Indoor Far-Field

Indoor Far Field

An indoor far-field anechoic chamber has the same basic design criteria as an outdoor range except that the surfaces of the room are covered with RF absorbing material. Testing indoors offers many advantages to conventional outdoor ranges including improved security, avoiding unwanted surveillance and improved productivity due to less time lost because of weather and other environmentally related factors. 

Indoor far-field ranges are instrumented essentially the same way as outdoor ranges with the primary difference being a limited range length. The size of the anechoic chamber defines this range length limit and therefore limits the size and frequency range of the antenna. The receiver front end is typically positioned near the test positioner with the mixer connected directly to the test antenna port. The source is located near the source antenna. The control room is generally centrally located and connected to both ends of the range via cables or digital links. Since these systems are located indoors, special enclosures for the receiver front end, position control, and signal source subsystems are not required.

Contact us to talk with our experts to discuss the ideal range for your test and measurement requirements!

  • Specifications
  • Applications
  • Capabilities
  • Standard Components
  • Available Add-Ons
Frequency Range Full frequency range supported by RF equipment
Drive System Precision stepper motor or servo motor
Maximum Antenna Load Depends on the size of the test article
Position Resolution 0.01°
Position Repeatability 0.03°
Rotation Speed 40°/s
Measurement System Measurement workstation computer with large LCD monitor
Motor Cable Quick-connect; 12.2 m (40 ft)
RF Cables 6.1 m (20 ft); DC-18 GHz; with SMA connectors (Qty: 2)
Supported RF Devices Selection of Keysight, Rohde & Schwarz and Anritsu VNA's (contact NSI-MI for a complete list)
AC Power 100-240 VAC switchable, 50/60 Hz
Environmental Indoor-rated
The indoor far-field system supplies everything you need to begin testing of antennas with customer supplied RF equipment and source horn (Note, NSI-MI can also supply these items if so desired). The system can interface to a variety of RF equipment, such as the Keysight PNA, Keysight ENA, to the NSI-MI high performance RF equipment and more (contact NSI-MI Sales for more information).
Standard Components
  • NSI-MI’s industry-leading Far-field antenna measurement software and workstation
  • High precision azimuth rotation stage
  • Control electronics & cabling
  • RF cables
  • User documentation
  • Two year warranty

Typical System Configuration
  • Source Antenna
  • Antenna Under Test
  • Mixer
  • PAU
  • Signal Source
  • Receiver
  • Automated Microwave Measurement System

Typical Indoor Near-Field Measurement System

The indoor far-field system can be easily upgraded with additional axes for complete 3D characterization of the antenna under test. And with the addition of the NSI-MI near-field software the user can perform spherical near-field measurements.

  • Opt 100 - 220 V AC, 50 Hz operation.
  • Opt 106 - Upgrade standard azimuth stage to high capacity stage.
  • 2nd Axis & Antenna mounting kit. Motorized roll stage - 1.2 m (4 ft) height - 12.2 m (40 ft) motor cable, base unit. (Hardware includes an upgrade to a multi axis motor controller)
  • Mounting base with 26.5 GHz rotary joint.
  • Transmit antenna mounting stand - floor stand base and adjustable mounting bracket for mounting antennas up to 22.7 kg (50 lb) (Includes base with adjustable feet, 1.2 m (4 ft) vertical rail, slide plate for mounting of antennas)
  • Rotary Joint, DC-26.5 GHz, SMA(f) connectors.
  • Full complement of standard gain horns.