Quarterwave power splitter / combiner

[Senf123]

Hi everyone!

Can a quarterwave power splitter also work as a combiner for 2 different antenna signals?

What is the difference between the type of combiner linked above and Wilkinson power splitter/combiner? Can both work in either way with 2 different antenna signals?

Help much appreciated!

[rfeecs]

The difference is, your quarterwave power splitter has no isolation between port X1 and port X2.  They are directly connected together.

A Wilkinson would have good isolation between those two ports at the center frequency.  It could also be used as a combiner, but each signal would have 3dB of loss (assuming the two signals are uncorrelated).

[Senf123]

Right so would that mean no signal gets to the X3 port? Only out again to X2 port?

No loss in Wilkinson would only be acheived with same signal on both antennas in phase and of same amplitude?

[rfeecs]

Right so would that mean no signal gets to the X3 port? Only out again to X2 port?

No, some signal would get to X3.  The quarter wave section transforms 50 ohms to 25 ohms, so the signal would be divided between X2 and X3 and some would be reflected back out of X1.  A bit of a mess.

No loss in Wilkinson would only be acheived with same signal on both antennas in phase and of same amplitude?

Yes, in an ideal case there would be no loss.