ARRL Technician Practice Exam

What type of antennas are the quad, Yagi, and dish?

1. Omnidirectional antennas

2. Directional antennas

3. Ground plane antennas

4. Inverted V antennas

The correct answer is: Directional antennas

The correct answer identifies quad, Yagi, and dish antennas as directional antennas because these types of antennas are specifically designed to focus energy in certain directions, which enhances signal gain in those targeted areas. Directional antennas deliver improved performance for both transmitting and receiving signals by concentrating radiated energy in specific directions rather than radiating energy uniformly in all directions. This leads to increased range and clarity for communications. For instance, a Yagi antenna consists of multiple elements, allowing it to direct radio waves in one direction, making it ideal for point-to-point communication. Similarly, the dish antenna's parabolic shape focuses incoming radio waves onto a single point, significantly enhancing signal strength and quality for satellite communications. In contrast, omnidirectional antennas radiate energy equally in all directions, while ground plane antennas and inverted V antennas also have broader radiation patterns that do not focus energy as effectively as directional designs. Hence, neither of those other options would provide the targeted efficiency in communication that directional antennas offer.