Comparison of automotive FM antenna diversity concepts with a compound reception test system

In the automotive industry, reliable and reproducible test methods are required for the evaluation of car antennas and antenna diversity systems. This is accomplished by a new compound advanced system analysis method which enables analysis of complete reception systems. In this new test method real recorded or alternatively simulated RF antenna signals are fed into the reception system and a compound automatic signal analysis is performed on base of its audio behavior. In this paper test results are shown by example of FM reception systems equipped with different antenna diversity concepts in comparison with each other. The results are confirmed by a set of additional subjective blind listening tests for different audio contents. Aspects are analyzed which influence the impression of reception quality.