A Transportable Compact Antenna Range
Authors: Joseph H. Pape, David R. Smith, Charles L. Devor, Jr., Joseph M. Smiddie
Publication: AMTA 1993
Copyright Owner: NSI-MI Technologies
The Compact Antenna Range is becoming the method of choice for indoor testing of many types and sizes of antennas. Implementation of a compact range requires a suitable parent building structure in which to house the chamber. The chamber is located within the parent building and the compact range is then installed within the chamber. In some cases an existing building may not be available for the range and it may be difficult to acquire a new building due to local or proprietary requirements. Once a building has been located, many problems still exist with coordinating installation of the chamber and compact range within this building. Overcoming these problems can be both time consuming and inefficient in terms of cost.
This paper describes a Compact Antenna Range conceived and designed to be totally self-contained and truck transportable. The compact range consists of a complete anechoic chamber facility with self-contained electrical, lighting, HVAC and fire protection systems. The compact range provides a 3 foot test zone over the 5.8 to 94 GHz frequency range. Once completed and tested at the factory, the facility is transported and set in place at the users’ site.
Details are presented which describe the structural requirements of the chamber, the RF performance of the completed facility, and the transport and installation process. The integrated test positioner and an automatic feed changing mechanism are also described.