The Antenna Measurement Standard IEEE 149 Finally Gets an Update

Authors: Vince Rodriguez, Jeffrey A. Fordham, Lars Jacob
Publication: InComplicance Magazine, December 2018
Copyright Owner: Same Page Publishing, Inc.

In its current form, IEEE Std 149, "IEEE Standard Test P rocedures for Antennas" [l], is a marginally useful document. While the standard is a good source for interesting and pertinent information, the document has not undergone a significant update since 1979. The instrumentation section, for example, describes in detail a chart recorder, an instrument that was common in antenna measurements in the 1970s and that can be found in the product catalogs of the era (see Fig ure 1). The basics of antenna measurement Portable Pattern Recorders Series 1410 have not changed and the underlying theory has not ch anged as the physics behind it are still based in Maxwellian electromagnetics, the last of the classical physics fields. H owever, the document is mainly centered on outdoor ranges for the measurement of antennas (which represented the most common approach for antenna measurements at the time), and includes long discussions on elevated and ground reflection ranges. H owever, there are very limited discussions on anechoic chambers and on currently popular techniques, such as compact antenna test ranges (CATR) or near to far field measurements using mathematical transforms. These last two have become very important approaches in precision antenna measurements.

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