FACULTY OF ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING

UNIVERSITY TECHNOLOGY OF MARA PULAU PINANG

COMMUNICATION ENGINEERING LABORATORY 2

(ECM 360)

EXPERIMENT 5
ANTENNA FIELD MEASUREMENT OF RADIA FREQUENCY (RF)

OBJECTIVES:
 To introduce students with characteristics of microwave signal transmission by using
HORN antenna.
 To familiarize the student with the relationship of the gain of the antenna and its
dimensions.
 To make analysis and comparisons on the practical radiation pattern and the theory.

LIST OF EQUIPMENTS: Main Controller ED-3200A, Transmit Unit ED-3200B, Receiver Unit
ED-3200C andtwo 10GHz HORN antenna.
SOFTWARE: Antenna Trainer and ACQ.exe ED-3200

THEORY
Antenna
The antenna is the most visible part of the satellite communicationon system. The antenna
transmits and receives the modulated carrier signal at the radio frequency (RF) portion of the
electromagnetic spectrum. For satellite communication, the frequencies range from about 0.3
GHz (VHF) to 30 GHz (Ka-band) and beyond. These frequencies represent microwaves, with
wavelengths on the order of one meter down to below one centimeter. High frequencies, and
the corresponding small wavelengths, permit the use of antennas having practical dimensions
for commercial use. This article summarizes the basic properties of antennas used in satellite
communication and derives several fundamental relations used in antenna design and RF link
analysis.
A horn antenna is the ideal choice for a rover station. It offers moderate gain in a small, rugged
package with no adjustmens needed, and has a wide enough beam to be easily pointed under
adverse conditions.
Radiation pattern
A radiation pattern is usually represented graphically for the far-field conditions along the
electrical field and the magnetic field vectors, along the direction of maximum radiation or E-
plane and H-plane. The E-plane and H-plane are reference planes for linearly polarized
antennas.

E-Plane:For a linearly polarized antenna, this is the plane containing the electric field vector and
the direction of maximum radiation. The electric field or "E" plane determines the polarization or
orientation of the radio wave. For a vertically-polarized antenna, the E-plane usually coincides
with the vertical/elevation plane. For a horizontally-polarized antenna, the E-Plane usually
concided with the horizontal/azimuth plane.

H-plane:In the case of the same linearly polarized antenna, this is the plane containing the
magnetic field vector and the direction of maximum radiation. The magnetic field or "H" plane
lies at a right angle to the "E" plane. For a vertically-polarized antenna, the H-plane usually
coincides with the horizontal/azimuth plane. For a horizontally-polarized antenna, the H-plane
usually coincides with the vertical/elevation plane.

Diagram showing the relationship between the E and H planes for a horizontally
polarized directional yagi antenna.
 Diagram showing the relationship between the E and H planes for a verticaly polarized
omnidirectional dipole antenna.

Antenna Patterns
Antenna Field Regions
Near-Field (Fresnel) Region - the region between the reactive nearfield and the far-field where
the radiation fields are dominant and the field distribution is dependent on the distance from the
antenna.
Far-Field (Fraunhofer) Region - the region farthest away from the antenna where the field
distribution is essentially independent of the distance from the antenna (propagating waves).

Figure 1 : Antenna Field Region

E-plane - the plane containing the electric field vector and the direction of maximum radiation.
H-plane - the plane containing the magnetic field vector and the direction of maximum radiation.
Antenna Pattern Parameters
Half-Power Beamwidth (HPBW) - the angular width of the main beam at the half-power points.
First Null Beamwidth (FNBW) - angular width between the first nulls on either side of the main
beam.

Figure 2: Antenna Pattern Parameters

Gain and half power beamwidth

The fundamental characteristics of an antenna are its gain and half power beamwidth.
According to the reciprocity theorem, the transmitting and receiving patterns of an antenna are
identical at a given wavelength.

The gain is a measure of how much of the input power is concentrated in a particular direction.
It is expressed with respect to a hypothetical isotropic antenna, which radiates equally in all
directions. Thus in the direction (q , f ), the gain is G(q , f ) = (dP/dW)/(P in /4p ) ,where Pin is the
total input power and dP is the increment of radiated output power in solid angle dW. The gain is
maximum along the boresight direction.

For a reflector antenna, the area is simply the projected area. Thus for a circular reflector of
diameter D, the area is A = p D2/4 and the gain is G = h (p D / l )2 which can also be written as
G = h (p D f / c) 2 ,since c = l f, where c is the speed of light (3 ´ 10 8 m/s), l is the wavelength, and
f is the frequency. Consequently, the gain increases as the wavelength decreases or the
frequency increases.
The beam diameter or beam width of an electromagnetic beam is the diameter along any
specified line that is perpendicular to the beam axis and intersects it. Beam diameter is usually
used to characterize electromagnetic beams in the optical regime, and occasionally in the
microwave regime, that is, cases in which the aperture from which the beam emerges is very
large with respect to the wavelength.

However, this optimal geometry is only valid at a single frequency. Since horns are to operate
over a wide frequency band, they are often designed to have optimal gain at the lowest
frequency in the band. At higher frequencies, the geometry is no longer optimal, so the E-field
across the aperture is not optimal. However, the horn's aperture becomes electrically larger at
higher frequencies (the aperture is more wavelengths long as the frequency increases or the
wavelength decreases). Consequently, the loss of an optimal aperture field is offset by an
electrically larger horn, and the gain actually increases as the frequency increases.