The Cult of Reciprocity™ – CMR is a Conspiracy, RDF is Elitism and Patterns are Truth

Welcome to the sacred temple of Reciprocity, where transmitting and receiving are always the same, because a textbook from 1953 told us so.

“If it radiates at 30 degrees up, it must also hear at 30 degrees down.”
“The gain is reciprocal, the pattern is reciprocal, the universe is symmetrical.”

And yet... your S9 signal outbound becomes S3 inbound, buried in noise, QSB, and mysteriously missing Europeans. But fear not! The Cult of Reciprocity™ offers the following doctrines:

Doctrine #1: Patterns are Truth

Ignore common-mode currents, RF feedback, or that S9 plasma TV next door. If the antenna software says it's 7.4 dBi at 25°, then you must be wrong. Try praying harder.

Doctrine #2: CMR is a Conspiracy

You installed a choke. Somewhere. Probably. And it was made from ferrite... maybe.
But don’t worry, real hams believe that coax shields aren’t supposed to be clean. That hum on 160m? Just character.

Doctrine #3: RDF is Elitism

Reception Directivity Factor? Noise floor measurements? That’s just for DX snobs.
Your 13-meter (43-foot) vertical hears everything equally poorly — the true spirit of inclusiveness.

Doctrine #4: Ground is Ground is Ground

So what if your antenna is over a compost heap, and the RX system floats above 200V of mains hum? Reciprocity says that doesn't matter — until you try to hear a JA at sunrise.

Doctrine #5: The Book Was Written

Refer to Terman, ARRL Handbook (1950 edition), or some guy named Bob. The formulas are absolute, and NEC simulations are gospel. Your real-world results? Clearly user error.

Closing Ritual

When in doubt, simply repeat:

“The antenna is reciprocal. The universe is fair. Noise is a myth. Coax is holy.”

And remember:

If your TX signal is clean, but RX is garbage, it’s your fault, not the antenna.
Unless… just maybe… Reciprocity isn’t the whole story.

The views expressed in this article are occasionally a bit exaggerated ;), frequently sarcastic ;), and always written with a spark of humor ;). While the technical points are grounded in real-world experience, the tone is intentionally playful to challenge assumptions, provoke thought, and perhaps make the reader laugh a little.

If you recognize your setup in here — don’t worry. We’ve all been there. The goal isn’t to mock, but to move the hobby forward with a bit more clarity, a bit less noise, and a healthy dose of fun.

Serious about performance. Not always about tone.

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Written by Joeri Van Dooren, ON6URE – RF, electronics and software engineer, complex platform and antenna designer. Founder of RF.Guru. An expert in active and passive antennas, high-power RF transformers, and custom RF solutions, he has also engineered telecom and broadcast hardware, including set-top boxes, transcoders, and E1/T1 switchboards. His expertise spans high-power RF, embedded systems, digital signal processing, and complex software platforms, driving innovation in both amateur and professional communications industries.