Quickyagi v4.

0 (Freeware)

(C) 1997 by Chuck Smith, WA7RAI and RAI Enterprises, Inc.

Glendale, AZ
All rights reserved

COPYRIGHT NOTICE

This software "Quickyagi" is copyrighted by S.C. Smith, WA7RAI and and RAI
Enterprises, Inc. With the Freeware version are allowed to make copies and
distribute it freely as long as all files remain intact and unmodified.

GUARANTEE

RAI Enterprises accepts no responsibility for or liability resulting from the

use of this program, and does not guarantee the usefulness of this program for
any specific application or purpose.

GENERAL INFORMATION

PROGRAM FILES
QY4.EXE require the files QY4.COL and QY3D.INF. If installing on a hard drive
be sure to include these files or the program will not run. It is also im-
portant that these and all *.ANT files be in the same directory. Use QY4COLORS
.EXE to modify screen colors and QYUTILS.EXE to calculate coaxial transmission
line lengths, gamma matching and coaxial balun values.

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
IBM(tm) 386-AT or compatible, PC DOS or MS DOS 3.0 or higher, 520 Kbytes of
RAM,
and a CGA, EGA, MCGA, VGA, HERCULES, or OLIVETTI(mono) graphics display
adapter
plus monitor. QY4 will not run in Windows.

MATH CO-PROCESSOR
QY4 requires a math co-processor for best performance.

PROGRAM START-UP
Type "QY4" at the DOS prompt.

You may add an additional command line switch, the mono/color switch. By adding
M or C to the end of the start-up command you will either force the monochrome
mode on a color or LCD monitor, or force a monochrome monitor to read the Color
Setup file. EXAMPLE: "QY4 M" forces a color monitor to display in monochrome.

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 PROGRAM INFORMATION

SELECT MODE MENU

AUTO MENU:
Select this option for the Auto-mode menu. See FUNCTION KEYS / F5: MODE

MANUAL ENTRY:
For entering antenna parameters manually.

WITH TAPERED ELEMENTS:

Choose this option and the manual entry will include input parameters for
elements using tubing with telescoping diameters.

See F2: OPTIONS / Element Compensation: / Edit taper sked: for more details
about tapered element schedule entry.

The antenna parameters may be expressed in either metric or US foot/inches. Use

the "C" option in the F2: OPTIONS Menu to toggle between metric or US ft./in.

When entering the antenna parameters, previous entries may be modified by press-
ing the [Tab] key to step back one item at a time. To resume normal entry, press
the [Enter] key to step forward one item at a time. Element spacing is the
center-to-center distance between each element.

If "Y" is chosen at the prompt "Will all elements be equal Diam.? Y/N" then
only one element diameter will need to be entered.

MODELING 2 ELEMENT YAGI

A 2 element yagi may be analyzed in two ways:

1) Reflector/driver combination:
Enter 0 or press [Enter] when prompted for "# of Directors".

2) Driver/director combination:
Configure as a 3 element yagi, only enter .001 for the Reflector length and
spacing values.

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 EDITING ANTENNA PARAMETERS

Once the antenna parameters are entered and calculated, you may use the
[up-down-left-right] keys to step through the initial entries and re-enter new
parameters to modify the antenna design. The gain, f/b, and impedance values
generated by the program will automatically reflect the results of these new
parameters.

Press the [Tab] Key to toggle through the element diameters when the highlight
bar is in that position.

ARRAY LENGTH: shows the center-to-center distance between the first and last
elements.

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 PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS

The analyzer will calculate the forward gain, front-to-back ratio and input
impedance of a yagi antenna with two or more elements, within the operating
frequencies from 1.5 to 999 Mhz. The program also compensates for the boom and
mounting hardware and will model elements with tapered element diameters.

The calculated gain is referenced to an isotropic dipole in free-space. The

impedance is shown as "real" impedance (resistance) and "imaginary" impedance
(+/-j = ind. or cap. reactance). The accuracy of these figures will be within
+/- 5%. The ideal condition will be to have the "j"= 0 at the center operating
frequency (no reactance). It is important to match the feedpoint impedance to
the feedline impedance for a low SWR. A folded dipole driver w/uniform element
diameters is allowed.(See the F2: OPTIONS menu / Driven el. option).

FUNCTION KEYS

F1: FILES

This option has file handling routines for saving, recalling, printing and
deleting any of the designed antennas.

Pressing the [F1] key will display the file menu in the dialog box at the lower
right of the screen. Choices are made with one key-stroke. When choosing the
highlighted "G", (get saved files) or the highlighted "D", (delete antenna
file), the saved antenna file list will be displayed in the same box.

You may select an antenna file either by typing the file name (when entering
antenna file names, do not include the file name extension ".ANT", as the pro-
gram enters this DOS extension automatically) or by using the cursor keys to
highlight the file name, then press [Enter].

If the "more" prompt is displayed at the lower right, moving the highlight to
that position shows another page of files. Moving the highlight to the first
file and pressing the [cursor up] key will step back to the previous page.

If the [Page up] and [Page Down] prompts appear then those keys will also be
available to page through the antenna files. When an antenna design has been
completed, choosing the highlighted "S" option and naming the file {file name}
allows you to save the file to the disk. The "P" option prints out the current
antenna file to the printer.

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 F2: OPTIONS

The options menu is activated by pressing the [F2] key, and is displayed in the
dialog box at the lower right of the screen. Enabling an option is made by a
single keystroke (pressing the highlighted letter of the option item). NOTE:
You may select any of the options at any time. Information on the main screen
will not be lost.

CHANGE TO METRIC - FT./IN:

Toggles between metric and US foot/inch dimensions. Default is ft./in.

FED ELEMENT OPTIONS:

This option allows you to define the driven element type.
Simple dipole: The default type.
Folded dipole: Allows for a single diameter folded dipole with uniform,
user defined, spacing between the parallel conductors.

SCALER:
Scales the yagi dimensions to a new (user input) frequency. Options are:
Element lengths only........ (new freq. must be within 10% of old freq.)
Element lengths & spacing... (new freq. must be within 10% of old freq.)
All (Unlimited freq. scaling.) This option also resets the current (if
any) file name to null.

ELEMENT COMPENSATIONS:
This is a sub-menu with the following choices...

BOOM COMP:
Compensates element lengths for round or square booms with the elements
on or through the boom, and for an element-to-boom mounting plate. In-
cludes compensation for a "U-bolt w/saddle" element to boom clamp. When
modeling an existing yagi, choose the "Append existing Bm comp" option
if the boom is to be included in the model.

EDIT TAPER SKED:

The tapered element diameters and section lengths are displayed in a
spreadsheet style, making the taper schedule easy to read and modify.
The Cursor (arrows) keys move the highlight bar through the columns and
rows. To edit the element diameter for each section, press the [Tab] key
to move the highlight bar to the "Diam." cell. [Enter] when done. Press
[F10] to save changes and exit, or [Esc] to exit with no changes.
NOTE: If any of the section lengths are modified when in the AUTO DESIGN
A YAGI mode, it is important that the overall element lengths remain the
same or the result may be an improperly optimized design.
VIEW EL. RESONANCE
Shows the lengths (with taper compensation if applicable) and resonant

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 frequies of all elements. * All diameters and tapers must be equal and
the driven element be at resonance (j=0) or data shown will be invalid.

V: View Ant. (prompt on bottom border line)

Creates a scaled graphical view of the antenna's geometry. Use the [Shift+Print
Scrn] keys to scrn-dump the graphics to the printer. [Tab] toggles text colors.
NOTE: This is not a menu option, it's a prompt and it will be seen in the lower
right of the screen when the antenna parameters are entered and calculated.

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 F3: PLOT

When the antenna parameters are entered and calculated, the prompt "F3: PLOT"
will appear. The antenna plot can be viewed four ways; log, linear, elevation
and azimuth. The [L] key toggles between the log and linear plots, and the
[Enter] key toggles between the elevation and azimuth plots. Press the [Esc]
key to exit. The default plot is log. The plotting scale is 0 to -50db. The log
plot shows the best overall pattern and the linear plot will show the greatest
detail. The plot resolution will be 640 x 200 with CGA, 640 x 350 with EGA, 640
x 480 with VGA and 720 x 348 with HERCULES graphics displays.

NOTE: Your DOS utility GRAPHICS.COM must be loaded before running QY3(E).EXE
if you plan to print ([Shift+Print scrn]) the Polar plots and/or the Bandwidth
Performance graph, otherwise only ASCII characters will be printed. If your
computer runs with a HERCULES (mono) display, you MUST load MSHERC.COM
before
running the program. Also, please read QYGRAFIX.DOC.

F4: OPTIMIZE

SELECT OPTIMIZE MENU

DRIVEN ELEMENT ONLY:

Select this option to resize the driven element length to resonance (j 0).

BEST GAIN/PATTERN:
Calls the sub menu SELECT OPTION for:
MAX GAIN F/B:
Choose this option for optimizing both element spacing and lengths
for Maximum forward gain w/ Best radiation pattern. Choices are:
[A] 35 db F/B ratio
[B] 30 db F/B ratio
[C] 25 db F/B ratio

SPACINGS ONLY:
Optimizes element spacings for best pattern w/ best gain possible.

LENGTHS ONLY:
Optimizes element lengths for optimum gain at a chosen F/B ratio.

NOTE: Large sidelobes could remain after optimization if original design was
poor. After optimization, a choice of bandwidths is offered. (OPTIMIZE BW:menu)

OPTIMIZE BW:

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 Calls the Optimizer sub-menu with the following choices:
WIDE:
Choose the "W" option for the widest possible bandwidth at the ex-
pense of 1-2 (or greater) db in forward gain loss.

AVERAGE:
Choose the "A" option for an average bandwidth (less gain loss).

NO CHANGES:
Choose the "N" option for no optimization & to exit optimizer.

If the optimized pattern is best above or below the desired center frequency,
then use the Scaler (F2: OPTIONS) and re-size the element lengths to suit.

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 F5: MODE (^A)

This function selects the AUTO MENU for automatic director spacing and length
factoring and for the Auto-design functions:
(Factoring is the factor by which the element spacing is increased for each
director, and by which each director length is progressively reduced, and is
sometimes refered to as spacing or length tapering).

LENGTHS (directors):
Use this option to select factoring for the auto director lengths.

SPACINGS (directors):
Use this option to select factoring for the auto director spacing.

DEFAULT LEN & SPAC:

Select this option to use the default factoring values for the auto director
spacings and lengths.

The Auto director entries are quite unique as it can save time and energy when
designing yagis with many directors. Enter the first director length and spac-
ing and the computer enters the others from the factors chosen.

When manually designing arrays greater than 4 elements, the best way to utilize
the Auto Directors with the Optimizer functions of this program are as follows:

A: Select the auto design menu after pressing the [F5] key.

B: Select and calculate an Auto Director Spacing algorithm that will give the
desired boom length when the first director spacing is about .1 wavelength
(the reflector spacing should be between .125 and .2 wavelengths).

C: Select an Auto Director Length algorithm that gives the best F/B ratio.
This will be by:
(1) Choosing an Auto Director Length algorithm and calculating the
results (after pressing the ENTER key).
(2) Varying the first director and/or the reflector length.
(3) Alternating between 1 and 2.

D: Plot the array [F3] and observe the sidelobe levels. If the sidelobe levels
are excessive then return to the main screen and adjust the second director
spacing for minimum sidelobe levels (usually, increasing the director #2 spac-
ing and reducing the director #3 spacing is the first choice). If more than 4
directors are used, further improvements may be made by varying the spacing of
director # 3.

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E: Optimize the element lengths [F4]. The success of the optimization will de-
pend on the antenna design. The choice of a desired F/B ratio must be selected.

NOTE: Re-optimization for more forward gain may increase the sidelobes.

NOTE: The director spacing affects the overall boom length, so what is added to
one spacing, must be subtracted from another spacing (or the reverse) or the
boom length will be changed.

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AUTO DESIGN A YAGI:
Calls the Auto design Options menu.
NOTE: 2 element yagis are not allowed in the auto design and optimizer modes.

AUTO-DESIGN OPTIONS MENU

OPTIMIZED SPAC:
Choose this option for optimized element spacings. the AUTO MENU will also
appear before optimization to allow further design options...
See F5: MODE / AUTO MENU for specific option information.

BEST F/B:
Choose this option for the best front-to-back ratio and bandwidth.

SPACEBAR: view changes... (Y N)

Allows viewing of element length & spacing value changes during optimization
at the expence of speed. This option is also in the F4 Optimize menu.
TAB: Tapered element Diams... (Y N)

The auto design mode will prompt for the frequency, element diameter(s), and the
number of elements, (or a tapered element schedule will be created for the user
to edit, if the [Tab] key was pressed for tapered elements diameters = Y).

NOTE: When you are not in the manual mode the cursor lightbar will not go past
the first director position. If you attempt to choose an auto mode when the
lightbar is below the 1st director position, the error message "Highlight Pos.
Error" will appear in the dialog box. When the lightbar is moved to the 1st
director position, or above, the error message will clear and you may continue
with the mode selection. Return to the manual mode to move the cursor below
Dir #1 position.

F6: BW

This utility will display a chart of the gain, F/B, feed impedance, and VSWR,
at (21) frequencies within the antenna's bandwidth, with an output to printer
option. To be accurate, the VSWR calculations require that the driven element
be resonant (j 0.0 +/- 1.0) at one of these (21) frequencies. If not, then a
"?" will be displayed beside the VSWR value denoting a lack of accuracy.

The options are:

P: Print
Sends the bandwidth chart to the (default) line printer.

G: Bandwidth Graph
Displays a graphical view of the yagis performance within a pre-calculated
bandpass, plotting the Gain, F/B and VSWR in a relational manner. [Tab] to

11
 change EGA/VGA colors. [Esc] to exit. [Shift+Print Scrn] to print.

B: Pattern Bandwidth Plot

Displays polar plot of 10 or 20 radiation patterns within a pre-calculated
bandpass. In the dialog box, "P" toggles Elev/Azim plots, "L" toggles log
/linear plots and "S" toggles the number of plot samples (10 or 20). The
pattern bandwidth polar plot is most effective when using color EGA/VGA.

USING THE ESCAPE KEY

The [Esc] key will allow you to abort or re-start any operation, and will re-
turn you to the main screen from the plot screen. The [Esc] key is also active
when the options and file menus are displayed.

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 ERROR MESSAGES

Error messages and warnings will appear in the dialog box at the lower right of
the screen. On error, correct the operation and the message will clear.

About RAI Interprises, Inc

RAI Enterprises, Inc. is your antenna homebrewers supply store. We sell 6063-
T832 aluminum tubing, Stainless steel hardware, 6061-T6 Aluminum bar stock,
Aluminum flat strap, and gamma match capacitors.

See our web page at: http://members.aol.com/raientp/products.html

or call or write

RAI Enterprises, Inc.

5638 West Alice Ave.
Glendale, AZ 85302
Ph. (602) 931-9135

RAI Enterprises, Inc. also sells amd manfactures the RAIBEAM antennas
See our web page at: http://members.aol.com/raibeam/index.html

Feb. 1997 WA7RAI

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