MeerKAT radio telescope electromagnetic coupling investigations

The MeerKAT radio telescope will form part of the Square Kilometer Array project, which aims to be the most sensitive radio telescope array in the world. Electromagnetic compatibility measures are imperative to the correct functioning of the instrument, providing scope for numerous research projects involved. Our investigations described in this paper include three main topics. Scale computational modelling is verified with measurement to predict coupling levels on the telescope structure from incident fields. Comparative measurements on an installed structure agree to within 9 dB of computational scale model results. Existing propagation models are evaluated and adapted to include heights and distances which differ from conventional telecommunication standards. Initial predictions are compared to measured path loss with a root mean square error of less than 6 dB. A hyperband conical antenna with 35:1 impedance bandwidth was designed and measured for continuous on-site radio frequency interference monitoring. Although the antenna simulated results were limited in frequency due to computational resources, the measured characteristics compare well over this frequency range.