[BC] Vertical or Horizontal

[Robert Meuser]

Its not just the Germans. Most of Europe seem to use linear 
polarization, either horizontal or vertical.

R


Mark Humphrey wrote:

>
> In 1967, while he was Assistant DE for Triangle Publications (Walter
> Annenberg's media empire), my friend Lew Wetzel wrote a NAFMB paper
> entitled "Practical Experience Derived from Dual Polarized FM
> Antennas", discussing the results of experiments conducted at WNHC-FM
> (now WPLR) in New Haven/Hartford, CT.  I have a copy here which has
> been converted to PDF, it should be posted on my website next month.
>
> He concluded the following :
>
> A: In the absence of shadowing or diffraction effects
> transmission of a vertically polarized component
> adds very little to the signal received on a horizontally
> polarized receiving antenna.
>
> B. When receiving antennas having a substantial vertical
> component are employed, a correspondingly
> substantial improvement in over-all service can be
> expected.
>
> C. The vertical component appears to have substantial
> value for users of automobile FM radios and portable
> FM receivers.
>
> D. In the presence of shadowing or diffraction effects,
> spots which have very low signal strength when
> horizontal polarization alone is transmitted, tend to
> find a substantial improvement in the horizontally
> polarized component of the field in such shadowed
> areas.
>
> I had lunch with Lew a few weeks ago and told me he strongly believes
> the adoption of vertical/circular polarization did much more to ensure
> the success of FM than conversion from mono to stereo, an opinion
> shared by several other veteran FM broadcasters I know.
>
> However, 40 years later, the Germans still aren't convinced!
>