LOW-COST PORTABLE NEAR-FIELD ANTENNA MEASUREMENT SYSTEM

摘要

The Marine Corps desired a portable test system for the AN/TPS-59 radar antenna (a large, 15.2 feet by 29.1 feet, L-band phased array antenna) to verify on site performance. The test system was also required to be capable of antenna acceptance testing at the overhaul depot. An innovative mechanical design using commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) products paved the way for the development of this low-cost portable system.rnThe low-frequency, moderate-sidelobe antenna characteristics allowed for flexibility in mechanical scanner design. The near-field scanner attaches directly to the antenna and is aligned in place. The Hewlett-Packard 8530 Antenna Measurement System is employed for data collection. An interface from the computer to the antenna was designed for beam-steering control (BSC). LabVIEW software controls the HP8530, the near-field scanner, BSC, and other miscellaneous RF hardware. Digital Visual Fortran 5.0 and Matlab are used to run the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) near-field programs.