\

PERGAMON Journal of The Franklin Institute 225B "0888# 5465

Mobile antenna characterization and

optimization for UHF satellite communications
T[ L[ Galgon\ W[ D[ Jemison
Lafayette College Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering\ Easton\ PA 07931\ USA
Received in _nal form 0 July 0886^ accepted 06 December 0886

Abstract

An Improved Lightweight Satellite Communications Antenna "ILSA# was characterized by

simulation and measurement[ The measured gain is within 0[0 dB of the simulated gain and
the measured beamwidths and sidelobe levels are in excellent agreement with the simulations[
In addition\ various antenna geometries that represent both damaged and incorrectly deployed
operating conditions were also measured and simulated[ Finally\ an optimized array geometry
is presented that provides improved antenna performance[ 0887 The Franklin Institute[
Published by Elsevier Science Ltd

I[ Introduction

Satellite communications "SATCOM# systems are very important for both civilian
and military applications due to their ability to provide mobile communications[ With
a properly designed system\ a mobile user with a portable radio can establish a
reliable communications channel almost anywhere in the world[ The reliability of the
communications channel is directly related to the link budget which accounts for all
of the gains and losses in the system[ Therefore\ the SATCOM system designer must
reserve enough margin in the link budget to account for various e}ects such as dynamic
propagation phenomenon like fading\ degradation of the electrical performance of
various system components due to aging and environmental factors\ and the loss of
system performance due to damaged and:or improperly used system components[
A key subsystem that impacts the satellite communications system link budget is
the mobile antenna[ The antenna must be lightweight and rugged in order to withstand
demanding operating conditions[ The antenna should also be easily deployed such
that a user can quickly and reliably establish communications[ Electrically\ the ante!
nna should exhibit good gain and input match at both the satellite system uplink "i[e[

 Corresponding author[ E!mail] jemisonwlafayette[edu

99059921:87:, ! see front matter 0887 The Franklin Institute[ Published by Elsevier Science Ltd[
All rights reserved
PII] S 9 9 0 5 9 9 2 1 " 8 7 # 9 9 9 0 4 4
55 T[L[ Gal`on\ W[D[ Jemison:Journal of The Franklin Institute 225B "0888# 5465

the link from the mobile user to the satellite#\ and downlink "i[e[ the link from the
satellite to the mobile user# frequencies[ However\ the gain should not be too high\ or
the antenna beam will narrow\ making it di.cult to accurately align the main beam
of the mobile radio antenna with the main beam of the satellite antenna[ Typically\
circular polarization is employed to mitigate the e}ects of high polarization loss
caused by changes in the radio wave polarization state due to re~ections o} the
ground and buildings[ Finally\ the mobile antenna radiation pattern should be well
behaved and have low sidelobes in order to minimize interference[
The impact of the mobile antenna performance on the satellite link budget may be
determined by examining the following equation]
C:N  "ERP#"G:T# "FSPL:kB#
where C:N  Carrier to noise ratio^ ERP  E}ective radiated power "Watts#^
G:T  receive antenna gain to system temperature ratio^ FSPL  free space path
loss  "l:3 p R#1^ k  Boltzman|s constant^ B  system bandwidth "Hz#[
The free space path loss is determined by the system geometry "i[e[ the distance
between the mobile user and the satellite# while the bandwidth\ B\ is typically a _xed
system parameter determined by the desired data rate and modulation format[ This
leaves the e}ective radiated power\ ERP\ and the ratio of the receive antenna gain to
the system temperature\ G:T\ as the remaining parameters which fully characterize
the communications system[ Examination of these two system parameters reveals the
importance of the mobile antenna performance[ For the communications system
uplink\ the mobile radio transmitter produces an ERP which is equal to the product
of the mobile radio transmitter power and the mobile antenna transmit gain[ For the
system downlink\ G:T is a direct function of the receive gain of the mobile antenna[
Therefore\ it is important to characterize both the transmit and receive gain of the
mobile antenna in order to develop an accurate link model[
In this paper\ an Improved Lightweight Satellite Antenna "ILSA# which was
designed for a mobile UHF SATCOM system will be characterized by both numerical
simulation and experimental measurement[ The antenna characterization will address
not only the baseline antenna con_guration\ but also several con_gurations that
represent damaged or incorrectly deployed antenna conditions[ The study of these
latter con_gurations is important because it aids in the understanding of the overall
communication system performance when the system is operated under realistic\
non!optimum conditions[ Finally\ several optimization approaches are considered to
improve the performance of the ILSA[ A new geometry is proposed which provides
improved uplink margin without sacri_cing downlink performance[

1[ Antenna description

The ILSA is a right hand circularly polarized YagiUda array which is operated in
the 139219 MHz UHF SATCOM band[ The ILSA consists of eight extendable
re~ector elements arranged to approximate a ground plane\ a pair of crossed dipoles
fed in quadrature to obtain circular polarization\ and six identical pairs of crossed
 T[L[ Gal`on\ W[D[ Jemison:Journal of The Franklin Institute 225B "0888# 5465 56

director elements of equal length and spacing[ A photograph of the ILSA in its
baseline con_guration mounted on an antenna range pedestal is shown in Fig[ 0[

2[ Antenna simulation and measurement procedures

The ILSA was modeled using commercially available simulation software based on
the MININEC computer code[ MININEC is a microcomputer version of the Numeri!
cal Electromagnetic Code "NEC# which was developed at the Lawrence Livermore
National Laboratory[ The antenna geometry was modeled in free space using ten to
twenty segments per half wave to provide adequate algorithm convergence[ A diagram
of the wire model used in the simulation of the ILSA baseline con_guration is shown
in Fig[ 1a[ Since it is highly probable that a mobile antenna may become damaged
during the course of transport or operation\ or may be incorrectly deployed by an
untrained user\ several other antenna con_gurations that represent both damaged
and incorrectly deployed antenna conditions were also simulated and measured[
These con_gurations include antennas with bent elements\ broken directors\ missing
directors\ improperly deployed re~ectors\ and misaligned directors[ The wire models
used in the numerical simulations for two of these con_gurations are shown in Fig[
1b and c[
The antenna measurements were performed on a outdoor antenna range[ Several
considerations must be taken into account when selecting an antenna range facility[
First\ the range geometry should satisfy the far _eld criteria "R 1D1:l# and minimize
antenna coupling e}ects 0[ A 49 ft antenna range with a 24 foot tower height for
both the source antenna and the antenna under test was selected to satisfy these

Fig[ 0[ ILSA on antenna range pedestal[

57 T[L[ Gal`on\ W[D[ Jemison:Journal of The Franklin Institute 225B "0888# 5465

Fig[ 1[ Wire model of the ILSA used for numerical simulations] "a# baseline antenna^ "b# re~ectors partially
deployed "Case A#^ "c# re~ectors not deployed "Case B#[

criteria[ In addition\ care must be taken to account for multipath e}ects which can
signi_cantly reduce the accuracy of the measurements via constructive or destructive
interference of the direct path and multipath signals 1[ For high gain antennas with
narrow main beams\ multipath problems are typically caused by the antenna sidelobes[
In these cases\ multipalth e}ects can be minimized by pointing the o}ending sidelobes
at the base of the source tower\ or by the use of di}raction fences[ However\ for a
lower gain antenna\ such as the ILSA\ the multipath problem is caused by the wide
main beam of the antenna[ In this case\ other measures must be taken to ensure
accurate gain measurements[ The technique used in our work involved computing the
gain from an average of several measurements taken at di}erent range distances[ The
distances were chosen so that measurements were taken over one period\ P\ of the
multipath interference curve which is given by
P  l1 sin 1"f:1#0
where l  wavelength "m# and f  angle between the direction of propagation of the
direct signal and the multipath signal "rad#[
The multipath interference period is approximately 09 ft at 139 MHz and 6[2 ft
at 219 MHz for the given antenna range geometry[ Four to six independent gain
 T[L[ Gal`on\ W[D[ Jemison:Journal of The Franklin Institute 225B "0888# 5465 58

measurements taken at 1 ft intervals were used to compute a gain average at a

single frequency[ In this manner\ the e}ects antenna range multipath interference are
averaged out[ It should also be noted that the gain measurements were performed by
using a rotating linearly polarized standard gain antenna while antenna pattern
measurements were taken using a circularly polarized standard gain antenna to enable
direct comparison of measured and simulated patterns 2\ 3[

3[ Simulated and measured antenna gain and pattern results

A summary of the simulated and measured data for the baseline antenna con!
_guration is given below in Table 0[ Data is shown for the low\ middle\ and high end
of the operating band[
The measured and simulated gains are within 9[6 dB at the low and mid band and
within 0[0 dB at the high end of the band[ In all cases the measured gain is less than
the gain predicted from simulation[
The measured and simulated radiation patterns at low\ middle and high ends of
the operating band are shown in Figs 2\ 3\ and 4[ The low end of the band is used for
the downlink while the high end of the band is used for the uplink[ Beamwidth and
sidelobe level data taken from simulated and measured patterns at other frequencies
are summarized in Table 1[
This data demonstrates excellent "1># agreement between the simulated and
measured beamwidths over the frequency band[ There is also very good agreement
between the simulated and measured sidelobe levels particularly at the low and middle
parts of the band[ The simulated and measured sidelobe levels are within 9[7 dB at
all frequencies except the high end of the band[ The discrepancy at the high end of
the band is most likely due to increased interaction with the mounting _xture used to
secure the antenna on the pedestal[

4[ Deviation from baseline con_guration

While it is important to characterize the antenna in its baseline con_guration\ it is

equally important to accurately characterize the antenna under various sub!optimal

Table 0
Simulated and measured antenna gain results

Frequency Simulated gain Measured gain

"MHz# "dBic#[ "dBic#

139 7[3 6[6

179 8[6 8[2
219 09[1 8[0
69 T[L[ Gal`on\ W[D[ Jemison:Journal of The Franklin Institute 225B "0888# 5465

Fig[ 2[ Measured and simulated antenna radiation patterns at 139 MHz] simulated results "with dots#^
measured results "solid line#[

deployment conditions[ The simulated and measured gain of the antenna for a number
of conditions that represent both damaged and incorrectly operated antenna are given
in Table 2[ These conditions were selected based on practical considerations and
assumptions such as a rugged and demanding operating environment\ a low level of
user training and antenna knowledge\ and the lightweight nature of the ILSA structure
which is required for portability[
Examination of this data shows that the correlation between the measured and
simulated results is good for cases where the measurement conditions match the
simulation conditions[ This occurs for cases D through L which represent con!
_gurations including missing\ bent\ misaligned\ and unextended antenna elements[ In
case C "two missing driver elements#\ however\ the measurement conditions did not
 T[L[ Gal`on\ W[D[ Jemison:Journal of The Franklin Institute 225B "0888# 5465 60

Fig[ 3[ Measured and simulated antenna radiation patterns at 179 MHz] simulated results "with dots#^
measured results "solid line#[

accurately match the simulation conditions since the missing elements were removed
in the simulation and simply taped back in the experiment to avoid permanently
damaging the antenna[ Likewise\ the discrepancy between the measured and simulated
results in cases A and B can also be explained[ In these two cases\ the re~ector elements
were only partially deployed "Case A# or not deployed at all "Case B#[ Under these
conditions\ there is no mechanism to inhibit radiation in the reverse direction[ In fact\
when the re~ector elements are only partially deployed "Case A#\ they cease to serve
as re~ectors and act like director elements to enhance the radiation in the reverse
direction\ thus signi_cantly reducing the forward gain of the antenna[ In Fig[ 5 the
61 T[L[ Gal`on\ W[D[ Jemison:Journal of The Franklin Institute 225B "0888# 5465

Fig[ 4[ Measured and simulated antenna radiation patterns at 219 MHz] simulated results "with dots#^
measured results "solid line#[

reverse radiation is not evident in the simulated pattern since it is obtained from
contributions due to the right hand circularly polarized _eld and the radiation in the
reverse direction has the opposite polarization sense[ However\ the simulated front
to back ratio using the total electric _eld is only 3[9 dB for case A as compared to
10[9 dB for the baseline case[ This high level of reverse radiation is evidenced by the
increased backlobe level in the measured pattern of Fig[ 5[ This backlobe appears in
the measured pattern as a result of re~ections from the antenna mounting plate
and pedestal which result in polarization conversion[ While these antenna pedestal
interactions a}ect the accuracy of the measured results for these cases\ the results
provide a good indication of the level of degradation that can be expected under these
operating conditions[
 T[L[ Gal`on\ W[D[ Jemison:Journal of The Franklin Institute 225B "0888# 5465 62

Table 1
Beamwidth and sidelobe data obtained from simulated and measured radiation patterns

2 dB Beamwidth Sidelobe level

"relative to beam peak#

Frequency Simulated Measured Simulated Measured

"MHz# "degrees# "degrees# "dB# "dB#
139 63 61 NA NA
159 58 69 08[182> 08[482>
179 52 53 06[782> 06[982>
299 44 44 05[475> 06[075>
219 35 34 09[757> 03[957>

Table 2
Gain degradation for various deployment con_gurations

Case Gain degradation

139 MHz 179 MHz 219 MHz

Simulated Measured Simulated Measured Simulated Measured

"dB# "dB# "dB# "dB# "dB# "dB#

A 3[40 6[4 2[63 3[9 1[33 9[4

B 2[53 4[5 1[13 2[9 0[12 2[4
C 2[08 0[0 2[88 2[1 7[32 2[2
D 0[58 0[0 2[00 2[8 2[77 3[9
E 9[88 0[0 0[21 1[9 9[82 9[9
F 9[47 9[9 9[46 9[9 9[36 9[9
G 9[23 9[1 9[2 0[0 0[31 0[4
H 9[93 9[9 9[90 9[9 9[92 9[4
I 9[90 9[9 9[93 9[9 9[91 9[9
J 9[9 9[9 9[0 9[9 9[05 9[4
K 9[90 9[9 9[92 9[9 9[20 9[9
L 9[9 9[0 9[9 9[0 9[90 9[0

Description of Cases]
A\ re~ectors partially deployed "out but not extended#^ B\ re~ectors not deployed^ C\ two missing drivers^
D\ no director elements^ E\ only one set of directors used "2 director elements#^ F\ one driver element bent
by 34>^ G\ one driver element bent by 89>^ H\ one re~ector element not extended^ I\ one set of re~ectors
misaligned with drivers by 34>^ J\ both sets of directors misaligned with drivers by 34>^ K\ _rst director
bent by 29>^ L\ _rst director bent by 4>[

5[ Antenna optimization

Currently\ the ILSA is not optimized for best electrical performance[ This is evident
from the constant director lengths and spacings[ While these spacings may seem
63 T[L[ Gal`on\ W[D[ Jemison:Journal of The Franklin Institute 225B "0888# 5465

Fig[ 5[ Measured and simulated antenna radiation patterns for Case A "re~ectors partially deployed# at
179 MHz] simulated results "with dots#^ measured results "solid line#[

attractive from a manufacturing viewpoint\ they should be optimized in order to

obtain better electrical performance[ Chen et al[ showed that up to several dB of gain
optimization is possible by optimizing both the director element lengths and spacings
at a single frequency 4\ 5[ Since the ILSA bandwidth is approximately 29)\ it is
desirable to optimize the performance over a much wider band[ Kajfez explored the
bandwidth optimization of YagiUda antennas and showed that ~at gain could be
obtained over a 22) bandwidth 6[ Takla\ et al[ took a di}erent approach\ however\
and demonstrated that the gain at the high end of the band gain be increased by 01
dB at the expense of a small amount of gain over the middle of the operating band
7[ Furthermore\ the gain at the low end of the operating band is basically una}ected[
Since the ILSA is primarily operated at the band edges due to the uplink and downlink
 T[L[ Gal`on\ W[D[ Jemison:Journal of The Franklin Institute 225B "0888# 5465 64

Table 3
Initial and optimized array dimensions

Spacings "in[# Element lengths "in[#

b0 Db h0:1 h1:1 d0:1 d1:1 d2:1 d3:1 d4:1 d5:1

Initial array 5[6 3[4 01 8[0 7[9 7[9 7[9 7[9 7[9 7[9
Optimized array 09[4 3[7 00[5 09[3 7[3 6[8 6[7 6[7 6[8 7[1

channelization\ this latter optimization philosophy was selected[ A conjugate!gradient

optimizer was used to determine improved element spacing and length dimensions
which are shown in Table 3[ The spacing parameter b0 is the distance between the
re~ector and the active elements while Db is the distance between the active element
and the _rst director as well as distance between each pair of adjacent directors[ The
element lengths h0 and h1 are the lengths of the re~ector element and active element
respectively\ while the lengths d0d5 are the lengths of the _rst through sixth director
elements[
While the optimized array is slightly longer "4[5# than the original array\ all of the
optimized element lengths can be easily realized[ Simulation results indicate that the
optimized array provides close to 0 dB of gain improvement at the high end of the
operating band while the gain at the low end of the band is basically una}ected[ This
is shown in Table 4[ This gain improvement translates directly into additional system
uplink margin[

6[ Conclusions

An Improved Lightweight Satellite Antenna has been characterized by numerical

simulation and experimental measurements[ The measured gain is within 0[0 dB of
the simulated gain and the measured beamwidths and sidelobe levels are in excellent
agreement with the simulations[ Measurements and numerical simulation have also
been used to study the antenna gain degradation when the antenna is damaged or
incorrectly deployed[ These results show that minor bending and misalignments are

Table 4
Initial and optimized antenna gain performance

Gain139 MHz Gain179 MHz Gain219 MHz

"dBic# "dBic# "dBic#

Initial array 7[3 8[6 09[1

Optimized array 7[4 8[4 00[0
65 T[L[ Gal`on\ W[D[ Jemison:Journal of The Franklin Institute 225B "0888# 5465

not a problem[ This is reasonable given the highly coupled YagiUda design[
However\ improperly deploying the directors and:or the re~ectors will seriously
degrade the antenna performance[ Depending on the margin available in the link
budget\ reduced antenna performance could result in high bit error rates or complete
disruption of the communications channel[ Finally\ various YagiUda optimization
approaches were considered in order to improve the ILSA performance[ An optimized
array geometry which results in improved performance at the high end of the operating
band was presented[ Simulation results using this geometry indicate that close to 0
dB of gain improvement is possible at the high end of the operating band without
sacri_cing gain at the low end of the band[ The gain across the middle of the operating
band will be slightly reduced\ however[

Acknowledgements

The authors wish to acknowledge the support of the National Science Foundation
Center for Advanced Communications at Villanova University and the Lafayette
College Excel Scholar|s Program[

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