Antenna array calibration for a multi-channel direction of arrival sounder

Future mobile communication systems will offer higher bit rates than are available from present systems. This will consequently increase their susceptibility to multipath propagation. Adaptive antennas with intelligent basestations, which are able to steer the antenna beam, offer a possible measure to minimize the effects of multipath propagation. A necessary input to the development of future basestations will be radio channel characteristics including direction of arrival information. UMIST has been conducting a programme of channel characterisation over a number of years. The paper describes an antenna array for use with the UMIST eight-channel sounder and its calibration for angle of arrival estimation.