Copper Tape Antennas

[Enthalpy]

Hello everyone!

Copper tape is a thin copper band over adhesive tape, commonly used against electromagnetic interferences, seemingly also as a snail repellent. It used to cost a shiny penny for no reason, but the Chinese remedied that, check eBay and Alibaba.

I should (I didn't try) be excellent to build antenna prototypes or indoor antennas, also outdoor antennas if protecting the conductors. Quickly assembled, modified, adjusted. Complete the contacts with the soldering iron.

If the tape shall adhere on a flat item, then panel antennas, dipoles and dipole arrays, patch antennas, Uda-Yagi spring to mind. An optional second plane would constitute a reflector or director, and so on. A helical antenna fits on a cylinder, like a rolled PETP film.

The supporting plane should have reasonable losses. PVC-PA no, wood-paper-cardboard if dry, walls no so good, PTFE excellent but poor adherence, PC-PMMA-PETP-ABS if thin, PE-PP-PS excellent, PS foam excellent, glass excellent including windows.

The film's flat cross-section increases slightly the losses over a rod.

Marc Schaefer, aka Enthalpy