A Low-Cost Spherical Near-Field Range Facility

Author: John R. Jones, Doren W. Hess, Jr. Curtis E. Green, Ken H. Teegardin

Publication: AMTA 1987

Copyright Owner: NSI-MI Technologies

In any type of electromagnetic measurements, the ideas of "precision and accuracy" and "low cost" tend to be mutually exclusive. At Scientific-Atlanta, for instance, production testing of antenna products is conducted in low cost miniature "anechoic chambers" which are fabricated in-house. These "chambers" are actually mediumsized to large (64-200 cubic feet) rectangular boxes with absorber attached to their walls. They are usually equipped with single axis positioners at one or both ends, and their usefulness is limited to the measurement of axial ratio on low gain small antennas...