On the use of a reliable low-cost set-up for characterization measurements of antennas

In this paper, a low-cost time domain-based approach to antenna characterization is presented. The goal is to prove that time domain-based antenna measurements, after appropriate processing, represent an accurate and more practicable alternative to the universally accepted (yet highly expensive) antenna measurements in anechoic chamber, and provide information just as complete. Measurements on two commercial antennas are carried out in the time domain (in a non-controlled environment) and in the frequency domain (in an anechoic chamber): experimental data obtained from the two approaches are compared in terms of Return Loss. Results show that reliable results can be extracted from time domain data, and that a good insight into the antenna characteristics can be obtained even without using highly expensive facilities.