radio frequency

WHEN A GRID BECOMES A SOLID

WHEN A GRID BECOMES A SOLID

How can a grid act as a reflector?  Doesn’t make much sense when you think of it, but when we are talking about electromagnetic radiation, they definitely can.  Probably the most common example you see is in satellite TV offset reflector antennas, but you also see it in radio telescopes.  The dish is not made from a solid structure, it’s a mesh or has holes in it, and yet it can easily reflect the electromagnetic radiation to the receiver at the focal point of the parabaloid.  There are other structures that you can make that are not solid metal, but act as a radio frequency mirror. 

WHAT IS AN ANECHOIC CHAMBER AND WHY IS IT USED?

WHAT IS AN ANECHOIC CHAMBER AND WHY IS IT USED?

I’ve spent a large amount of time working in anechoic chambers, and possibly even longer analysing the data I’ve collected in them.  There is something very peaceful about working in a nice quite air-conditioned room with just the background hum of some radio frequency equipment.  It almost offsets the problem of the grey colour your hands turn from the carbon in the radar absorbing material.  Over the years I was often asked what the anechoic chamber was and why it was used, so here is a quick introduction to all things anechoic chamber.