Unlike heavy commercial suites like CST or HFSS, MMANA-GAL is lightweight, fast, and specifically optimized for wire and metallic tube antennas (Yagis, Moxons, dipoles, verticals, loops).
| Error Message | Likely Cause | Fix | | :--- | :--- | :--- | | "NEC-2: Data card error" | Malformed wire definition in .maa | Check for missing decimal points. Open in text editor. | | "Segment number too high" | One wire is too long relative to wavelength. | Auto segment (Wire → Divide wire). | | "Source not on wire" | The source tag points to a wire index that doesn’t exist. | In MMANA-GAL, go to Source and reselect the correct wire number. | | "Ground unknown" | File imported from EZNEC with custom ground. | Reset ground to Real and input standard conductivity (e.g., 0.005 S/m for average ground). | | "Load value out of range" | Inductance or capacitance set to zero or negative. | Adjust loads in the Loads dialog box. |
; 20m Dipole 14.2 21.1268 0 0 50 0 21 0.001 1 -5.0 0 0 5.0 0 0 0.001 21 1 1 1 0 0
Before dissecting the files, it is worth understanding the host software. MMANA-GAL is a freeware antenna analyzer and optimizer for Windows. It uses the engine for calculating radiation patterns, impedance, SWR, gain, and front-to-back ratios.
Unlike modern 3D electromagnetic simulators that can cost thousands of dollars, MMANA-GAL is lightweight, runs efficiently on almost any Windows PC, and has been a staple for radio amateurs (Hams) since its introduction by Makoto Mori (JE3HHT). It was later enhanced by Igor Gontcharenko (DL2KQ) and others, evolving into the "MMANA-GAL" version widely used today.
Once satisfied, print the Wire table (File → Print). This gives you exact cutting lengths and positions on the boom.
3.5 (Frequency in MHz) 4 (Number of frequency steps) 4 (Number of wires) 1.0 0.0 0.0 1.0 1.0 0.0 0.001 (Wire 1: Start X,Y,Z ; End X,Y,Z ; Radius) 2.0 0.0 0.0 2.0 0.5 0.0 0.001 (Wire 2) ... 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 (Source: wire, segment, direction) ...
: It is highly recommended to explore the ANT folder in the installation directory, which contains a huge library of ready-built antenna types like dipoles, Yagis, and verticals. MMANA-GAL basic
This guide should give you full control over MMANA-GAL antenna files. Would you like a deeper explanation of any specific section, such as optimization variables or complex geometry creation?
Search for *.maa or MMANA-GAL on GitHub. You will find repositories for:
MMANA-GAL antenna files use the extension. These are ASCII text files that store the physical dimensions, material properties, and source/load configurations of an antenna model. 1. Opening and Navigating Files To load an existing model, use File > Open (*.maa)