Feb. 9, 2016

Making EzNEC even better: an introduction to antenna optimization using AutoEz

“Good antennas are a vital component of an effective station.”

I doubt that any WWDXC members would argue with the above statement. Many of us like to experiment with antenna design and construction, and have used Roy Lewallen’s wonderful EzNEC software to model our designs before cutting wire or tube. Optimizing a design can be done in EzNEC by changing parameters, but editing the wire list is a time-consuming and error-prone process.

AutoEz, written by Dan Maguire AC6LA: About 18 months ago I first tried the free version of AutoEz, an Excel spreadsheet front-end to EzNEC that provides a major improvement to the EzNEC user interface and supports design optimization. I was hooked immediately.

In about an hour I plan to demonstrate the capabilities of AutoEz coupled to EzNEC using a simple dipole model, and hope to inspire you to try this powerful tool next time you design an antenna.

Rob Martin

K7QJ / G3WKH