Dream Catcher ME1310 User manual

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ME1310 Antenna and
Propagation (3D)
Lab 1 - 1/18
ME1310 Antenna and Propagation (3D)
Lab 1
Introduction to 3D Radiation Pattern
Measurement
Rev 1.03
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Objective
i) To understand the operating fundamentals of 3D radiation pattern measurements
ii) To measure and plot antenna radiation patterns
Equipment Required
i) ME1310 training kit
ii) Keysight N9912A FieldFox RF analyzer
iii) Keysight 85033E standard mechanical calibration kit (optional)
iv) A pair of 2400 MHz dipole antennas
Accessories Required
i) 1 × 5 V power adapter
ii) 1 × Type A-to-Type B USB cable
iii) 2 × SMA(m)-to-SMA(m) RF coaxial cable
iv) 1 × LAN cable
v) 2 x N(m)-to-SMA(f) adapter
vi) A PC running Microsoft®Windows XP/Vista®/7/10 with a minimum of 1 GB RAM, pre-installed
with setup prerequisites and the RadPat v4 software (Refer to the ME1310 Quick Start Guide for
the installation procedures)

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ME1310 Antenna and
Propagation (3D)
Lab 1 - 2/18
Table of Contents
1. Introduction ............................................................................................................................................3
2. Antenna Radiation Pattern Measurement .............................................................................................5
2.1 2400 MHz Dipole Antenna Measurement.....................................................................................5
2.2 2400 MHz Dipole Antenna 3D Radiation Pattern Measurement ..................................................8
3. Discussions..........................................................................................................................................12
Appendix A: Antenna Pattern for 2400 MHz Dipole Antenna vs 2400 MHz Dipole Antenna (Vertical
Polarize)......................................................................................................................................................13
Appendix B: Tips on How to Calibrate the Keysight N9912A FieldFox RF Analyzer .................................15
S11 Calibration......................................................................................................................................15
S21 Calibration......................................................................................................................................16
Revision History ..........................................................................................................................................17
Contact Us...................................................................................................................................................18

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ME1310 Antenna and
Propagation (3D)
Lab 1 - 3/18
1. Introduction
An antenna radiation pattern is a representation of the field strength or power intensity versus the
antenna orientation angle. For a receiving antenna, the antenna radiation pattern shows the received
signal level at various directions (angles). Similarly, for a transmitting antenna, the antenna radiation
pattern shows its field strength at various directions at a constant distance. The antenna radiation pattern
of most antennas is valid when receiving and transmitting.
An antenna radiation pattern may consist of several lobes. Most of the power is concentrated in the main
lobe. The 3-dB beamwidth is the angle between two points, which are 3 dB lower than the main lobe
maximum. Figure 1 illustrates the radiation pattern lobes together with different power points and
beamwidth.
Figure 1 –Radiation pattern lobes
The antenna radiation pattern is usually shown in two planes. For a dipole antenna, its H-plane antenna
radiation pattern will be plotted if both antennas are placed vertically, while its E-plane antenna radiation
pattern will be plotted if both antennas are placed horizontally. The E-plane radiation pattern is defined as
“the plane containing the electric field vector and the direction of maximum radiation”, and the H-plane
radiation pattern is defined as “the plane containing the magnetic field vector and the direction of
maximum radiation”.
With advancement of mobile telecommunication technology, it is crucial to measure the radiation pattern
of an antenna in full spherical format, or also known as 3D radiation pattern. Typically, antenna
manufacturers do not provide 3D radiation pattern but only in H-planes and E-planes radiation patterns.
This will not create any issue if the antenna is used for large macro cells or long-distance communication.
However, as microcells or picocells deployments are getting more and more common for indoor mobile
communication, the knowledge of antenna radiation field strength for the angles in between H-plane and
E-plane has become an imperative requirement. For path loss measurement and antenna efficiency
measurement, it is essential to measure and build a 3D radiation pattern.

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ME1310 Antenna and
Propagation (3D)
Lab 1 - 4/18
Antenna radiation pattern measurement should take place in the far-field region. The distance between
both antennas, r, must be large enough so that the antennas are in the far-field region where,

2
2D
r
 = wavelength, and
D = largest dimension of the antenna under test (AUT)

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ME1310 Antenna and
Propagation (3D)
Lab 1 - 5/18
2. Antenna Radiation Pattern Measurement
2.1 2400 MHz Dipole Antenna Measurement
Note: To get the best accuracy, you should perform calibration before making any measurements on your
network analyzer. The recommended calibration kit is the Keysight 85033E. Please refer to Appendix B,
“S21 Calibration” for the calibration procedure.
Figure 2 –Equipment setup
1. Set up the equipment as shown in Figure 2.
2. Two 2400 MHz 2 dipole antennas are used for the measurement. Mount one of the dipole
antennas on the top connector of the fixed antenna holder on the transmitter module (Tx). This is
the transmitting antenna. Orientate the antenna for vertical polarization and broadside to the other
antenna-under-test (AUT). The orientation of the transmitting and receiving antennas are shown
in Figure 4.
3. Use an RF coaxial cable to connect the RF OUT connector of the N9912A FieldFox RF analyzer
to the RF IN connector of the transmitter module (Tx).