Open-Source Antenna Pattern Measurement System

An open-source antenna pattern measurement system comprised of software-defined radios (SDRs), standard PVC tubing, and 3-D printer hardware will measure the radiation patterns of student-built prototype antennas. Additional hardware is fabricated using 3-D printer technology. Position control is realized using an Arduino microcontroller. Measured principal plane gain patterns for three antenna prototypes are compared to simulated results. The introduction of SDRs is an extension of an earlier prototype using Wi-Fi routers to generate and measure the RF signal level. The low-cost, open-source nature of the measurement system is ideal for undergraduate-level investigation of antenna theory and measurement. It is anticipated the SDRs will permit future research of modulation methods and encoding to improve measurements in non-anechoic environments.