A Simply Method for Measuring Radar Antenna Wave Beam Pattern by Horn and Signal Generator

The performances of the weather system echoes are determined by the wave beam characteristics of the weather radar antenna. The main lobe gain and beam width of the antenna are related to the sensitivity and resolution of the radar, meanwhile, the level of the side lobe may lead the generation of false ground clutter and side lobe echoes that should not exist. Therefore, professional antenna test experiments are necessary but inconvenient for the general radar users because of the harsh experiment conditions of the test. In this paper, a simply method for measuring radar antenna wave beam pattern by using a horn and a signal generator is proposed. In the method, a horn antenna with a standard gain is fixed by a stand. The fixed horn antenna is moved to a location with a relatively clean electromagnetic environment 1 to 2 km away from the radar. A microwave signal generator is connected with the horn antenna with a low loss coaxial cable for generating the input wave during the radar antenna test. The test is completed by rotating the antenna. The gain of the radar antenna can be calculated by using transmitting power, the horn gain, the distance between the radar and the horn antenna. The validity of the method is verified by testing the antennas of a WXR_MD_1 and an MaXPol radar.