Receiving Antennas for the Radio Amateur Receiving Antennas for the Radio Amateur Transmitting and receiving antennas have different jobs to do. Although the fundamental characteristics of antennas apply to both transmission and reception, the requirements and priorities of receiving antennas can be vastly different from those of transmitting antennas. Receiving Antennas for the Radio Amateur focuses entirely on active and passive receiving antennas and their associated circuits. There are relatively few cases where a radio amateur cannot benefit from a separate, well-designed receiving antenna or antenna system. On the low bands, including our new allocations at 630 and 2,200 meters, heavy emphasis on the receiving end of these radio paths is essential for success.
There is a long, fruitfull discussion of the reciprocity properties of receiving and transmitting antennas.
He discusses at some length how, even at HF, variations in polarization of arriving waves can vastly influence the received signal legibility.