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Windows application

Radiante

Design and try out antennas before you climb onto the roof: 3D drawing, built-in NEC-2 calculation, SWR, impedance, gain and pattern that update while you move the wires.

NEC-2AntenneQtC++Windows
Register and download → Releases on GitHub

// Get it free

The program is free. Leave your callsign and email: I will send you the licence file and the download link.

Radiante: 3-element Yagi at 12 m on a mast, 3D pattern, SWR and azimuth and elevation polar plots
Radiante: 3-element Yagi at 12 m on a mast, 3D pattern, SWR and azimuth and elevation polar plots
Vertical delta loop for 20 m: 3D pattern, SWR on 100 ohm and polar plots
Vertical delta loop for 20 m: 3D pattern, SWR on 100 ohm and polar plots
Inverted V dipole with the apex at 10 m on a mast, realistic view
Inverted V dipole with the apex at 10 m on a mast, realistic view
λ/2 dipole in simplified view (NEC model) compared with free space
λ/2 dipole in simplified view (NEC model) compared with free space
EFHW end-fed half-wave for 40 m, horizontal at 10 m
EFHW end-fed half-wave for 40 m, horizontal at 10 m

Radiante is for designing and trying out antennas before you climb onto the roof. You draw the antenna in 3D, put it at the right height over your ground, next to the mast or over a metal roof, and see SWR, impedance, gain and pattern straight away. Drag a wire with the mouse and the graphs update while you drag it.

The calculation is NEC-2 (OpenNEC engine), runs inside the program and uses every CPU core: no files to pass back and forth to an external solver.

Calculation

  • SWR, R and X across the band, with a cursor: move it and the 3D pattern follows the frequency
  • 3D pattern and azimuth and elevation polar cuts, with the free-space curve for comparison
  • Perfect or real ground (Sommerfeld below 0.2 λ) and how much the ground changes the antenna
  • Currents on the wires, including mast and roof
  • Automatic tuning: picks the parameter and adjusts it until X = 0
  • Loads: LC traps with Q, coils, resistors

Drawing

  • Guided setup for a new antenna, from scratch or from a library model
  • Wire editor with coordinates, wire role and feed point
  • Direct dragging in the 3D view (Shift to move vertically)
  • Simplified or realistic view, elements coloured by role

Import and export

  • Imports .nec (NEC-2 deck), .yag (YO / ARRL Antenna Book) and .ant (AO), even a whole folder
  • Exports the .nec deck to compare with 4nec2, EZNEC or other programs

Library

Dipoles (λ/2, inverted V, 80/40 trap dipole), λ/4 ground plane, EFHW and random wire, delta loop, magnetic loop, Ciro Mazzoni Baby Loop and Midi Loop, 2 to 8 element Yagis, cubical quad, Moxon, G3TXQ hexbeam and some commercial antennas (Prosistel PST-1524TV, Fritzel FD4 / FD3, G5RV, Grazioli MV6). Commercial antennas are equivalent models built from published data, not manufacturer measurements. You can save your own antennas in the library, sorted by category.