Antenna Made of Seawater


(Video Link)


Defense contractor SPAWAR System Center Pacific has developed a system that turns a stream of seawater shot into the air into a functional antenna:

As the pillar of water is squirted through the current probe, a magnetic field is created and signal comes through to a hooked-up communication device.

Plus, depending on the height of the stream of water, you can get UHF, VHF and HF broadcasts, all from the same jet of H2O. You can even set up multiple jets of water, at different heights, to broadcast on different bands simultaneously. Handy.

The idea could prove particularly useful for ships, which struggle to find room for all the antennas on board. US Navy ships already have upwards of 80 antennas on deck, meaning real estate for extra towers is hugely limited. Instead, the sea water device can be placed anywhere on the deck.


Link via Ace of Spades HQ

I don't see the point. An antenna doesn't get better if it's longer, and it should be made out of a material that conducts well. If it's supposed to be used as an emergency antenna if your normal antenna is broken, why not just carry an extra whip? I mean, for UHF, it's only a couple of inches long and really doesn't weigh anything. If range is the big concern, why not just go for a short wave radio with a dipole? Or even CW? There's not much that can beat the range of CW!
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I don't think the military teaches code any more, and the new digital modes like PSK31 are very close to the efficiency of CW.

The advantage here seems to be that you can adjust the length of the antenna, thereby producing a quarter-wave vertical for whatever frequency you want, just by changing the height of the water column. The antenna tuner becomes a hydraulic device instead of an LC circuit. It's neat, but a little too complicated for land use where you don't have a large supply of salt water handy.
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@Halvis and Anon2

Might try WATCHING the video (even though it will give you the impulse to doodle directly on your desk with a sharpie) it explains why it's very cool new tech and how it can be applied to land use as well.
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Meantime in the desert- Quick!!! Drink!!!! Drink all you can and piss through the conductor-ring- our antenna is broken and you have the only more or less salty water available for our distress-signal! So get on with it- Piss!!!!

:-P
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