Hola y 2 au RASOIO Ae e aa 98 SANGRO SOTTOTETTO VETTE 98 Chapter Eleven Multi Element e 99 Ddl dc de dic eta TT 99 LOS FENGU arie AAA AN A M ER 99 LOODS wes SIME P Su dL SP d uius HM mde RE SE S anb au gu se 99 Chapter Twelve Loops a dear deter eio eee OR de eoe LEA MERE Node 100 DIO Dant LOOPS ae dae a dr ares diced cs uode ee 100 Nou ttibadd LOOPS s e s du e them re oe dee e foe AIR 100 Magnetic LOOPS c nica ad dre a s eed oe Y ao eden Blue Speo aids 100 Chapter Thirteen Modeling Mobile Antennas 101 Chapter Fourteen Circular VHF UHF Satellite Antennas 102 Chapter Fifteen Antenna Menagerie LL 103 lau uu dici i dei deh eta 103 ROMADIES ARR pa eee a eee ek e A x EE 103 lg aq eG ge ae ee AAA ee Rei 103 D COMES c e Tp ode od ek Re Sx dus A eS AA 103 ECO ares Ste he Ne ee AREA Ue eO ee V 103 BON Maru PE CT ccr 103 2 4 GHz Pringles WiFi Antenna padri x oS ON REIR i CR e d d 103 2 4GHz High Gain Loop WiFi Antenna
41. ed ab dew eps 2 Aboutthe ACIDOS 3 52 1 39 eodd qe oes Low utr doom Te dr eo A seres KAO fees 3 Chapter One Installation 45 5 5 od oh ack eh e oe e cw 94 X AUR Xe X X le XS cw ES 4 Downloade ANEC a misa a dd ao bee p Lu So uns 4 Installing 4NEC2 and Configuration oaoa 4 Chapter Two Learning Your Way Around 10 Finding Be pis 6 8 gta d tek Se Bole wee Boe Br ra pn Hew EE nt 10 Mal Ey arci ria hh a ao 12 Geometry WINDOW a Hac Swe ae 3909 9 d uh ot Den i Seti OE diu d Robe 6 de na 25 PAESE EOD e E ub cute d VM REP de A arcte om qus cat dr hide Mta 41 9D Viewer WITOONW e addet mecnm cetero Rote RU e Mow dL ls da 58 exin MP M 62 Geomelr DUTIGEE 4 4 223 96 099 di Oe tek dd d deese dba ii 67 Chapter Three Building and Analyzing a Dipole Antenna 69 A Word or Three about Theoretical VS Real Antennas lll 69 Using the Geomethy Edit cca intitola AC IRR Eee RC A 71 Pray Zine the RESU Ss saca dri ee oh ARR BOK Son Ba Vou ws de a ups els dei d 83 COTICIUS TOT dela Quum o rra des RR dert des 90 Chapter Four 4NEC2 Editors usino LA 92 ANEC2 Geometty EI Lx uos o ide e eed de Dv ed ni 92 NEC BEditoP NOW bs xc a denar eh dah He elo a meu a 92 NEC Eder s moo Se e a Ao oe id RIMA 92 Notepad Editor a as x29 9 CE CHEESE EUR RA GE AR ARR RIA 92 Chapter Five Geometry Builder 22h 93 Chapter Six Optimizer isidro 0004 2 4 234455646484 48485 94 Chapter Seven L Pi T Matching viaria ee
42. eeper form Each form contains a menu bar with menu options Most of these menu options speak for themselves Try out each of these menu options and see what the results are However there are some options who are more difficult to understand These options are discussed in more detail further on in this help file To get specific context sensitive help for a certain window form just push the F1 when the form window is on top When the 4nec2X eXtended version is installed the real time 3D viewer is also available for use However this version requires a more modern computer system and graphics card In all the forms you can process the general buttons F1 to F12 Ctrl O and Ctrl Z Esc These buttons for which also a menu option is included in the Main form have the following meaning Y F1 Display this help file F2 Select Main form F3 Select Geometry form F4 Select Pattern form F5 Select Line chart form F6 View or Edit 4 nec2 input data IRE elet 4NEC2 Main Help Screen v Chapter Two Learning Your Way Around Main Window Y Main V5 8 15 F2 Calculate Window Show Run 219 e MB File Edit Settings Filename EXAMPLET out Voltage 849 0 V Impedance 721 j2e3 Parallel form 72 1 3 amp 5 5 Ww H hl 1 44 Efficiency 100 pl Hadiat elf FA RDF dB Environment FREE SPACE Comment 12 NNI Help Frequency 300 Mhe Wavelength 03999 mtr Current 1 18 3e 5
43. egz Iw Ends Wien Tag nr S spome M Theta Fhi TE 247 Wire A Wire data Mr n d Ta Segs 11 x Radius H14 End 1 ft E 116 5 33 End 2 ft O 1 6 5 33 W Keep connected le FigE 1 Fix E 2 Length 33 ft Thet 30 Phi 270 Source Added Analyzing the Results Now it s time to analyze this dipole Click on the Hl button on the far right side of the Geometry Editor the Generate window will be displayed Select Far Field Chapter Three Building and Analyzing a Dipole Antenna 64 BB Generate F7 Nec2dXS1k5 C Use original file Freq 14 17 v C Frequency sweep C Near Field pattern from file ItsHF 360 degree Gain table tsHF Gain 30 frequencies G Full C Ver C Hor Resol 5 deg Surface wave Hun Average Gain Test E fld distance Expert settings Generate Batch E xit Source Added Click on the Generate button What do the results look like The Main Window gives us the electrical details of our dipole at a half wavelength above ground We know the feedpoint impedance S W R radiation efficiency etc Chapter Three Building and Analyzing a Dipole Antenna 65 1 Main V5 8 15 F2 zm File Edit Settings Calculate Window Show Run Help at iama aale p EL mal Filename 2OMDIPOLE out Frequency 1418 Mhz Wavelength 21 15 mtr Voltage 95 1 UV Current 104 0634 Impedance 57 5 41 Seres comp 0 46 uH Parallel form 92 4 2 j
44. er 4 that covers the different 4NEC2 editors The Geometry Editor due to it s complexities warrants its own chapter Other chapters will include using the optimizer and matching tools using gnuplot for high resolution graphs using ItsHF and VOACAP with the remaining chapters on design and analysis of various kinds of antennas such as verticals multi element loops satellite and a grab bag of antennas the author finds interesting If you d like to give feedback please do There are several ways to give feedback Via Leanpub 4NEC2 Definitive Guide feedback page There is a Yahoo Group dedicated to this book It s a closed group for discussing the book asking for clarifications or taking the author to task for an egregious error To subscribe send an email to 4nec2defguide subscribe yahoogroups com or from Yahoo Groups web GUI https groups yahoo com 4nec2defguide If you re a Facebook user you can like this book there too https www facebook com 4nec2defguide Conventions Selecting Menus Directions to which menu to use is shown as Edit gt Copy where the menu is left of the gt and the menu option is to the right of the gt Sub menus are shown as Run gt Quickly gt possible Both menus and their options matches what is shown in the program https leanpub com 4nec2definitiveguide feedback 4nec2defguide subscribe yahoogroups com https groups yahoo com 4nec2defguide https www facebook com 4nec2defguid
45. es Chapter Two Learning Your Way Around 33 y Geometry F3 EE Show View Validate Currents Far field Near field Segm Plot 4 BAND out 50 HHz Amp 1 77 1 56 1 55 1 44 1 33 1 22 1 11 1 0 83 0 78 0 67 0 56 0 45 0 34 0 23 0 12 be 3 Theta 117 Axis 1 mtr Phi 289 Current Magnitudes Phase as color Displays a color legend and phase in different colors corresponding to phase calculations Chapter Two Learning Your Way Around 34 y Geometry F3 EE Show View Validate Currents Far field Near field Segm Plot 4 BAND out 50 HHz deg 157 136 116 35 2 74 6 54 1 i gt 33 6 13 1 N FA A 20 46 E3 30 110 131 151 172 Theta 117 Axis 1 mtr Phi 289 Current Phase Change orientation 27 Use traditional disp Removes the curves from the magnitude and phase displays Incr Log factor Decr log factor Increase or decrease the logarithmic calculation Helps with very small magnitudes and phases by increasing or decreasing the height of the curves displaying current and phase magnitudes Chapter Two Learning Your Way Around Geometry F3 B Y Show View Validate Currents Far field Near field Segm Plot 4 BAND out 50 HHz Amp 1 7 1 43 1 14 0 83 0 68 05 S A AY f 0 38 I A AIT S FA Lg 0 27 TANE 4 Ec N HF KW x RON ADE e 0 18 ISP HALA BE L3 T 4 i PR N CES CL S iN Lm MAN E CP GE Rm 0 07 V T p I ANA MUP Ow OG a HS 0 04 0
46. hortcut named 4NEC2 without extensions open its properties by clicking on it with right mouse button select the Memory tab in the Initial Environment combo box make the choice 4096 instead of the default Auto e click Apply then Ok Try to execute the program again now it should work ok m Due to the DOS based nature of the original nec2 engine filenames are internally truncated to 8 characters Normally this should work fine however if white spaces are embedded in your file name the truncation might fail so don t use white spaces in your file names Furthermore the maximum file name length for gnd files is restricted to 8 characters When you run a lot of different high freq cond diel settings it is occasionally possible you get an Error on groundfile message It this is the case remove all gnd files and try again n When no out output is generated by your Nec 2 4 engine check the OUT folder please set the Wait for DOS box option in Settings gt Other settings on the Main form to see what error message is logged Furthermore you could temporary remove the echo off line in the 4nec2 bat file in the EXE folder by adding the characters rem before it This should deliver even more logging 0 If an out of environment space error is generated please re read item k or consult the Out of env space txt file included in the package p If you enjoy this software you could send me a
47. ials used in the concstruction of the antenna Network loss Power in microwatts 10 that s lost due to the matching network at the antenna feedpoint Radiat Power Amount of power in watts that s radiated by the antenna Environment Large textbox that displays the type of environment the antenna is analyzed in This information can change depending if the Loads checkbox is checked Comment Additional information contained in the comment section of the NEC input file This information can change depending if the Loads checkbox is checked Chapter Two Learning Your Way Around 24 Seg s patches The number of subsegments or patches the antenna has been divided into for analysis Pattern Lines Number of lines calculated for all the segments Freq Eval steps Displays the number of frequency or evaluation steps Analysis at a single frequency will display a 1 Analysis with frequency sweeps or multiple steps will display a number greater than 1 Calculation time Elapsed time 4NEC2 required to complete the antenna analysis Theta Start Stop number of degrees in the vertical plane Elevation Count total number of steps Step how many degrees in each step Phi Start Stop number of degrees in the horizontal plane Azimuth Count total number of steps Step how many degrees in each step Chapter Two Learning Your Way Around 25 Geometry Window in Geometry F3 sii Show View Validate Currents Far field Me
48. ical plane 14 18 MHz UMDIPOLE out l 999 dBi 5 53 Phi 0 180 Max gain The 20 Quarter Wave Vertical Gain That s called a cloud warmer the major lobe is at 70 above the horizon Great for local communications but not so much for chasing DX In any case though it s better than no antenna at all Change the Z axis to 48 feet or wavelength above ground What does that look like Chapter Three Building and Analyzing a Dipole Antenna 88 Pattern F4 B Show Farfield Wearfield Compare Transfer FFtab Plot Tot gain dBi 45 k o Z 15 Vertical plane 14 18 MHz O 334 dBi4 af 150 OMCIPOLE out 165 180 Max gain The 70 Phi 0 Halfwave Vertical Gain Now the pattern really changes Our major lobes are now 20 above the horizon What has caused the signal to have a lobe going straight up The ground beneath the dipole is acting like a reflector The dipole is still emanating a signal a full 360 but the distance to the ground is such that the signal that s reflected back up adds to the signal that s already going straight up Gives it a clown hat like shape What does 1A look like Enter 66 in the Z axis and generate another set of results It looks like this Chapter Three Building and Analyzing a Dipole Antenna Pattern FA 5 Show Farfield Wearfield Compare Transfer FFtab Plot Tot gain dBi o 7 Vertical plane 14 18 MHz 150 OMDIPOLE out Phi 0 999 dBi 7 3
49. lize overall dal Mormalize each High low ranges Pp 135 Tot gairr ele tuBr 42 12 Hor gain 150 150 12 lt dBi 2 12 Wer gain 999 lt dBi 99 Phi 0 165 ago 1995 Max gain The 180 Pattern Far field Vertical plane When selected displays the pattern s vertical trace in blue When deselected displays the horizontal pattern also in blue Chapter Two Learning Your Way Around 45 Show both hor ver Displays both horizontal and vertical patterns Horizontal trace is red and vertical is blue Show Multi pattern Displays all patterns Horizontal Vertical and Total Gain Horizontal trace is red vertical is blue and Total Gain is in green Total Gain is the combination of both Horizontal and Vertical traces When blue and red colors are combined the resultant color is green Show Bold lines Thickens all trace lines Easier on the eyes ARRL style scale Displays traces and grid in ARRL style Font Scaling Increase Decrease the size of the fonts on the grid Doesn t change legend font size Pattern F4 zm Show Farfield Wearfield Compare Transfer FFtab Plot Tot gain dBi Vertical plane 200 MHz o 15 Tot gair 41 dBi lt 212 Hor gair 4 1 dBi amp 2 7 V er gain 1 A 33 lt dBi lt 0 33 Phi 55 2165 40n 165 Max gain The 180 Pattern Font Scaling Next Phi Az slice Prev Phi Az slice Step through vertical traces blue by the configured resolution The Show both hor ver must be
50. m i A y Y F if da Y CE pa pr y O Y 1 El Y IS SHAN A p Wire Segment info Wire i Tagf i segm 10 Curl 06 024 i X Y 7 End1 6e 18 0318 0 Rad 32 mm End 2 6 218 53 O Len I El l AE bf y K K iN e i ia e di A T MC i f rit RS Y y ASA LAF RISA DES T LL ES E ee Impedance Voltage Pwr SwA Sele 5 Theta 144 Axis 2 mir Phi 315 Identify W S T Next Previous Steps to the Next or Previous wire segment tag numbers Set as center Moves the found wire segment tag and moves it into the center of the Geometry Window Polar notation Toggles between rectangular notation or polar notation in the Wire Segment info box Chapter Two Learning Your Way Around 40 Plot Menu m Geometry F3 Show View Validate Currents Far field Near field Segm Plot EXAMPLET out Theta 80 Axis 0 2 mtr Phi 280 Plot Menu Magnitude Uses gnuplot to display magnitude plots of individual wires segments tags Phase Uses gnuplot to display phase plots of individual wires segments tags Reel part Uses gnuplot to display real value plots of individual wires segments tags Imag part Uses gnuplot to display imaginary value plots of individual wires segments tags Chapter Two Learning Your Way Around Pattern Window Pattern F4 DH Show Farfield Wearfield Compare Transfer FFrab Plot Tot gain dBi Vertical
51. n mA m 77 28 mA m for 2 4 Y 0 4 0 200 MB Y 232 aq 217 203 15 188 174 10 159 145 130 ii 0 SS m 101 56 9 725 10 58 435 515 29 14 5 0 0 15 10 5 O 2 10 15 0 A D mtr 8 28 m amp m 232 EXAMPLE out Max lt 0 8 T 0 20 XY Plane XZ plane fixes the Y plane and displays just the X and Z planes of the near field Chapter Two Learning Your Way Around 40 Pattern FA Show Farfield Nearfield Compare Transfer FFtab Plot H tot in mA m 13 23 mA m for 4 0 8 D 4 14 200 MB 7 232 gn 217 203 188 40 174 153 145 30 130 116 101 20 06 3 r25 se 10 135 5 29 145 0 25 20 15 10 5 D A 10 15 20 235 Y 0 8 mtr 3 71 m amp m 232 EXAMPLE 1 out Max 1 0 7 0 45 3a z5 15 O XZ Plane YZ plane fixes the Y plane and displays just the X and Z planes of the near field Chapter Two Learning Your Way Around 50 Pattern F4 Show Farfield Nearfield Compare Transfer FFtab Plot H tot in mA m 9 466 mA m for 1 7 D 4 10 200 MB 7 232 gn 217 203 188 40 174 153 145 30 130 116 101 20 06 3 r25 se 10 135 5 29 145 0 25 20 15 10 5 O A 10 15 20 25 X D mtr 3 44 m amp m 232 EXAMPLE 1_out Max lt 0 8 0 45 3a z5 15 O YZ Plane Smooth line plot 2 Show MPE colors Changes the display showing Maximum Permissible Exposure limits Used for RF exposure limit calculations Next
52. ngth unit gt Feet and Settings gt Radius Unit Inch AWG Creating a New NEC File On the Main Window click on the El toolbar button to display the Geometry Editor window From the Geometry Editor File New will create an empty editor Create a new file name to save your work via File Save Name the file 20MDipole nec and save it in a working directory outside of the antenna examples directories Design Conventions Antennas exist in three dimensions in the real world which are easy enough to see Drawing in three dimensions on a two dimensional display can get really confusing because you have to imagine the missing dimension Chapter Three Building and Analyzing a Dipole Antenna 72 The Geometry Editor can display the antenna four different ways in three dimensions the YZ plane XZ plane and the XY plane The last three planes help us design an antenna two dimensions at a time In the three dimension view the X Y and Z axis all meet at the origin coordinates 0 0 0 Click on the Yl button to display the X and Y axis By convention the X axis would be the boom of the antenna If no boom as we ll see creating a dipole it ll be drawn over the origin 0 0 with one half of the antenna on the positive Y axis and the other half on the negative Y axis For example a three element beam looks like this 20MDipole nec Geometry Edit file changed DES File Options Edit Create Show Nec Segm info a xz vz xv Adell v e
53. note and tell me how you did hear about 4nec2 This way I can also inform you when new versions are available Appendix A 4NEC2 5 8 15 README File 118 q If you should experience any problems installing and or running the 4nec2 program or for suggestions questions or remarks please contact me at 4nec2 2gmx net TO AVOID DELETING YOUR MAIL AS SPAM PLEASE INCLUDE 4NEC2 MODELLER AS THE SUBJECT For latest versions changes and or bugfixes see the ReleaseNotes on my website http www gqsl net 4nec2 Change Log v1 1 08 22 2015 KOSRV Fixed typo in equation for dipole in graphics and text v1 0 07 25 2015 KAGWKE Initial sample release
54. number of segmetns in your modell Note however that when a certain executable should just run but there is too much memory in use by Windows or other programs more obscure errors like Error opening input file could be generated for those who created themselves a user specific Nec2 executable engine file capa ble or running over 11000 segments up to a max of 32000 segments it is possible to specify a static user specific Nec2 executable engine file To do so click Settings gt Nec engine gt Manual select and specify the name of the executable engine file together with the maximum number of segments this engine can handle f On Windows XP and 2000 systems it is possible following error is generated when the Nec 2 engine is started The system file is not suitable for running MS DOS and Microsoft Windows applications Choose Close to terminate the application To solve this problem please consult the Run DOS Problem txt file included in the package g Some windows 2000 and XP users reported problems related to the Nec 2 engine when the package is installed under C program files If this is the case it could be wise to select a folder name and or nec file names without embedded spaces h When using none default desktop color settings it is possible that one or more text boxes and or windows are not visible or correctly painted When using a none default setting please temporary switch back to the default desk
55. ometry Builder Chapter Six Optimizer Chapter Seven L Pi T Matching Chapter Eight Graphing with gnuplot Chapter Nine Using ItsHF amp VOACAP Models Area Coverage Point to Point Chapter Ten Verticals Very Short Verticals Quarter Wave Half Wave 40M and why it works on 15M 5 8 Wave Chapter Eleven Multi Element Beams Log Periodics Loops Chapter Twelve Loops Single Band Loops Multiband Loops Magnetic Loops Chapter Thirteen Modeling Mobile Antennas Chapter Fourteen Circular VHF UHF Satellite Antennas Chapter Fifteen Antenna Menagerie In no particular order it s a menagerie after all Beverages Rhombics Pennents Discones Patch 80M Parabolic A tribute antenna to KV7 and WD8OSU 2 4 GHz Pringles WiFi Antenna 2 4GHz High Gain Loop WiFi Antenna Appendix B NEC User Manual Installation Appendix C Gnuplot Installation amp Configuration Appendix D ItsHF amp VOACAP Installation amp Configuration 4NEC2 Function Keys Keyboard Shortcuts Cheat Sheet Main Window Function Keys Opens the Main Help file Opens the Main 4NEC2 program window Opens the Geometry window gt Opens the Pattern window F5 Opens the Gain SWR Impedance window gt View or Edit 4NEC2 data window gt Generate analyze antenna system FB gt View NEC output file using default editor Start select 3D viewer window FIO gt Calculate
56. onnected C FixE 1 FixE 2 Length 10 5 ft Thet 90 Phi 90 Raising the Antenna Remember you have to add height to the Z axis for both ends of the antenna and the values are always positive Putting a negative value for the Z axis will place the antenna underground Chapter Three Building and Analyzing a Dipole Antenna o How low can you go 4NEC2 can t analyze antennas that are very close on or below ground 74 Click on the 22 button the antenna will no longer be on the ground E _new nec Geometry Edit file changed O File Options Edit Create Show Mec Segm info s xevzxv ae da 7 e 4 Al Re abel a n Hes Zoom _4 J gt Gid af W Segs W Ends Wen Tagnr Li Theta Phi at 80 Wire al Wire data Mr 3 Tag 3 Segs im Radius 0 0394 in End 1 ft E E 1 s End z ft W Keep connected FigE 1 Fix E 2 Length 1125 ft Thet 90 Phi 90 Antenna Height Now that we ve seen how to use the Geometry Editor we ll draw out the 20M dipole antenna 0 4NEC2 Doesn t Care 4NEC2 really doesn t care if the antenna is drawn on the axes or any specific coordinates at all The axes are provided to make it easier to visualize the antenna as it is being designed Chapter Three Building and Analyzing a Dipole Antenna 29 Drawing the Dipole To calculate the halfwave length of a dipole use the standard equation 46 e FMH _ 468 14 175 L
57. oo com 4nec2defguide If you re a Facebook user you can like this book there too https www facebook com 4nec2defguide The main source of announcements for this book are from Leanpub and will follow with the Yahoo Group then Facebook http fornectoo freeforums org http www eham net ehamforum smf index php board 31 0 html http forums qrz com index php forums antennas feedlines towers rotors 33 4nec2defguide subscribe yahoogroups com https groups yahoo com 4nec2defguide https www facebook com 4nec2defguide Chapter Two Learning Your Way Around m e s Filename GENERAL HELP FI EXAMPLET nut Frequency Getting started Wavelength NEC user manual Voltage 84 9 i0 V Current NEC short reference Impedance 72 1 2e 3 Series comp Tex veraon Parallel Form 72 1 3 85 Parallel comp 5 w R 5l 144 Input power Check for updates Efficiency 100 p Structure loss About 4nec Hadiat elf EA Network loss Calculate data View output data 2g Enter modify your model Settings and options 2g Optimizer and sweeper 3 Propagation prediction Reference data Help Menu 11 4nec2 help zm NEC visualization optimization and sweeping tool The 4nec2 tool is a windows and Nec 2 or Nec 4 based tool for both the starting and experienced antenna modeler that can be used to create view and check your antenna geometry structure and generate display and compare near
58. oss OQ uw Network loss 0o uW Hadiatpower 100 Ww Loads Polar Example 1 See GetStarted tet Segs patches 9 Pattern lines T Freq E val steps 1 Calculation time 0000 s Dipole in free space Comment cards Ends start stop count step Theta 22 Phi f Co 4NEC2 Main Window Filename Current NEC output file Voltage Feedpoint voltage in complex form Clicking on the Polar checkbox will display this calculation in polar notation Impedance Series feedpoint impedance Parallel Form Equivalent parallel feedpoint impedance S W R 50 The Standing Wave Ratio at 50 ohms feedpoint impedance Chapter Two Learning Your Way Around 23 Efficiency Overall antenna efficiency Radiat eff Actual radiation efficiency This efficiency determines how much your antenna radiates as a percentage of input power RDF db Antenna gain referenced an isotropic dipole Frequency The frequency the antenna was analyzed Wavelength Calculated wavelength of the analyzed frequency Current Feedpoint current in complex form Clicking on the Polar checkbox will display this calculation in polar notation Series comp Series component in microhenries Parallel comp Parallel component in microhenries Input power The applied power in watts from the transmitter as measured at the feedpoint of the antenna Structure loss Power in microwatts 10 that s lost due to the mater
59. p p s starting with version 5 8 0 the _4nec rtf file might be somewhat outdated For latest help info please use the lt F1 gt key or the lt Help gt menu function in 4nec2 4NEC2 Getting Started amp README Files Click Next to continue The Installation Completed window will appear is Setup 4nec2 B Completing the 4nec2 Setup Wizard Setup has finished installing 4nec on your computer The application may be launched by selecting the installed icons Click Finish to exit Setup View readmefirst txt 4NEC2 Installation Completed Click Finish to continue You should have the 4NEC2 Main Window 4NEC2 Geometry Window and the _ReadMeFirst txt file displayed Read through the README file it contains the latest information about this version of 4NEC2 Chapter One Installation 9 Main V5 8 15 F2 ES cu Geometry F3 oa 5 NE File Edit Settings Calculate Window Show Run Help ES Show View Validate Currents Far field Near field Wire d El as Aa Op Plot EXAMPLE1 NEC 300 MHz Filename EXAMPLE 1 NEC Frequency 300 Mhz f x gt EA Eris nm la C 4nec2 _readmefirst txt Notepad EE Voltage Current 1 File Edit Search View Encoding Language Settings Macro Run TextFX Plugins Window X Impedance Series comp o EI V s is 4 i pe a 165 31 3n i 3 ed 0 0 RIA Parallel form Parallel comp m Ej renam Ej SMR Input power wW Efficiency Cairoli wW version 5 8 8 Short
60. plane 200 MHz Tot gain a 12 dBi z 2 12 Hor gain 150 12 dBi lt 9 6 V er galn 999 lt dBi 1 82 Phi 75 755 ago 155 Max gain The 180 Pattern Window Displays the vertical El and horizontal Az calculated patterns of the antenna under analysis Chapter Two Learning Your Way Around 42 Pattern F4 2 Far field Nearfield Compare Transfer FFtab Plot Next pattern 15 Yertical plane Prev pattern 3l Indicator T F 45 Info T pti Structure L5 n X 50 1 7 or SIZe l r V E a Inc struct size Pg up ES x a Dec struct size Pg down Nn um T 7H Print Cul P Change colors Ctrl Q 105 a X n Es 27 e 4 gt pa X E 120 xL FH A Ad 43 S TT Tot gair Hor gain 150 V er gain 833 lt dBi 99 Phi 0 155 48p 755 Maw gain The 180 Pattern Show Show Menu Next pattern Prev pattern Step through each slice of the antenna pattern Each slice is stepped through a number of calculated degrees of resolution around the pattern Resolution is configured in the Generate Window Indicator Displays an indicator in magenta on the pattern Click the mouse on a point on the pattern to view the calculated gain and Theta Phi The J key isn t needed for this feature Chapter Two Learning Your Way Around 43 Pattern F4 5 Show Farfield Wearfield Compare Transfer FFtab Plot Tot gain dBi 45 o 7 15 Vertical plane 200 MHz Tot gair 3 dBi
61. r Exit 0 70 Quit 4NEC2 13 Chapter Two Learning Your Way Around 14 Below the Exit menu option is the most recently used file list Edit Eu Input nec file ls E i 2 Filena Output out file 9 jen 300 Mhz za ea Edit Menu Input nec file Displays the 4NEC2 Graphical User Interface GUI window where the antenna to be modeled is entered Output out file Uses the default text editor to display the 4NEC2 output file Settings File Edit Settings Calculate Window Show Run Help e i Noteposeae curi 9 meme MEC editor Ctrl F2 9 Geometry edit Ctrl f3 Voltage NEC editor new Ctrl F4 Impedance Auto segmentation ur Parallel form SEDE ul cw RSD Stepped radius corr n Efficiency Input Power Uh Radiat eff M Uh RDF dE Char impedance i EET pre defined Frequencies FREE SPA pre defined Symbols Show Circular Polar Phi Azim unit Length unit Comment Radius unit NEC Engine Er Memory usage ptimizer Eval ItsHF settings Seg s patche Other settings count step Pattern lines Frea E val ste Settings Menu Chapter Two Learning Your Way Around 15 Notepad Edit NEC editor Geometry edit NEC editor new Sets the default editor for nec files The default is NEC editor new but the Geometry Editor will be mostly used in this book The other editors will be discussed in the full version of
62. r each slice of the pattern Data is displayed in the default text editor Chapter Two Learning Your Way Around 56 Plot Menu a Pattern F4 Tot gain dBi 200 MHz 13 Tot gairi Hor gair V er qain 959 lt dBi 99 Phi 0 Max gain The 180 Pattern Export The plot menu uses gnuplot to create very high quality graphs of the antenna pattern 3D plot Chapter Two Learning Your Way Around Kepala bo Gnuplot window id 0 EXAMPLEI Tot gain view 60 0000 30 0000 scale 1 00000 1 00000 Pattern 3D Plot 2D chart Tot gain 57 Chapter Two Learning Your Way Around 58 E Gnuplot window id 0 a We 4E GO EXAMPLEI Far field Phi 0 2 145 2 14 2 135 2 13 2 125 dBi 2 12 2 115 2 11 2 105 2 1 2 095 Theta 129 96 dBi 2 13 Pattern 3D Plot 3D Viewer Window Displays the pattern in three dimensions Using the mouse the pattern can be rotated through a full 3607 Chapter Two Learning Your Way Around 59 ap Viewer F9 EXAMPLE1 out H 300 Mhz Axis 002 mtr Theta Phi 76 229 x zoom gt dent Res Rote Cal i True rad ad v Asis I Structure Multi calo Tat gain I ARAL style Magnitui hal Quality EN Ei FPS Tris 160 5792 3D Viewer Right Toolbar MHz Frequency at which the calculations were performed Axis The main axis of the antenna Theta amp Phi Displ
63. range of ground types to choose from Knowing which one for your area isn t too difficult to figure out By observation the ground around the author s location is slightly sandy and rocky mostly dry Take a look around your location to see what the ground looks like 4NEC2 has the following ground types available e Free Space e Fast Ground e Perf Ground e Real Ground To choose which ground to use click on the HA on the toolbar and the Ground Parameters pane will appear Select Real Ground from the drop down then from the lower drop down select Dry Sandy Coastal or your own ground type if you prefer The settings look like this Chapter Three Building and Analyzing a Dipole Antenna 81 e 20MDipole nec Geometry Edit d File Options Edit Create Show Nec Segm info 3 xz vz xv Adell cel 7 e z Z Pell aapas Re Zoom f gt Grid f 2 iw Seg s iw Ends Wien Tag nr Y Snap to grid Snopto wire MI YO Z Ground parameters Conduct Diel const i Second far ground Ground Type Adding the Source All that s left is adding the source of RF to the dipole The source will be placed right in the center of the antenna which would be segment 6 This is the reason why it s best to choose an odd number of segments By placing the RF source on segment 6 that leaves 5 segments on either side of the source Some antennas don t have their sources in the middle and that will be discussed in the chapters on
64. rce and light radiates equally in all directions as humans view it from earth An isotropic antenna is used as a reference only antenna and has zero gain 0 dBi It s used as a reference of which to compare antennas and really has no other practical purpose in amateur radio Dipole in Free Space A dipole antenna in free space is also a theoretical antenna but it does have some gain compared to an isotropic antenna 2 12 dBi This gain is measured perpendicular to the antenna around the azimuth only Chapter Three Building and Analyzing a Dipole Antenna 70 Max Gain Y Dipole Antenna in Free Space The shape of the dipole is flat from end to end and not bent in any direction Real Antenna Real antennas are what we work with here on earth They are made from physical materials that impact radiation patterns they interact with the ground beneath them and for several wavelengths away from the antenna When we analyze antennas using 4NEC2 the measurements are compared to an isotropic antenna By subtracting 2 12 dBi from an isotropic antenna measurement the resulting measurement will be compared to a dipole in free space Chapter Three Building and Analyzing a Dipole Antenna 71 Comments on Theoretical Antennas and Such From an engineering stand point theoretical antennas are the standard by which real antennas are compared to When discussing antennas with fellow hams gain measurements will be assumed to be either isotropic
65. s and 3 party programs configuration Calculate File Edit Settings Window Show Run Help G Y ble NEC output data F p Filename EXAM L L Pi T Matching F10 Mhz Start Optimizer F12 mtr Calculate Menu NEC output data Displays the Generate output data screen BB Generate F7 INec2dXS1k5 Use original file Far Field pattern Freq 300 f Frequency sweep l C Near Field pattern From tile t tsHF 360 degree Gain table t tsHF Gain amp 30 frequencies Full C Wer t Har Rezal 5 deg lupe ase Hun Average Surface wave n ri E fld distance Expert settings Generate Batch Exit NEC Output Data The sample version of this book will use the Far Field pattern option to generate NEC output data Go to Edit gt 0utput out file to view the generated output file in the configured default editor Window Opens different 4NEC2 program windows amp viewers Cards are documented in the Editors Chapter in the full version of this book Chapter Two Learning Your Way Around File Edit Settings Calculate Show Run Help ex i ase i Main F2 Filename EXAMPLE T cut cC p Pattern F4 Voltage 84 9 0 V Line chart FS Impedance 721 2e 3 3D viewer F3 Parallel Farm 217 366 Smith chart F11 Window Menu Context Sensitive Help Fl gt Opens the Main Help file Main F2 gt opens the Main 4NEC2 program window Geometry F3 opens the Geometry window
66. select one of the example files to open and load into 4nec2 4 When using 4nec2 together with a licensed Nec 4 engine instead of the default public domain Nec 2 engines read below item d first 5 Te use GnuPlot for additional plotting download GnuPlot version 4 0 from the 4nec2 website and unpack the gp400win32 zip file into one or the other folder on your system E g C gnuplot After this use Settings gt Folders gt Gnuplot folder and enter check the folder name 6 To use 4nec2 together with the ItsHF propagation prediction software download the installer in shfbc yymmdd exe from http www voacap com and double click the exe after downloading After installation use Settings gt Folders gt ItsHF folder to set the folder name e g C ItsHF When running Windows 7 see the below note about using this OS 7 In case of difficulties running the 4nec2 program please read the below notes Windows 7 When using 4nec2 in co operation with ItsHF and you are experiencing problems running Appendix A 4NEC2 5 8 15 README File 114 multi step propagation predictions the default windows 7 user security level is too high to allow seamless interfacing between 4nec2 and ItsHF To overcome this problem use Start gt Control panel gt User accounts and select the current user Then click Change user account control settings and on the new window set the slider down to never notify After this restart your system 3D viewer
67. splayed isl Setup 4nec2 Which additional tasks should be performed Select the additional tasks you would like Setup to perform while installing 4nec2 then click Next Additional icons Create a desktop icon en Create 4NEC2 Desktop Icon Click Next to continue The Ready to Install window will be displayed Chapter One Installation 15 Setup 4nec2 Ready to Install Setup is now ready to begin installing 4nec on your computer Click Install to continue with the installation or click Back if you want to review or change any settings Destination location C dnec2 Start Menu folder 4nec Additional tasks Additional icons Create a desktop icon lt Back ini 4NEC2 Ready to Install Confirmation Click the Insta11 button to start installation Watch the little green bar ie Setup 4nec2 ER Installing Please wait while Setup installs 4nec on your computer Extracting files CAWINDOW S system 32 dxSvb dll 4NEC2 Installing The next window to appear will be how to find the getting started and README files Chapter One Installation is Setup 4nec2 Please read the following important information before continuing When you are ready to continue with Setup click Next Read the ReadMeFirst txt file before you start Use lt F1 gt to get 4dnec2 help Print the exe nec rtf file for easy help reading Consult the GaettingStarted txt file for even more hel
68. t on the antenna before viewing the next few menu options Current magnitude Displays the magnitude of all the currents on the antenna in green lines 29 Chapter Two Learning Your Way Around 30 y Geometry F3 n Show View Validate Currents Far field Near field Segm Plot 4 BAND out 50 HHz Theta 127 Axis 2 mir Phi 286 Current Magnitudes Phase only Displays current phases Chapter Two Learning Your Way Around 31 E Geometry F3 EE Show View Validate Currents Far field Near field Segm Plot A BAHD out 50 HHz NARA A_N EE E gt oe ir ee ERU uA p WC i t i SA es AN TT e gie N Theta 127 Axis 1 mtr Phi 286 Current Phase Current Phase Displays both the current magnitude and phase on the antenna elements Chapter Two Learning Your Way Around 32 y Geometry F3 EE Show View Validate Currents Far field Near field Segm Plot 4 BAND out 50 HHz Ps o NE Nu E qos NN cs lt gt is ues s CR NY lt A AA 08 c Wm A NN SONS cac a a N NN PS vr gt _ ZZZ Ta 7h ETTI WM 2 DA A S N gt CON i ES N Ry TE Theta 117 Axis 1 mtr Phi 289 Current Magnitudes amp Phases Current real Displays the real component of the current on the antenna elements Current imaginary Displays the imaginary component of the current on the antenna elements Magnitude as color Displays a legend and current magnitude in different colors corresponding to current magnitud
69. th Chart data in Touchstone or GAM formats Geometry Builder The Geometry Builder is used to design complex antenna systems for analysis Patch Plan Box Cylinder Parabola Helix and Spherical antennas can be designed and analyzed See the Geometry Builder chapter in the full version of this book Chapter Two Learning Your Way Around 68 Ti Geometry Builder V2 5 a Patch Plane Box Cylinder Parabola Helix Sphere Help Patch Length 1 Length 2 Length Y 2 sections Y sections Use Surface patches Start with tagnumber n Rotate X Y Z o o io I symbols also allowed Move X Y Z Tr Po ro 1 E xit Geometry Builder Chapter Three Building and Analyzing a Dipole Antenna We ll start out by building and analyzing a 20M dipole antenna over real ground using the Geometry Editor Other than a brief discussion on theoretical antennas and real antennas this book will analyze antennas in the physical world at the author s location A Word or Three about Theoretical VS Real Antennas Isotropic Antenna An isotropic antenna is a theoretical antenna that is located out in free space Free space is away from earth and far away from any other physical body It s an antenna that doesn t exist in reality yet it radiates equally in all directions because it s a simple point in space like the period at the end of this sentence The sun would be a good analogy of an isotropic antenna It s in free space it s a point sou
70. tion time 0 063 amp Excite Load info Polar Notation Displays the calculated results in Polar Notation Polar Notation can be displayed by clicking on the Polar checkbox above the Excitation Load results Chapter Two Learning Your Way Around 19 Y Main V5 8 15 F2 O File Edit Settings Calculate Window Show Run Help Filename FX AMPLE out Frequency 300 Mhz Wavelength 398 mtr Voltage B4 3v mao Current 1 18 amp 1a 3 Impedance 72 1 0 Series comp Gey uH Parallel Farm 721 385 Parallel comp 1541 uH SAW R 50 1 44 Input power 100 Val Efficiency 100 FA Structure loss T La Radiat eff 99 59 a Network lass T La RDF dB 214 Radiat power 100 Mw Excitation Load data Iv Loads v Polar Type Tag Seg lmpedance Voltage Pwr WF Es D W s 1 8 r21 0 8490 100 1 44 Seg s patches q start stop count step Pattern lines 5329 Theta Um Lu Hi Freq E val steps 1 Phi O 360 73 5 Calculation time 0 063 F Polar Notation Run n Help F B J nr r Geometry builder Filename EXAMPLET out Frequency CELE ELE Wavelength PAR Voltage 94 9 UV Current Cf Impedance fe 2 3 Series comp ItsHF antenne view Parallel Form 72 1 3 85 Parallel comp SW ABO 1 44 Input power ItsHF colors and scaling E Fira 4nn id bri ich ra lone i 1 Run Menu Geometry Builder Displays the Geometry Builder for building complex antenna and ground systems Chapter Two Learning Your Way Around 20
71. top color settings to check if for both settings the same information is visible On windows XP with its large default Font size it is possible Appendix A 4NEC2 5 8 15 README File 117 lower part of the window is cut off If required you can resize or re position any 4nec2 window These settings are automatically save and re used the next time 4nec2 is started i See 4nec2 chm for more information about 4nec2 functionality 4nec2 help in printable form is included in the 4nec2 rtf file You can print this file for comfortable reading Also the file GetStarted txt might help you find your way through the 4nec2 package j The Nec 2 user manual can be found at www nec2 org Select the word document and place this file as NEC2 DOC in your 4nec2 folder for viewing with Help gt nec 2 manual k When you try to read in an incomplete out output file caused by nec2d errors or because calculation was not yet finished it is possible that a 4ANEC2 program error is generated because of the incomplete data To solve the problem Remove the out file from the OUT folder and try again 1 A suggestion from a user having difficulties see also item m below Just an advice to all who are having problems with the 4NEC2 program If when you try to generate the output the only thing you see is a flashing DOS window then nothing else happens this is the cure e locate in the EXE folder of the program a DOS s
72. uency Prev frequency Identify W S Wire Segment T T T T l gt Incr Log factor gt Decr Log factor gt Next gt Previous 109 4NEC2 Function Keys amp Keyboard Shortcuts Cheat Sheet AH Homo gt Set as Center Carl P gt Print Cer gt Changes colors Cui EJ gt Shift Left E gt Shift Right Carl 1 gt Shift Up arl EJ gt Shift Right Carl To Shift Down P gt Phase as color Export Far Field Y SYmbol conversion gt Identify Tag Pattern Window Keyboard Shortcuts B gt Show Bold lines D gt Show both hor ver G Structure H gt Show MPE colors gt Info J gt Indicator L ARRL style scale M gt Show Multi pattern O gt Smooth line plot Lp 23 gt Next pattern i gt Previous pattern gt Inc struct size 110 4NEC2 Function Keys amp Keyboard Shortcuts Cheat Sheet Page 22 gt Dec struct size gt Next Phi Az slice gt Prev Phi Az slice gt Next The El slice Lo gt Prev The El slice gt Select No Normalization gt Set max scale value 2 gt Next Z Y or X pos gt Prev 4 Y or X pos gt Inc line plot Y Z Pos t gt Dec line plot Y Z Pos gt Change to line plot em Change to 2D view gt Add new pattern Cepin gt Remove pattern AH Por gt Incr log f
73. w By default 4nec2 does convert 4nec2 specific EX 6 and GN 3 commands to standard Nec2 4 based commands However Nec4 2 does have such commands by itself If needed one can disable this automatic conversion using the No EX6 GN3 conv setting in the Settings gt Nec engine menu e Starting with version 5 8 3 all required Nec2 engines are included in the package These engine files are named Nec2dXS exe and are located in the 4nec2 exe folder In case of problems running Nec2 please check under Settings gt Nec enging on the Main F2 window if Nec2dXS exe is selected as the engine to use Although still included in the package at least the 500 and 1500 segment engines Nec2 engines of the Nec2d exe type are old style Nec2 engines and should not be used anymore The largest number of segments that can be run on your system with the recent Nec2dXS engine depends on the amount of time you have When the amount of RAM is not enough to do the calculations additional disk storage virtual memory is used by the nec2dXS engine However this is much much slower than when using physical RAM memory For the old style Nec2d engine The largest number of segments you can run on your system depends on the biggest engine that can be run on the system This mainly depends on the amount of physical RAM memory available on your computer If RAM is not enough a not enough memory error is generated and you will have to lower the
74. you woould like to create your own Nec4D exe engine files Please create files with 600 1200 2000 2600 and 7500 segments and with corresponding names such as Nec4dCL600 exe to Nec4dCL10600 exe and place them in the 4nec2 exe folder It s also possible to use a static user specified Nec4D exe file if you check the manual select option in the settings menu after having checked the Nec4 option Using this option you are able to specify a Nec4 executable file name together with the max number of segments matrix size this engine can handle This way 4nec2 does not automatically select the smallest enging depending on the nr of segments used in the model but always uses the specified engine This option should also be selected when using Nec4 engine capable of running more than 10600 segments Up to a max of 32000 segments Specify the name of your Nec4d executable engine file and specify the maximum number of segments this engine can handle For even more control select Settings gt Nec engine gt Wait in DOS box while Nec4 is enabled This way the 4nec2 exeNec4 bat file is called In this one can add special user specific actions Appendix A 4NEC2 5 8 15 README File 116 Note also that the author of 4nec2 did not have the possibility to test all differences between Nec2 and Nec4 himself because of above license issues so if you are using Nec4 and you think you found a Nec4 related problem please let me kno
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