Radiation Patterns on a Budget: IEEE AP-S Student Design Challenge 2011

An important characteristic of an antenna is the radiation pattern, which determines in which direction(s) radiation is concentrated. Typical antenna radiation-pattern-measurement systems consist of measurement equipment and a controlled environment. Both of these elements can individually be prohibitively expensive, in terms of both cost and laboratory space. This paper outlines a low-cost (less than $1500) system for use at 2.4 GHz that is portable and requires a limited amount of space. Measurements are accomplished using a self-contained RF system, a simply constructed antenna rotator, a readily available data-acquisition and motor-controller circuit, and MA TLAB. A key feature of this system is an extremely low-cost and simple rotary joint, which eliminates cable twisting.