Antenna system for a ground station communicating with the NTNU Test Satellite (NUTS)

Abstract

This thesis describes the design process of a helical antenna for the groundstation at NTNU. The helical antenna is designed for the proposed telemetrylink at 437 MHz. The main focus areas have been to be able to make thehelical antenna small enough to be safely mounted on the roof of the buildingbelonging to the Department of Electronics and Telecommunication, while atthe same time having a big enough helical antenna to achieve the required gain,which is 16 dB. An earlier link budget has been revisited and the requirementshas been adjusted accordingly. The theory section provides the equations thatthe design is based on. In the design and simulation section, articles from theInstitute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) have been useful to seeif the calculated design with wanted characteristics is achievable. The simulationprocess gives an understanding of what happens with the electromagnetic fieldand the gain when different physical dimensions are changed. A scale model hasbeen constructed and measurements have been done in the anechoic chamber.The measurements shows an agreement with the simulations. The evaluationshows that it is sufficient with two antennas in an array, instead of four whichhas been previously proposed.