MICROWAVE STUFF
                      (UNDER CONSTRUCTION)                                

SPECTRUM ANALYZER ANTENNA TESTS, EMF "TESTERS", AND MORE

MICROWAVE TEST BED

​I needed to create a source of microwave/high frequency RF. I had multiple reasons for this.

1. It's hard to find input devices for a Spectrum Analyzer that won't break the bank. Calibrated input devices such as probes can cost more than what I paid for my SA. I tested a bunch of antennas, ranging from WiFi "whips" to flat plate gadgets designed specifically for responses up to 10 GHz. A results table and chart are coming soon.
2. I bought one of those "under $500" handheld EMF testers and I wanted to try to find a way to determine how accurate it was. The one I bought is the GQ EMF-390. I was attracted to this particular unit because it actually has a useful SA built-in, and the manufacturer claims a frequency response up yo 10 GHz. According to a testing lab in Germany, NONE of the  ones they tested are (I already suspected that), but I was curious to see HOW far out of line the EMF-390 was. 
3. I needed a variable source that could rise above the "clutter" in and around my house, such as WiFi routers.

The picture below shows my latest iterations. It's a breadboard design with a Direct Resonance Oscillator (DRO) that covers 2-3 GHz, and a Yttrium-Iron Garnet (YIG) tuned variable oscillator that covers 1.9 to 9.5 GHz, beyond the range stated on the label.

RADAR GUN

I wanted to explore the world above 10 GHz, and I was looking at YIG-tuned oscillators, but then I came upon THIS - a working FALCON K-Band radar gun! It's Type 15, so no license is needed to operate it. In addition to testing antennas with it, I can also irritate people who blast down our street to get to a new grocery store development. There's a more direct path, but they can't be inconvenienced by something like a traffic light, so they cut down our street and put the pedal to the metal. But for this page, we'll look at using it to test antennas.

Here are some pix. Note that I don't even need an antenna - I get a reading with the gun aimed at the open antenna terminal. More to come!
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