The amateur radio community is built on sharing. If a famous op in Japan designs a high-performance 20m Yagi, they can simply email you the .maa file. You can then open it, adjust the wire thickness to match what you have in your junk box, and see how it performs at your specific height. Anatomy of a MMANA-GAL File
Name your files descriptively: 3el_50MHz_6.5m_boom_optimized.maa is far superior to yagi1.maa .
A file optimized for “Free Space” (Ground Type 0) will show terrible SWR if opened with “Real Ground” (Type 1). Always check the second line’s third number.
An MMANA-GAL file is a text-based file that stores all parameters of the antenna design. When you save your project in the software, you are creating a .maa file. Structure of an .maa File mmana-gal antenna files
If the antenna uses traps, coils, capacitors, or resistors (such as in a loaded dipole, vertical, or T2FD antenna), the properties and locations of these components are stored here. 5. Frequency and Ground Settings
An MMANA-GAL file typically stores four core categories of data:
The file must specify where the transmitter connects. This line includes the wire number and the position along that wire (0 = start, 1 = end). 1 0 1 0 – Means “Wire #1, at 50% of its length (center), 1 Volt, 0 degrees phase.” The amateur radio community is built on sharing
MMANA-GAL is one of the most popular freeware antenna modeling software packages for Windows. It uses a text-based file format ( .maa ) to define the geometry, frequency, and environment of an antenna.
Always verify that the source (Pulse) is placed on a valid segment. If you drastically change the segmentation of a wire, the source might accidentally shift away from the feedpoint. Conclusion
Because .maa files are plain text, they are incredibly lightweight (often just a few kilobytes) and easy to share via email, forums, or online repositories. Anatomy of a MMANA-GAL File Name your files
If your imported file resonates at 14.100 MHz but you want to use it exclusively for CW at 14.025 MHz, you do not have to guess the new lengths manually. Click the button.
: A repository of various antenna source codes and definitions (e.g., Yagi, Dipole, Loop) provided by radio amateurs.
Many downloaded .maa files use standard metric wire radiuses (e.g., 1mm or 2mm). If you are building the antenna using American Wire Gauge (AWG) copper wire, you must update the radius column in the tab. Failing to adjust this will cause slight shifts in resonant frequency and SWR in your real-world build. Moving from Free Space to Real Ground
The author, Makoto Mori (JE3HHT), and the late DL4KQ’s legacy site still hosts a library of example files. Look for the ANT folder or sample .maa files included in the installation zip.
Switch to the Calculate tab. Ensure the frequency matches your target operational frequency.