Antenna testing equipment

[vige3 0]

This RF topics are interesting and tempting.

I'm pretty skillful in metal work, and well equipped with  with basic knowledge in math and physics.

I could theoretically build different types of antennae for WI Fi ( 2,4 and 5MHz) bands and use them accordingly,

but I will not have a clue about workmanship and quality of the build. Only way to test them is number of AP/Clints connected 

which is very unprecise. Any  mistake will be hard to detect.

So I`m asking more experienced and knowledgeable forum members , what set of basic equipment I would need to test and tune the antennas? 

I`m not speaking about professional level, just basics.

 

Thanks....

[Harry36 140]

[Admin 2545]

,,,cheaper and simpler...!!!

[Dr. Pepper 58]

I have a SAA2 NanoVNA which costs about 80 Euro but can only measure up to 3 GHz, if you want to measure up to 6GHz you have to spend about the double for it. I think such a VNA is the most basic tool to measure any antenna. It gives you the ability to correct the antenna that it works like it should. 

[Harry36 140]

6 hours ago, Dr. Pepper said:

I have a SAA2 NanoVNA which costs about 80 Euro but can only measure up to 3 GHz, if you want to measure up to 6GHz you have to spend about the double for it. I think such a VNA is the most basic tool to measure any antenna. It gives you the ability to correct the antenna that it works like it should. 

LiteVNA costs about $80 for the 2.8-inch version. https://aliexpress.ru/item/1005003802185241.html?spm=a2g2w.productlist.0.0.616ed52d8qmiOH&sku_id=12000027216067991

and about $100 for the 4" version https://aliexpress.ru/item/1005004126788962.html?spm=a2g2w.productlist.0.0.616ed52d8qmiOH&sku_id=12000028123208491

The prices for these devices are very affordable and they work quite accurately.

[vige3 0]

Thank you very much.

 

 

[vige3 0]

Now to widen a story little bit....

The tools (network analyzers) are truly cheap and look very interesting.

What king of basic literature could I use to understand standard parameters. I`m not speaking about wave theory here , that I understand well,

but about applicable knowledge of basic antenna parameters (gain, SWR, loses, impedance etc...). Any good books or web pages on this topics?

preferably on English or Serbian....

I already downloaded CST studio (having little trouble to put that complex application to work, but Ill solve that). The goal was not to run simulations, as I`m not

so skilled , but to be able to open .cst files.

 

[Admin 2545]

https://www.antenna-theory.com/basics/main.php

[Dr. Pepper 58]

9 hours ago, vige3 said:

Now to widen a story little bit....

The tools (network analyzers) are truly cheap and look very interesting.

What king of basic literature could I use to understand standard parameters. I`m not speaking about wave theory here , that I understand well,

but about applicable knowledge of basic antenna parameters (gain, SWR, loses, impedance etc...). Any good books or web pages on this topics?

preferably on English or Serbian....

I already downloaded CST studio (having little trouble to put that complex application to work, but Ill solve that). The goal was not to run simulations, as I`m not

so skilled , but to be able to open .cst files.

 

At the beginning CST looks very complicated, i first also needed some time to do something. At the beginning its useful to download a few projects and look into the history list how the antennas are modeled and what is all done. Later you will be able to make your own projects and play around. When you have an Nvidia card with cuda make sure you enable the use of this in the environment variables under windows, it will speed up the simulation.