Reduced measurement uncertainty in the frequency range 500 MHz to 1 GHz using a calculable standard dipole antenna

Using a pair of calculable standard dipole antennas above a 60 m by 30 m ground plane, an agreement between the theoretical and measured antenna factor of /spl plusmn/0.15 dB has been achieved for the frequency range of 500 MHz to 1 GHz. This was derived from a comparison of the measured and predicted values of the site insertion loss between the two antennas. The improvements on previous results were achieved by reducing the distance between the antennas so that a more accurate positioning was possible. The use of this antenna as a broadband standard has been investigated. The antenna factor was within /spl plusmn/0.35 dB of the predicted value over a 65% bandwidth. This makes it possible to use the dipole antennas as a broadband calculable standard to evaluate the performance of EMC test sites and to calibrate broadband antennas.