As you remember from your basic geometry class in high school, the
Pythagorean theorem states:

 

the square of the hypotenuse (the side opposite the right angle) is equal to
the sum of the squares of the other two sides

 

I use this equation quite often when designing and putting up antennas.
However, in order to compute the length of the hypotenuse, it requires
finding the square root of the square of one side plus the square of the
other side. I don't know about you, but I don't do square roots in my head
any more, and I don't often have a calculator handy that also has a square
root function on it. So, here comes my iPhone and Seri to the rescue! It is
easy enough to use most any calculator to compute the squares of numbers;
actually, it is pretty easy to do it in your head, but the square root is an
entirely different thing; at least, it is for this old, over the hill brain.
So, after I calculated the square of one side and added it to the square of
the other side, I took that product and asked Seri what the square root was
and bingo! Seri came right out with the correct answer immediately! With the
help of the Pythagorean theorem and Seri, I determined that I just might
have enough room in the backyard of my new house to erect a full-wave 80
meter loop, like what I have at my lake house, and if this is the case, and
if I can get it up and not have it detected by the subdivision's covenants
enforcement police, I'll be back on the air from my new QTH with a good
signal again. Of course, I still have the Eaton AFCI breaker problem to
resolve. 

 

 

 

 

 

Dr. Ronald E. Milliman

Retired Professor of Marketing