| Description: | The image shows the inside of a LOFAR High Band Antenna (HBA). A HBA "tile" consists of an array of 4x4 elements, each of which has two perpendicular dipoles. Each dipole consists of two triangular "blades", one on which is shown exposed. All 4x4x4 blades are supported in a styrofoam structure, and placed above a conducting ground plane (the mesh below). The first low-noise amplifiers are housed at the junctions of the blades, from where the signal is transported to an analog beamformer by cables. The HBA is protected from the elements by a (black) plastic sheet. |
