During my Arctic Diamonds presentation on the CCF/OHDXF Ferry Cruise in January, – Tonno, ES5TV asked me whether I had any ”normal”  antennas to compare my rhombics with.   

My answer was a tongue-in-cheek reply to the effect that since I had unlimited space at my disposal, I wasn´t interested in limited space antennas.

A fellow Rhombic owner who indeed has such a comparison antenna sent me the following audio files which demonstrate the difference between the reception of  ”normal ”  antennas and Rhombics.

The first audio file is of TL0A an Amateur Radio Station located  in the Central African Republic, recorded using a huge Log Periodic at 30 meters height.  

Most Radio Amateurs would kill to have such an antenna !

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The second recording is made 3 minutes later, from the same location, but this time using a  Rhombic antenna to receive TL0A.

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A visual comparison of the two files  says more than a thousand words:

TL0A on LP antenna

TL0A received with a Rhombic

My Rhombic colleague commented as follows:

”… you will hear what a 30 meter high 6.5 dB gain antenna sounds like with a very wide radiation pattern. It is ideal to pick up all the noise and electrical storms in the equatorial noise zone.

The other recording is 3 minutes later,  with a Rhombic with 20 dB gain, 10 meters high, low take off angle- and a beam width of just 10 degrees. It is not so much that the signal is that much stronger, it is that the noise is that much less. Note the ease with which it is possible to pick up and follow S1 stations that are very weak.

A Rhombic is not just about the gain, it is much more about the noise which you Dont Get…”

I rest my case.