Temperature's Effect on an Antenna Ground Plane
Antenna ground planes form the bottom section of an antenna. The ground plane can act as a reflector for a transmitted signal and provide electrical grounding. The ground plane also acts as the second half of a dipole antenna. Antenna ground plane performance depends on its temperature, humidity and conductivity.
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Radiation Resistance
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Antenna temperature and the temperature of its environment correlates to radiation resistance. According to "Antenna and Wave Propagation," "the noise temperature of a loss-less antenna is equal to the sky temperature and not the physical temperature." Higher temperatures equal a higher radiation resistance. This increases the signal loss of the antenna and interferes with the performance of the ground plane.
Ground Temperature
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Frozen water carries signals through the ground better than dry earth. Ground plane signal reception can be made worse by environmental conditions determined by temperature. According to "Distributed Sensor Networks" by Sundararaja Iyengar and Richard Brooks, "when the dew point (or frost point) is reached, which effectively can raise the ground plane well above a practical unattended ground sensor antenna height." Since the ground plane helps amplify the antenna's signal, the dew and frost thus nullifies the effect of the ground plane.
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Effect of Temperature on Antenna Materials
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If the temperature of an antenna's material is high enough, the antenna's dielectric constant falls. This interferes with the antenna's ability to receive signals well. High temperatures can also cause degradation of the antenna's materials. If the ground plane begins to fall apart, it will not function well.
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