EMC Characteristics of Helical Antennas used in Automotive Testing

Radiated immunity (RI) testing is gaining momentum due to current tendency of increasing presence of complex electronic systems inside cars. Meaningful RI testing results are crucial for driving safety. However, testing equipment is prone to parameter modification because of aging and overuse. In this paper, measurements on NMHA antennas and connectors used in RI testing in the frequency range between 26 MHz and 360 MHz are reported and compared to producers' data and solutions for improving reliability of the tests in a real EMC laboratory context are proposed and assessed.