How to Choose the Right Wheel Antenna for the Job
Tamara Wilhite
Tamara Wilhite is a technical writer, industrial engineer, mother of two, and published sci-fi and horror author.
Wheel antennas by WA5VJB
What Are the Benefits of Wheel Antennas?
This type of antenna has a number of advantages, particularly when compared to cloverleaf antennas.
Wheel antennas are omnidirectional, which means they're able to receive a signal from any direction, barring directly above or below them. Wheel antennas made from a printed circuit board have a horizontal polarization, though as a transmitter gains height (like a launching UAV), it can put out a cross-polarized signal.
If you vertically stack wheel antennas five eighths of a wavelength apart, you'll have even more gain and receive signals at a far greater degree from the horizon than the donut-shape profile a single wheel antenna will receive.
Solid wheel antennas made from printed circuit boards have one major advantage over cloverleaf antennas—durability. The cloverleaf antennas made from three or four closed loop antennas are prone to bending if hit, making them a poor choice for drones and other applications where they could be damaged.
A flat solid wheel antenna has a smaller profile than a cloverleaf, too, since it can be taken down and put away. Because of their flat profile, they also take up less space in a crowded antenna tower.
Purchasing a solid wheel antenna is far easier than trying to make a cloverleaf antenna.
As the frequency range increases, the wavelength and thus the size of the wheel antenna goes down.
Selecting the Right Wheel Antenna
So which wheel antenna is the right one for the job? Learn more about the three types below so you can choose the correct one for your needs.
The 900 MHz to 930 MHz frequency range is used by industrial, scientific, medical (ISTM), and local communications equipment, from amateur radio operators to walkie-talkies to some UAVs. 900 MHz wheel antennas are ideal for UAVs and beacons because they send the signal equally well in all directions, especially if the transmitter is moving.
These wheel antennas have an average gain of 2 dBi. They have a return loss of -20 decibels at 902 MHz and -10 dB at 915 MHz. These wheel antennas are designed to work on the 900 to 930 MHz band, also known as the 33 cm band.
These wheel antennas are often used for UAVs; the ideal configuration is mounting them at a horizontal position of each link. If they don't fit inside of the UAV, they can be mounted flat to the UAV's wing. They can radiate in the second and third harmonics, which can require filtering if it is transmitting. This issue can arise when you are using UAVs for photography, filming, and land surveying. For these antennas, you can use standard 4" PVC tubing to create a radome.
The 1290 MHz frequency is part of the L-band. Governments often use this frequency range for long-range radar systems. However, this frequency range is also available to amateur radio operators, UAV users, other aeronautical applications, and radio-location (beacons).
At 1290 MHz, they have an average gain of -20 dB. These antennas can be tuned with chip caps. One pf (picofarad) chip cap alters its frequency reception by 5 MHz. These antennas can be used to monitor 23 cm beacons, probes, scanners, or as an input for spectrum analyzers.
For these antennas, you can use 3" PVC pipe pieces as a radome.
These 2.4 GHz wheel antennas have an average gain of 2 dBi. They have an average return loss of -20 decibels at 2425 MHz. One pf (picofarad) chip cap alters its frequency reception about 20 MHz. Putting these wheel antennas in a glass or plastic housing pulls down their frequency range, too.
These wheel antennas are often used as drone antennas and can be used for WLAN. A 2.4 GHz Yagi antenna, however, is the better choice if you want to send Wi-Fi signals.
These are the smallest practical wheel antennas available with most manufacturers. This size of antenna requires you to attach the coax connector to the side of the antenna unless you have a very short lead to attach it to the antenna's hub.
Common Types of UHF and VHF Antennas
An Introduction to UWB Antennas
Are Yagi Antennas or Wheel Antennas Are Better for Drones and Drone Controllers?
An Introduction to the Biquad Antenna
An Introduction to Parabolic Antennas
What Are the Pros and Cons of DDRR Antennas?
An Introduction to the Discone Antenna
What Is RF Antenna Diversity?
Uses of Ultrawide Band Antennas
The Pros and Cons of Horn Antennas
Multiband Antennas Versus Multibeam Antennas
The Pros and Cons of Yagi Antennas
How to Use a 400–1000 MHz Log Periodic Printed Circuit Board Antenna
The Pros and Cons of Log-Periodic Antennas
The Pros and Cons of Planar Antennas