Ural Federal University: University Students Tested a New Antenna System
Students of the Engineering School of Information Technologies, Telecommunications and Control Systems of UrFU tested a new antenna system. They assembled an installation for receiving satellite signals and improved its characteristics with an antenna array. The tests were conducted near the academic building of the Department of Radio Electronics and Communications. The latest issue of the Urals Federal newspaper reports on this (Article No. 19 from November 7).
“In the spring, we used this setup to receive the signal of the Japanese educational satellite Nexus (Fuji Oscar 99), created at Nihon University. The students and I used the same wave channel antenna for this. This time we wanted to boost the signal, but we had no opportunity to install the antenna on the roof of the building. It was possible to put an antenna amplifier, but in this case, along with signal amplification increases the noise introduced by the amplifier. Therefore, we decided to increase the number of antennas by combining them into an antenna array of four,” says Ivan Malygin, Associate Professor of the Department of Radio Electronics and Communications at UrFU.
The installation will be tested in several ways. First, the antenna has become heavier, and it is necessary to find out whether the motors of the electric drive can handle the increased load, the students explain. Secondly, students need to find out what type of amplification of the received signal the new design provides.
“We were dealing with the second question outdoors, installing a simulated satellite signal transmitter and testing the performance and characteristics of the new antennas. It turned out that the calculations the students made were generally confirmed,” explains Ivan Malygin.
The next stage of work is to check the signals of the satellites. According to the developers, the antenna system operates in the 430-440 MHz range.
“Currently, there are about 3,000 satellites in outer space that are accessible to our receiving equipment. Many of them are training satellites, but there are also serious satellites for scientific and research purposes,” says Ivan Malygin.
The students are involved in setting up and testing the systems as part of the laboratory practice. The work they do is complex and professional – they should keep their time, and they need the qualifications they gain from such work, says Ivan Malygin. After the system is fully tested, the students will move on to work with the satellites.