antenna-theory.com

[W9EN]

Most of the free antenna modeling programs have the NEC-2 engine native but some have the provision to compile and use the NEC-4 engine.  I've been dabbling with HF wire antennas and notice that things tend to blow up when you try and model a wire either on or very close to the ground.  I understand the NEC-4 engine handles that better, but before I spend the $300 for a license I was hoping to solicit some expert advice on the subject of NEC-4 to see if its worth it.  Does anyone on the forum use the NEC-4 engine and if so, have you discovered significant differences in modeling accuracy between that and the old NEC-2 engine?

[kekosat300]

Hi,

Instead of using NEC-2/NEC-4 I recommend AN-SOF v3.0 www.antennasoftware.com.ar

Besides the accurate modeling of wire antennas, you can also model microstrip antennas, and the cost is lower than NEC.