I am looking for advice in choosing an economical antenna turntable and
software package for analyzing antenna patterns on small microwave dish
antennas. I have RF sources, reference horns and HP Spectrum Analyzers
available as well as HP Vector Network Analyzers. I have seen software
used in the past that runs an HP Spectrum Analyzer for collecting data.
The software was geared towards the satellite industry where the antenna
positioner was run separately from the data collection software, which
allowed you to enter the speed of the positioner and the spectrum
analyzer sweep speed was matched to the positioner speed and amount of
rotation. The software also centered the peak of the beam on the plot
and allowed you to fiddle with parameters. I am considering using a
Daedal precision turntable as I only need azimuth cuts up to 180deg, but
would like to know if there is a specific industry accepted positioner
that is cheaper. I am also having trouble locating data collection
software as I described. I found a company that has a software/turntable
system, but it’s a bit overkill at $18k. There must be something that
will do a satisfactory job at a cheaper price. Any comments?
TIA,
Mike