Fractal Antennas?

[chrisf]

Has anyone seen any fractal antennas in use on any military kit yet? I know they're on the market, but it strikes me as odd they haven't become "the next big thing".

 

[211RadOp]

Never heard of it, so I used my friend (google).  It would no doubt be an excellent AE for any radio currently in use in the CF as it covers from 5 MHz to 20 GHz, however, these ones appear to be special order.  The FAQ page says they specialize in the 900 MHz range as well as PCS and WLAN applications.

http://www.fractenna.com/faq/faq.html

 

[Edward Campbell]

Fractal antennas were used, with some success, back in the 1990s, by radio amateurs, in the 2 and 10 metre bands. There may be - likely are - reports on the web.

Here and here are a couple of simple designs for fractal antennae that can be adapted to higher (225-400 MHz) or lower (30-80 MHz) bands and tested (without approval - remember it is always easier to beg forgiveness and than to seek approval!) on military radios.

 

[chrisf]

We're still quite allowed to use expedient antennas... I can't see any need for permission or forgivemness... saw various designs a while back... been meaning to try to make one... might make for an interesting evening for the det...

They were only invented in the mid 90s or so, and I'm sure there's companies manufacturing a "tactical" version by now, just strikes me as odd they haven't proliferated further given the possible advantages... size being the major consideration...

I was under the impression they could be designed/used for any frequency, though not familiar with any performance tests, how they compare to traditional antennas in the lower bands we typically use... I know it's they've done wonders for cell phones...

 

[Edward Campbell]

We're still quite allowed to use expedient antennas... I can't see any need for permission or forgivemness... saw various designs a while back... been meaning to try to make one... might make for an interesting evening for the det...

They were only invented in the mid 90s or so, and I'm sure there's companies manufacturing a "tactical" version by now, just strikes me as odd they haven't proliferated further given the possible advantages... size being the major consideration...

I was under the impression they could be designed/used for any frequency, though not familiar with any performance tests, how they compare to traditional antennas in the lower bands we typically use... I know it's they've done wonders for cell phones...

As I mentioned, I know they were used, with success, in the upper HF/low VHF (10 metre) band and and mid VHF (2 metre) band by some radio amateurs, but I am too long retired to have any knowledge of "mainstream" applications. Someone in the amateur or commercial communities may have better, up-to-date, information.