Design and Evaluation of Portable Antennas for Location of Sources of Radio NoiseEmanating from Power-Line Hardware

摘要

Power-line noise (PLN) is a major contribution to factors which cause the loss ofsignals at naval receiving sites. Navy Signal-to-Noise Enhancement Program (SNEP) teams have developed portable instrumentation for the location of RF noise-producing power-line hardware. An important component of this instrumentation is a lightweight antenna with modest directivity and wide bandwidth (60-800 MHz). The purpose of this study is the design, construction, analysis and measurement of three customized Log-Periodic Dipole Arrays (LPDA) for use in locating PLN sources. Modifications to standard LPDA designs include a feeder boom with convenient construction features and emphasis on a compact, lightweight, portable structure. The Numerical Electromagnetic Code (NEC) was used to analyze the performance of the various designs. Input impedances were measured in operational environments using network analyzers. The final designs were field-tested at a U.S. Naval site in Okinawa and found to be completely acceptable for SNEP use. power-line noise; log-periodic dipole antenna (LPDA).