A MINIATURE AUTOMATIC DIRECTION FINDER
Abstract
A miniaturized unambiguous direction finder with no moving parts is described. At a frequency of 1000 mc, a complete system, consisting of a two- wire spiral antenna, with cavity backing, operating in the first two radiation modes can be built into a cylinder 10 in. in diameter and 3 in. deep. Direct scaling laws apply, so that at 2000 mc, for example, the cylinder would be 5 in. in diameter and 1 1/2 in. deep. Since there are no moving parts, and printed- circuit techniques can be used, the total weight (excluding power supply and readout or display) will be less than 1/2 lb. The pattern of this antenna array gives hemispheric coverage. The output, fed into an analog device, gives a determination of the elevation and azimuth of a received signal, with no ambiguities, in the hemisphere bounded by the plane of the spiral. The processing network consists of two 3-way power dividers and a pair of hybrids, which can be mounted on the back of the cavity by using strip-line techniques. An experimental version of the system has been built and preliminary data are presented.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 14, 1962
- Accession Number
- AD0276282
Entities
People
- H. B. Smith Jr.
- J. A. Kaiser
- Jared A. Little
- W. H. Pepper
Organizations
- Harry Diamond Laboratories