Open-Source Low-Cost Antenna Measurement Setup for Rapid Echoic Measurements
Open-Source Low-Cost Antenna Measurement Setup for Rapid Echoic Measurements
  With the massive growth in wireless systems and the internet of things vision, low-cost and rapid antenna measurements in echoic lab environments have attracted significant research, commercial, and educational interest in the last decade. In this paper, we present a low-cost antenna positioning system based on open-source positioning hardware, for in-situ 3-dimensional radiation pattern measurements. The positioner is an off-the-shelf Arduino robotic arm and can perform azimuth and elevation measurements over a hemisphere using different rotation mechanisms. The positioning system is used in conjunction with a commercial Vector Network Analyzer (VNA) and wire lambda/2 antennas for the second VNA port. The measured radiation patterns of a flexible microstrip patch antenna using the proposed setup are compared to 3D full-wave simulations as well as anechoic chamber measurements. The measurement setup, excluding the VNA, costs less than $300, and does not require calibrated reference antennas, rotary connectors, or specific PC peripherals. The open-source design library is publicly available at git.soton.ac.uk/mahm1m19/antennameasurement_system/.
  antenna measurements, open source, instrumentation, RF measurements, radiation patterns, radiation pattern measurements, gain patterns, antenna properties, antenna radiation properties, low cost antenna measurements, open source antenna positioner, low cost antenna measurement
  
  
  
    
      Wagih, Mahmoud
      
        7e7b16ba-0c64-4f95-bd3c-99064055f693
      
     
  
    
      Moody, Thomas
      
        89032a4d-ce4f-4eb3-b922-afa5c6978810
      
     
  
  
   
  
  
    
    
  
  
    
      Wagih, Mahmoud
      
        7e7b16ba-0c64-4f95-bd3c-99064055f693
      
     
  
    
      Moody, Thomas
      
        89032a4d-ce4f-4eb3-b922-afa5c6978810
      
     
  
       
    
 
  
    
      
  
  
  
  
    Wagih, Mahmoud and Moody, Thomas
  
  
  
  
   
    (2021)
  
  
    
    Open-Source Low-Cost Antenna Measurement Setup for Rapid Echoic Measurements.
  
  
  
  
   In 2020 IEEE Conference on Antenna Measurements & Applications (CAMA). 
  
      IEEE. 
          
           5 pp
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    (In Press) 
  
   (doi:10.36227/techrxiv.16610818.v1).
  
   
  
    
      Record type:
      Conference or Workshop Item
      (Paper)
      
      
    
   
    
    
      
        
          Abstract
          With the massive growth in wireless systems and the internet of things vision, low-cost and rapid antenna measurements in echoic lab environments have attracted significant research, commercial, and educational interest in the last decade. In this paper, we present a low-cost antenna positioning system based on open-source positioning hardware, for in-situ 3-dimensional radiation pattern measurements. The positioner is an off-the-shelf Arduino robotic arm and can perform azimuth and elevation measurements over a hemisphere using different rotation mechanisms. The positioning system is used in conjunction with a commercial Vector Network Analyzer (VNA) and wire lambda/2 antennas for the second VNA port. The measured radiation patterns of a flexible microstrip patch antenna using the proposed setup are compared to 3D full-wave simulations as well as anechoic chamber measurements. The measurement setup, excluding the VNA, costs less than $300, and does not require calibrated reference antennas, rotary connectors, or specific PC peripherals. The open-source design library is publicly available at git.soton.ac.uk/mahm1m19/antennameasurement_system/.
         
      
      
        
          
            
  
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 MWagih_OpenSource_AntennaMeasurements
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  More information
  
    
      Accepted/In Press date: August 2021
 
    
  
  
    
  
    
  
    
     
        Venue - Dates:
        2020 IEEE Conference on Antenna Measurements & Applications (CAMA), ANTIBES JUAN-LES-PINS,, France, 2021-11-15 - 2021-11-17
      
    
  
    
  
    
  
    
     
        Keywords:
        antenna measurements, open source, instrumentation, RF measurements, radiation patterns, radiation pattern measurements, gain patterns, antenna properties, antenna radiation properties, low cost antenna measurements, open source antenna positioner, low cost antenna measurement
      
    
  
    
  
    
  
  
        Identifiers
        Local EPrints ID: 451501
        URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/451501
        
          
        
        
        
        
          PURE UUID: 27902ae6-9e89-4d80-a322-c221f30f0377
        
  
    
        
          
            
              
            
          
        
    
        
          
        
    
  
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  Date deposited: 04 Oct 2021 16:31
  Last modified: 17 Mar 2024 04:06
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      Contributors
      
          
          Author:
          
            
              
              
                Mahmoud Wagih
              
              
                
              
            
            
          
         
      
          
          Author:
          
            
            
              Thomas Moody
            
          
        
      
      
      
    
  
   
  
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