Chapter 22

The Quadrifilar Helix Antenna

Sec 22.1 Introduction land or sea.

One reason for presenting details of

T
he quadrifilar helix antenna, the quadrifilar in this book is that it is an
shown in Fig 22-1, is seeing use inherently excellent antenna for ground
on commercial and military, as station use in the amateur satellite ser-
well as amateur spacecraft. vice. Once you study the following engi-
For amateur applications it first saw use neering aspects of the quadrifilar, you’ll
on AMSAT-OSCAR 7 in November 1974. discover its advantages over other circu-
I prepared the basic information in this larly polarized antennas, such as crossed
chapter while I was employed as an an- Yagis. It is useful at 144 MHz, and up,
tenna engineer at RCA’s Astro-Electron- and all the critical dimensions are in-
ics Division in Princeton, New Jersey. In- cluded in this chapter. The dimensions are
formation also appears in Chapter 20 of listed in wavelengths, so all you have to
The ARRL Antenna Book, 15th edition do is convert them to the desired fre-
(Ref 71). While working at RCA, I assisted quency. The details of feeding, phasing,
in the development of the quadrifilar he- and infinite balun construction are given
lix.1 We consider this antenna to be an in the drawings and photos, long with
outstanding contribution to practical sufficient explanation for you to construct
spacecraft antenna engineering from the your own quadrifilar.
viewpoint of flexibility in design. The Radiation from the quadrifilar helix
quadrifilar helix provides a large range antenna is circularly polarized and of the
of radiation characteristics from a radia- same screw sense everywhere throughout
tor of extremely small size and weight, the radiation sphere. The antenna embod-
from which we can select a pretested de- ies a unique configuration and method of
sign to match the radiation requirements feeding loop elements to produce radia-
of any particular spacecraft. tion having a controllable pattern shape.
The quadrifilars shown in Fig 22-1are Refer again to Fig 22-1. The quadrifilar
flight-model units for operation at 1800 antenna comprises two bifilar helical
and 2200 MHz. I also assisted in the de- loops oriented in a mutually orthogonal
sign of quadrifilars for 121.5, 243, and relation on a common axis. The terminals
1600 MHz, which are flying on TIROS-N of each loop are fed 180° out of phase, and
(NOAA 9 through 14) weather spacecraft the currents in the two loops are in phase
in the worldwide Search and Rescue quadrature (90° out of phase).
(SAR) Emergency Locator Transmitter By selecting the appropriate configu-
(ELT) service. The service is primarily for ration of the loops, a wide range of radia-
downed or stricken aircraft, over either tion pattern shapes is available, with ex-

The Quadrifilar Helix Antenna 22-1

Fig 22-1 — Two flight-model quadrifilar helix antennas. The larger is for use around 1800
MHz, and the smaller around 2200 MHz. Radiation from each antenna is circularly
polarized and of the same screw sense everywhere throughout its radiation sphere.

cellent axial ratio appearing over a large novel feed system that includes the infi-
volume of the pattern. The basic form of nite balun. The feed system also includes
the quadrifilar antenna was developed by a means for attaining the required 90° dif-
Dr C. C. Kilgus of the Applied Physics ferential current phase relationship with-
Laboratory, Johns Hopkins University, out requiring additional components to
who has published several papers that achieve separate differential-phase exci-
establish the theoretical basis for its op- tations.
eration. (See Refs 88 through 96). The The quadrifilar antenna is applicable
Brown and Woodward citation (Ref 90) is for general use in the frequency range
especially helpful in understanding the above 30 MHz. It is especially attractive
radiation characteristics of the quadri- for certain spacecraft applications because
filar. That paper describes radiation from it can provide omnidirectional radiation
the combination of a dipole and a circular in a single hemisphere (a cardioid volume
loop sharing a common axis, and fed in of revolution) without requiring a ground
phase, which produces radiation charac- plane. This no-ground-plane feature af-
teristics similar to the quadrifilar. This fords a dramatic saving in weight and
version of the quadrifilar helix uses a space. In addition, the inherent cardioid

22-2 Chapter 22
radiation characteristic that eliminates sult, the radiation characteristics of the
the need for the ground plane also affords quadrifilar antenna are sometimes mis-
freedom in the choice of a mounting posi- understood. Although the term quadrifilar
tion on a spacecraft. The profile of the is not incorrect, the term itself often fails
volume beneath the antenna has rela- to conjure up a true picture of the physi-
tively little effect on the radiation pattern, cal characteristics. Therefore, since sev-
provided that the quadrifilar is mounted eral characteristics of the quadrifilar an-
at least λ/4 above conducting surfaces tenna differ radically from those of the
which would form a reflective plane. conventional helical antenna (for ex-
Quadrifilars designed to operate in ample, opposite screw sense of circular
the frequency range of 1800 and 2200 polarization), the following paragraphs
MHz can be extremely light, weighing examine some aspects of both the physi-
only about 0.7 ounce. Developed by RCA cal and the radiation characteristics of the
Astro-Electronics, several of these anten- quadrifilar to clarify the confusion.
nas are flying on U.S. Air Force satellites In describing the physical character-
of the Defense Meteorological Support istics of the quadrifilar, I will concentrate
program, also built by RCA. A slightly on the simple half-turn λ/2 configuration.
smaller version of similar design (donated As I stated earlier, the quadrifilar helix
by RCA Astro-Electronics) is the is a combination of two bifilar helicals
2304.1-MHz beacon antenna, which flew arranged in a mutually orthogonal rela-
on AMSAT-OSCAR 7. tionship along a common axis, and envel-
Quadrifilars having a somewhat dif- oping a common volume.
ferent configuration from that shown in What is a bifilar helix? One way of
Fig 22-1 have also been developed by RCA visualizing the half-turn λ/2 bifilar helix
for use on RCA-built NOAA TIROS-N is to develop it from a continuous square
weather satellites. The design differs be- loop of wire one wavelength in perimeter,
cause the radiation pattern requirements as shown in Fig 22-2. As in the driven el-
are different. The design of the quadri- ement of the conventional cubical quad
filars for transmitting the principal video antenna, each side of this square loop is
signals from the TIROS-N spacecraft is λ/4, and the feed terminals are formed by
noteworthy because the radiation pattern opening the loop at the midpoint of the
has been shaped to maintain a nearly con- bottom side. We call this square-loop con-
stant signal level versus slant-range dis- figuration a zero-turn, λ/2 bifilar loop.
tance between the spacecraft and the There is a half wavelength of wire radia-
ground station during the in-view portion tor extending away from each feed termi-
of the spacecraft orbit. (RCA-built TIROS- nal around the loop to the antipodal point
N, or NOAA spacecraft launched around on the opposite side of the square (loop
1979 are still in service today, in April half-length lenE° equals λ/2). The draw-
1999.) ing shows length len° with a script letter
L. This loop is a balanced input device,
Sec 22.2 Physical requiring a balanced, two-wire feed line
Characteristics with push-pull currents.
There is a tendency to confuse the To visualize the development of the
quadrifilar with the conventional helical quadrifilar helix, imagine inserting an
antenna, probably because portions of the imaginary cylinder of diameter D = λ/4
quadrifilar are helically shaped. As a re- inside the loop. Then, while holding the

The Quadrifilar Helix Antenna 22-3

Fig 22-2—Horizontally polarized square loop radiator. The small arrows represent the
direction of current flow.

bottom side of the loop fixed, grasp the the 1/2-turn, λ/2 bifilar, some of the ra-
top side and give it a half turn of rotation diation characteristics are not particu-
with respect to the bottom. As a result, larly attractive. However, some physical
shown in Fig 22-3, each of the two verti- parameters of the loop may be selected to
cal sides of the square loop becomes a obtain characteristics that make this an-
half-turn helix as it curves around the tenna especially attractive. Such param-
surface of the imaginary cylinder. How- eters include the electrical length of the
ever, because of the curved paths of the conductors, the number of turns, the cy-
once-straight vertical sides, the distance lindrical diameter D, and length lenp°. In
between the top and the bottom has addition, for a given conductor length, the
shrunk, and the axial length, lenp°, is less length-to-diameter ratio, abbreviated len/
than the λ/4 diameter. diam, of the cylinder is also an important
With these particular proportions of variable, controlled by the diameter and

22-4 Chapter 22
Fig 22-3—Half-turn bifilar helix loop. Distance lenE° equals the loop half-length.
number of turns. For example, the an- elements, with the top element being volt-
tennas shown in Fig 22-1 are 1/2-turn, λ/ age fed from the bottom element. In this
2 quadrifilars. But by reducing the diam- loop the currents in the top and bottom
eter from 0.25 λ to 0.18 λ for this model, sides flow in the same direction, as shown
the axial length is inherently increased in Fig 22-2. The horizontally polarized
to 0.27 λ. This results in vastly improved fields produced by the currents in both top
radiation characteristics. and bottom sides are therefore in phase.
Sec 22.3 Electrical The two fields add to form the conven-
tional figure-8 broadside radiation pat-
Characteristics tern. The bidirectional lobes in the pat-
Let’s take a short qualitative look at tern are at right angles to the plane of
some basic changes in the radiation pat- the loop. The null in the pattern appears
tern that result from the 1/2-turn twist of bidirectionally on a horizontal line that
the square loop. First, recall that the is in the plane of the loop midway between
square loop having a perimeter P = I λ is the top and bottom sides.
basically a broadside array of two dipole In the vertical sides of the loop, the

The Quadrifilar Helix Antenna 22-5

current in the top half of each side flows Sec 22.4 Difference Between
in the direction opposite to that in the Quadrifilar and Conventional
corresponding bottom half. Consequently,
the vertically polarized fields produced by
Helix
both halves of each vertical side are mu- Before considering the radiation char-
tually out of phase, and add to zero in all acteristics of the bifilar helix further, it
directions. This cancellation of the verti- may be helpful to mention some critical
cal fields results in zero net vertically po- distinctions between the Kilgus bifilar
larized radiation. helix and the conventional helical antenna
On the other hand, in the bifilar he- configurations. In the conventional heli-
lix loop having the half-turn twist, the cal antenna having more than one radi-
currents in the top and bottom sides flow ating element, the elements are generally
in opposite directions because of the physi- fed in phase. However, Kilgus found that
cal half-turn rotation of the top side. This interesting results were obtained with a
current relationship is shown in Fig 22-3. helical antenna that has two elements
Thus, the fields produced by the currents spaced radially at 180° when the two ele-
in the top and bottom sides are now out ments are fed 180° out of phase. This find-
of phase with each other, forming an ing led Kilgus to his further investigation
end-fire array relationship. of the bifilar helical antenna having
In the direction broadside to the plane out-of-phase feed, and still further to the
formed by the top and bottom sides, the quadrifilar configuration. Thus, an alter-
fields now cancel completely. As in the native way of visualizing the bifilar helix
ordinary end-fire array, this results in zero is as a conventional helical antenna with
radiation in the broadside direction, two elements radially spaced at 180°, but
where maximum radiation appeared with with the outer ends radially connected to
the square loop. The conventional lobes each other, and with the elements fed out
of end-fire radiation contributed by the top of phase.
and bottom sides now occur toward the Dr. Kilgus’ analyses provide a more
top and bottom of the antenna as drawn complete theoretical basis for the func-
in Fig 22-3. This radiation is horizontally tioning of both the bifilar and the
polarized. quadrifilar helix. He shows the current
The currents flowing in the helical distribution and radiation characteristics
portions of the loop retain the same of the half-turn, λ/2 bifilar helix to be simi-
current-flow pattern as in Fig 22-2. How- lar to those of a loop-dipole combination
ever, the physical positions of each cur- described by Brown and Woodward (Ref
rent segment, or element, in the twisted 90). Brown and Woodward analyzed a
vertical wires have now been shifted to a combination horizontal loop and vertical
new position, and to a new orientation in dipole sharing a common axis. They show
the helical paths. This results in a corre- that while both a loop and a dipole pro-
sponding different position and vector di- duce identical toroid shaped radiation
rection for each elemental field produced patterns, the electric field produced by the
by the helical current elements. As would dipole current in this arrangement is ver-
be expected, the addition of all these el- tical, and the electric field produced by the
emental fields now results in a composite loop current is horizontal. When the cur-
field consisting of both horizontally and rents in the loop and dipole are in phase,
vertically polarized fields. their fields are in phase quadrature, a

22-6 Chapter 22
 Fig 22-4—Half-turn
quadrifilar (two half-turn
bifilar loops).

requirement for circularly polarized radia- lier findings as well as extending them.
tion. When the vertical and horizontal
fields are also equal in magnitude, the Sec 22.5 Development of the
resulting radiation is circularly polarized, Quadrifilar Helix Antenna
with the same screw sense everywhere In this section we examine the intrin-
throughout the radiation sphere. sic cardioid, or omnidirectional hemi-
Experimental data obtained by spheric radiation characteristic of the
Kilgus supports his theoretical analysis, quadrifilar. In doing so, the toroidal ra-
and confirms the similarity of radiation diation pattern of the bifilar helix becomes
characteristics between the half-turn, λ/ of initial primary interest. Recall that in
2 bifilar helix and the loop-dipole combi- the toroidal radiation pattern of the
nation. For the purpose of obtaining ad- loop-dipole, maximum radiation occurs
ditional data pertinent to the development broadside to the axis, with the null on the
of quadrifilar antennas for use on the axis. On the other hand, as mentioned
TIROS-N spacecraft, I performed exten- earlier, maximum radiation from the bifi-
sive measurements of pattern shape, po- lar loop occurs bidirectionally along the
larization, axial ratio, and terminal im- axis of the loop, while the null appears in
pedance on more than a thousand differ- the direction perpendicular to the plane
ent bifilar and quadrifilar helix configu- formed by the top and bottom sides, or
rations. The data obtained from these radials of the loop. Except for this 90° ro-
measurements agree with the Kilgus tation of the axes, the radiation charac-
data, adding further validity to the ear- teristics of the two antennas are similar.

The Quadrifilar Helix Antenna 22-7

Fig 22-5—Radiation pattern of the half-turn, λ/2 quadrifilar antenna when illuminated with
a circularly polarized source.
We may develop a quadrifilar helix This field relationship is the key to
from the bifilar (which I will call bifilar the cardioid radiation characteristic of the
A) by adding a second bifilar, B, on the quadrifilar. When both bifilars are fed in
same axis and enclosing the same space, a 0-180° and 90-270°-phase relationship,
but rotated 90° relative to bifilar A. This respectively, (excited simultaneously with
arrangement is shown in Fig 22-4. The a mutual 90° current-phase relationship),
fields radiated by bifilar B are identical the cardioid radiation pattern appears in
to those of bifilar A, except that the en- the far field. This is because the fields of
tire radiation pattern of bifilar B is rotated both bifilars are in phase in one axial di-
90° relative to that of bifilar A. Conse- rection. In this direction, the two fields
quently, the null of bifilar A and the maxi- add, while in the opposite direction, the
mum radiation of bifilar B appear at the fields are out of phase and cancel. As the
same point in space, and vice versa. On cancellation is not perfect off axis, the re-
the other hand, in the axial directions the sult is a cardioid-shaped pattern of revo-
radiation fields from both bifilars are lution about the axis. In the broadside
equal. direction normal to the axis, the respec-

22-8 Chapter 22
Fig 22-6—Quadrifilar radiation pattern when illuminated with a spinning dipole. This
illumination adds axial-ratio data, represented as the difference between adjacent
maximum and minimum values of a ripple wave.
tive nulls and maxima of the two indi- ranges of the parameter values. However,
vidual bifilars compensate each other to let us now examine how the Air Force 5D,
produce a uniform omnidirectional radia- the amateur AMSAT-OSCAR 7 and the
tion pattern around the axis. TIROS-N quadrifilar designs were tai-
lored to obtain the radiation characteris-
See 22.6 The Quadrifilar Shape tics required for their particular missions.
Factor When using bifilars having a diam-
As I stated earlier, the radiation pat- eter D = 0.25 λ, formed by placing a half
tern shape and the axial ratio of the po- twist in the square loop of Fig 2, the len/
larization can be controlled. This is done diam ratio is less than one, which yields
by tailoring both the length of wire and poor front-to-back and axial ratios. By
number of turns in the loop, and the decreasing the diameter to D = 0.18 λ
length-to-diameter ratio, len/diam, of the while retaining the half-turn, λ/2 loop, the
formed cylinder. Kilgus’ data shows these axial length increases to lenp° = 0.27 λ.
relationships graphically for certain The resulting ratio, len/diam. = 1.5, yields

The Quadrifilar Helix Antenna 22-9

Fig 22-7—Radiation pattern of the 1 1/2 turn, 1.25-λ quadrifilar antenna.
a vast improvement in both front-to-back 20 dB. The radiation at any angle θ is uni-
and axial ratios. These are the design val- form for all values of φ around the Z axis.
ues used in the Air Force 5D and AMSAT- Thus, the single θ pattern (at any value
OSCAR 7 quadrifilars. The radiation pat- of φ) represents the shape of the envelope
terns obtained with this design are shown of the volume of revolution about the Z
in Figs 22-5 and 22-6. The patterns are axis, which defines the solid radiation
presented in the standard IEEE pattern in all directions.
spherical-coordinate system of notation, The pattern shown in Fig 22-6 was
and the orientation of the antenna rela- obtained by using a spinning dipole to il-
tive to the coordinate axes is shown in Fig luminate the quadrifilar, to obtain
22-4. axial-ratio information. The periodic
The θ radiation pattern shown in Fig ripple appearing in the pattern results
22-5 was measured while using circularly from the rotation of the dipole. The
polarized illumination of the quadrifilar. maxima and minima, respectively, corre-
This pattern shows an on-axis gain of 5 spond to the times when the dipole is par-
dBic (decibels relative to isotropic, circu- allel to the major and minor axes of the
lar), and a front-to-back ratio greater than polarization ellipse. The axial ratio may

22-10 Chapter 22
 Fig 22-8 — Half-turn
bifilar loop with infinite
balun ffed.

be determined from the difference be- that was required to determine the con-
tween adjacent maximum and minimum figuration that would satisfy the radia-
values. Thus, the axial ratio of this de- tion-pattern requirements was to search
sign is seen to be less than 2 dB over a through the hundreds of patterns ob-
beamwidth of ±30°. tained during the research to find the one
As mentioned earlier, the that fit the requirements. The bifilar pa-
shape-factor parameters for the TIROS-N rameters which yield this pattern shape
configuration were determined empiri- were found in to be 11/2 turns, 1.25-λ loop,
cally from the results of my research mea- D = 0.1 λ lenp° = 1.0 λ, and len/diam =
surements. I took measurements on more 10.0. These quadrifilars, flying on
than a thousand combinations of TIROS-N, are used for transmitting
quadrifilar configurations in which each weather and other data in the 1600-MHz
physical parameter was separately var- region, completely separate from the
ied in small increments while holding the 121.5, 243, and 1600-MHz SAR-ELT
other variables constant. Hundreds of quadrifilars flying on the same spacecraft.
shape-factor combinations were mea-
sured, which provided families of patterns See 22.7 Methods of Feeding
from which to select the parameters for the Quadrifilar Antenna
the desired pattern shape. The TIROS-N Feeding the quadrifilar with a single,
mission required a radiation-pattern unbalanced coaxial line requires special
shape which provides a nearly constant attention. Because the individual bifilar
signal level to the ground station during loops are balanced-input devices, some
in-view time. This pattern shape is shown form of balun is required to provide bal-
in Fig 22-7. The configuration that yields anced push-pull currents to the terminals
this radiation pattern was one of the hun- of each bifilar. In addition, to obtain the
dreds measured during my research. All unidirectional radiation characteristic of

The Quadrifilar Helix Antenna 22-11

Fig 22-9 — Feed arrangement for 90° self-phasing of loops.
the quadrifilar, the two bifilar loops re- end of the second half of the loop is con-
quire separate excitations having a rela- nected to the outside surface of the coax
tive phase difference of 90°. Further, the feed line. Thus, the loop is closed at the
sense of the 90° phase relationship deter- antipodal point of the loop, where the feed
mines from which end the quadrifilar ra- line enters. The second half of the loop is
diates. a solid wire of the same diameter as the
Several different balun and outer diameter of the coax.
quadrature-phase circuit arrangements In operation, current flowing on the
are available for feeding the quadrifilar, inner conductor of the coax emerges at the
such as the folded balun, the split-sheath feed point to flow onto the second half of
balun, or a combination of 90° and 180° the loop. For current flowing on the in-
hybrids, and so forth, as described by side of the outer conductor of the coax, on
Bricker and Rickert (Refs 88, 89). How- its arrival at the end of the coax, the only
ever, to save weight and to effect simplic- path for current flow is around the end
ity in the construction, a unique feeding and onto the outside of the outer conduc-
arrangement is used. This technique fea- tor. Now such external feed-line current
tures the infinite, or inherent balun, com- is the desired antenna current, because
bined with a novel method of self-phasing the outside portion of coax extending from
the two bifilar loops to achieve the 90° dif- the feed point to the antipodal point is the
ferential current relationship between the radiator. Externally, the antipodal point
loops. The constructional simplicity is demarks the end of the feed line and the
apparent in Fig 22-1, which illustrates the beginning of the loop radiator. Because of
quadrifilar configuration used on both the skin effect, the transmission line currents
TIROS-N and Air Force 5D satellites, and flowing inside the coax portion of the loop
on the amateur satellite, AMSAT-OSCAR are completely divorced from the antenna
7. currents flowing externally on the loop.
Their only relationship is that the inter-
Sec 22.8 The Infinite or nal transmission-line currents emerge at
Inherent Balun the feed point, where they become the
In the infinite balun, shown in Fig external antenna currents.
22-9, we see the coaxial feed line extend- As the feed line is dressed away from
ing into the loop and shaped to form the the antipodal point symmetrically relative
first half of a bifilar loop. At the end of to the loop, currents induced on the feed
the coax, the inner conductor is connected line because of coupling from each half of
to the opposite or second half of the bifi- the loop are equal and flow in opposite
lar loop to form the feed point. The other directions. The opposing currents on the

22-12 Chapter 22
Fig 22-10 — Impedance versus frequency plot of self-phased quadrifilar antenna.
line thus cancel each other, decoupling the Such a device is called an “infinite balun.”
feed line from the loop. In other words,
from the external viewpoint of the loop Sec 22.9 Self-Phased
radiator, the source generator can be con- Quadrature Feed
sidered to exist directly between the two As stated, a quadrature-phase cur-
input terminals of the loop at the feed rent relationship is required between the
point, and the feed line effectively disap- two bifilar loops of the quadrifilar array.
pears. Thus, the current-mode transition This requirement is met by using the
in the coaxial-line portion of the loop — self-phasing method. The orthogonal bifi-
from an internal unbalanced mode enter- lar loops are designed such that one loop
ing at the antipodal point, to an external is larger relative to the desired resonant
balanced mode emerging at the feed point frequency length and therefore inductive,
— constitutes an inherent balun device. while the other loop is smaller and there-

The Quadrifilar Helix Antenna 22-13

fore capacitive. Using this method, the where
two loops are fed in parallel by connect- D = diameter of imaginary cylinder
ing the terminals of both loops together on which bifilar is wound lenP° = axial
at the feed point, as shown in Fig 22-9. length, as shown in Fig 22-3
This self-phasing method requires only
one coaxial feed line, and any of the balun The resultant impedance versus fre-
arrangements mentioned earlier (shown quency response of the parallel-loop com-
by Bricker and Rickert, Ref 88) may be bination is shown in the Smith Chart, Fig
used. It is evident that one loop half is 22-10. The formation of the cusp in the
the coax feed line, while the other three impedance locus is the design goal that
half loops are simply solid wire. signifies that the 90° phase relationship
The larger inductive loop is designed exists between the loops.
such that, at the operating frequency, the
reactive component XL of the loop termi-
See 22.10 The Quadrifilar in
nal impedance is equal to the resistive Space
component, R. Similarly, the smaller ca- As I’ve indicated above, the quadri-
pacitive loop is designed so its reactive filar antenna was developed for spacecraft
component XC equals R at the operating use. Fig 22-11 shows the comparative size
frequency. The ± X = R relationship is between an experimental S-band quadri-
important, because to obtain a relative filar and the flight-model system of a
current phase of 90° between the two circularly polarized crossed-dipole an-
loops, the larger loop current must lag by tenna over a ground plane, which the
45° and the smaller must lead by 45°. quadrifilar replaced. The two antennas
For the current phase of the larger have identical radiation characteristics.
loop to lag, or the smaller loop to lead by Four of the crossed-dipole ground-plane
45°, their phase angles must be ±45°, or units flew on ITOS (TIROS-M). They were
have an arc tangent of ±1. This occurs only replaced with quadrifilars on the newer
when ± X = R. When the two loops are fed TIROS-N to save space and weight, but
in parallel, the relative lag and lead cur- accomplished the same communications
rents in the loops differ in phase by 90º tasks on the same frequencies. Using the
without requiring any additional compo- same technique as described in Sec 22.9
nents to obtain separate differential phase for the quadrifilar, the required 90° dipole
excitations. Dimensions that yield the phasing to obtain circular polarization in
correct phase relationship with a loop wire the crossed-dipole array was accom-
diameter of 0.0088 λ are as follows. plished by using the short and long dipole
elements shown in the picture. The short
Smaller loop: elements are capacitive, causing the di-
D = 0.156 λ pole currents to lead by 45°, and the long
lenP° = 0.238 λ elements are inductive, causing the cur-
Perimeter= 1.016 λ rents to lag 45°, resulting in a differen-
tial phase of 90°. The balun is a split tube.
Larger loop: Before the launch of OSCAR 7,
D = 0.173 λ AMSAT publicized the quadrifilar an-
lenP° = 0.260 λ tenna in the AMSAT Newsletter for March
Perimeter = 1.120 λ 1975 (Ref 131). The cover picture for that
issue is included here as Fig 22-12. The

22-14 Chapter 22
Fig 22-11 — Comparing the size of a quadrifilar antenna and a flight model, circularly
polarized crossed dipole over a ground plane system, which it replaced. The two
antennas have identical radiation characteristics, but the quadrifilar obviously requires
less space and is lighter.
quadrifilar helix antenna is shown Astro-Electronics Division of Princeton,
mounted on an OSCAR 7 test model at New Jersey.
the RCA Space Center, attached to an The OSCAR 7 antenna is circularly
ITOS weather satellite (TIROS-M) in the polarized, radiates hemispherically with-
piggyback launch configuration. Fig 22-13 out requiring a ground plane, and has a
shows another view of the test model, gain of 5 dBic on axis going down smoothly
while Figs 22-14 and 22-15 show the to 0.0 dBic 90° off axis over the entire 360°
quadrifilar mounted on the OSCAR 7 around the edge of the hemisphere, with
spacecraft as it is being readied for flight. good polarization circularity at the hemi-
In spite of its small size (0.7 ounce), the sphere edges. It is fed with an infinite
quadrifilar antenna boasts tremendous balun, and has elements phased at 90°
performance for spacecraft use. RCA Engi- with no phasing line. With a modification
neers Randy Bricker, Herb Rickert, and I devised to operate at the 2304.1MHz
myself developed the original design, for beacon frequency, this antenna was fab-
use on the highly successful USAF space- ricated under the direction of Bricker and
craft, the Block 5-D Meteorological Satel- myself specifically for the OSCAR 7 ama-
lite, which was built by the RCA teur spacecraft, and presented to AMSAT

The Quadrifilar Helix Antenna 22-15

Fig 22-12 — This photo was used as the cover picture for the March 1975 issue of the
AMSAT Newsletter (Ref 131). Shown clockwise from the upper left are Walt Maxwell
(W2DU), Walt Ozman (W2WGH), OSCAR 7 Project Manager and NASA engineer Jan King
(W3GEY), and Randy Bricker, who is pointing out the radiation characteristics of the
2304-MHz OSCAR 7 beacon antenna.

22-16 Chapter 22
Fig 22-13 — The OSCAR 7 quadrifilar on its test model in its piggyback launch
configuration alongside the flight-model ITOS spacecraft with which it flew. Left to right
are Bricker, Maxwell (W2DU), and Ozman (W2WGH).

The Quadrifilar Helix Antenna 22-17

Fig 22-14 — The OSCAR 7 quadrifilar, lower right, mounted on the OSCAR 7 spacecraft
during prelaunch rediness operations.

22-18 Chapter 22
Fig 22-15 — A close-up view of the OSCAR 7 quadrifilar during prelaunch readiness.

by RCA, which designed and built the would form a cylinder approximately 13
TIROS-ESSA-ITOS-TIROS-N weather inches in diameter and 20 inches high,
satellite series. (After being accepted by while at 432 MHz, the diameter and
the U.S. Weather Bureau these RCA-built height would be 4.4 inches and 6.8 inches.
spacecraft became known as NOAA, with At 29 MHz the dimensions would be 5.5
a number designation to determine the feet and 8.4 feet, respectively. The circu-
specific spacecraft of the series.) I also lar polarization reduces polarization fad-
served as consulting engineer for all an- ing caused by Faraday rotation of the elec-
tenna systems on AMSAT OSCAR 7. RCA tric field vector, especially on the 10-meter
Technicians Walt Ozmon, W2WGH, and downlink. The quadrifilar scaled for use
Joe Rovenski, W2HLO, performed many at 137 MHz is used quite extensively by
of the impedance and radiation pattern weather buffs for receiving APT weather
measurements during the final testing of pictures, with excellent results on both
the OSCAR 7 quadrifilar antenna. 137.5 and 137.62 MHz. One note is of par-
Scaled up for lower frequencies, the ticular importance for those intending to
quadrifilar has similar performance char- build the quadrifilar. The diameter of the
acteristics. At 146 MHz, the quadrifilar conductors in the bifilar loops is especially

The Quadrifilar Helix Antenna 22-19

critical. The reason is that the ±45° lead- an entire pass, with continued contact
ing and lagging currents in the respective until between 5° and 10° in elevation at
bifilar loops, which obtains the required the end of the pass. The beauty of the per-
90° differential phasing between the two formance of this antenna is that it needs
loops, is derived by the corresponding ca- to be no more than λ/4 above the ground,
pacitive and inductive reactances in the requires no manipulation or positioning
loops. The distributed inductance in each to follow the orbital path of the spacecraft,
loop determines the reactance in the loop. but it does appreciate a clear shot to the
When the length of the loop is less than orbital path of the spacecraft. NOAA
the resonant length the reactance is ca- spacecraft 9 through 13 are presently
pacitive, causing the current to lead the available for receiving APT pictures in the
voltage. When the loop length is greater 137 MHz band.
than the resonant length the reactance is In summary, the quadrifilar helix
inductive. Now the critical point: To make antenna differs significantly from the con-
the leading current precisely + 45° and ventional helical antenna. Control of pat-
the lagging current precisely –45°, the tern shape and other radiation character-
distributed inductance of the conductors istics are available by selecting appropri-
must also be of precisely the correct value. ate dimensional parameters. A novel
To obtain the correct value of distributed balun for feeding this balanced-input de-
inductance the length-to-diameter ratio of vice from coaxial feed line is used, as is a
the conductor also must be correct. The method of self-phasing the loop radiating
optimum radiation pattern and gain of the elements to obtain a quadrature current
antenna requires the leading and lagging relationship between the loops. The
currents to be ±45°. It therefore behooves quadrifilar helix is a durable antenna, one
the builder of the quadrifilar to carefully that is seeing use on both amateur and
observe the conductor-diameter require- commercial satellites, as well as on
ment to obtain successful operation of the ground stations for receiving APT weather
antenna. Using the λ dimension data information transmissions on 137.5 and
listed earlier, it may be helpful for the 137 137.62 MHz from the TIROS-NOAA
MHz builders to know that 3/4 inch soft weather satellites. The satellites pres-
copper tubing works very well. Generally, ently transmitting on these APT frequen-
the 137 MHz will allow access of a NOAA cies are TIROS-N NOAA 9 through NOAA
weather spacecraft signal at between 5° 14.
and 10° in elevation with no nulls during

1 Among other tasks on the quadrifilar project, I performed the R & D research on
more than 1000 different configurations of the quadrifilar helix, which led to the de-
velopment of the six quadrifilar antennas flying on the polar-orbiting TIROS-N NOAA
weather spacecraft. A copy of my research report appears in the Appendix.

22-20 Chapter 22