SESKStuff Everyone Should Know
SESK: Stuff Everyone Should Know · sesk.info/ham-polarization-electric-field

How is the polarization of an antenna described?

By the orientation of the electric field.

  1. By the orientation of the electric field ✔
  2. By the orientation of the magnetic field
  3. By the direction of radiation

Why: Polarization tells which way the electric field of a radio wave points. A vertical antenna makes vertically polarized waves.

Huh, didn't know that: Horizontal polarization is normally used for long-distance CW and SSB contacts on VHF and UHF.

The dad joke
Why did the vertical antenna and the horizontal antenna never get along? They had different points of view.
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Sources

  1. NCVEC 2026-2030 Technician Question Pool (Feb 19, 2026 release) https://www.ncvec.org/downloads/2026-2030%20Technician%20Pool%20and%20Syllabus%20Public%20Release%20Feb%2019%202026.pdf

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