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Thank you for that last paragraph. This is very helpful to know.

• ac29 4y ago
  In this case, its not true though - the gain on this sort of FM broadcast antenna should be uniform in all horizontal directions. The gain is from reducing power in the vertical plane (that is, less energy radiated up into space and down into the ground). Orientation thus shouldnt matter. Antennas with a non-uniform horizontal radiation pattern do need to be correctly oriented. A simple example of a directional antenna is a Yagi, where more energy comes out the front than the back and sides.
  • SigmundA 4y ago
    I would nitpick that it needs to be correctly orientated such that it's perpendicular to the horizon. This is of course convenient to do but is important when placing your own smaller antennas vs say putting them at off angles or parallel to the horizon. Many small antennas like say for cellular use will list large gain numbers, and many people will buy based one having more gain than another. The ones with more gain typically have radiation patterns less uniform than a dipole and may pick up better to certain sides, even though they aren't an obvious single direction antenna like a Yagi or marketed as such.
    • ac29 4y ago
      > I would nitpick that it needs to be correctly orientated such that it's perpendicular to the horizon This is of course true! I wish it didnt need to be said, but I work in radio and I have absolutely seen people install antennas incorrectly (installing Yagi antennas with the wrong polarity or facing the wrong direction is reasonably common). Hopefully that wouldnt be an issue at FM broadcast sites though.