Southern Luzon State University

College of Engineering
Electronics Engineering
Department

ECE07L: COMMUNICATIONS 04 -TRANSMISSION MEDIA

AND ANTENNA SYSTEMS LABORATORY

Experiment No. 06
DIRECTIONAL ANTENNA
MATERIALS REQUIRED:
 Yagi Antenna (4 elements and 3 elements)
 ATS05 instrument
 Antenna transmitter tripod and receiver graduated disc tripod
 Connecting cables
 Measuring tape

PROCEDURES:
1. Connect the dipole antenna to the transmitter tripod and set the attenuator upwards for high RF
output to maximize receiver sensitivity. Set the length of the antenna elements to λ/4 each from
the center of the boom. Keep the antenna in horizontal direction.
2. Now connect the Yagi antenna to the receiver Graduated Disc tripod and set the receiver to 600
MHz and set the attenuator upwards for maximum sensitivity.
3. Set the distance between the antennas to be around 1m. Remove any stray object from around
the antennas, especially in the line of sight. Avoid any unnecessary movement while taking the
readings.
4. Now rotate the Yagi antenna around its axis in steps of 5 degrees. Take the readings in receiver
at each step and note down.
5. Plot the readings on a polar and Cartesian plane.
6. Now replace the Yagi (4el) with a Yagi (3el) antenna and find whether they are directional
antennas or not.

EQUIPMENT SETUP
DATA AND RESULTS:

Angle on the Signal Level Received Angle on the Signal Level Received
Graduated Disc (dBuV) Graduated Disc (dBuV)
(degrees) (degrees)
5 53.6 185 18.7
10 50.6 190 17.0
15 49.9 195 16.0
20 44.9 200 13.7
25 47.9 205 12.1
30 48.4 210 12.0
35 47.7 215 12.6
40 49.1 220 14.0
45 50.9 225 15.3
50 49.2 230 15.0
55 49.9 235 14.2
60 48.0 240 14.1
65 46.2 245 14.3
70 41.4 250 13.7
75 39.7 255 15.8
80 45.2 260 14.2
85 46.0 265 14.1
90 46.6 270 15.7
95 28.0 275 18.5
100 20.2 280 18.8
105 19.3 285 14.6
110 20.7 290 8.9
115 21.7 295 8.9
120 21.6 300 7.4
125 21.4 305 8.8
130 22.9 310 8.2
135 22.4 315 7.6
140 21.7 320 7.7
145 21.7 325 9.0
150 23.0 330 9.2
155 21.9 335 7.2
160 22.2 340 7.7
165 22.2 345 7.1
170 22.7 350 6.8
175 22.0 355 7.5
180 20.0 360 8.5
DATA INTERPRETATION AND OBSERVATIONS:

QUESTIONS:
1. Based on the polar plot of the readings, describe the radiation pattern of a
directional antenna.
2. Explain the preference on directional antennas to be used for deep space probe
applications. Is there any disadvantage on its practical applications?
3. Why do directional antennas have higher gain and can cover longer range of signals
compared to omnidirectional antennas?
4. Explain the importance of the beamwidth parameter in a directional antenna.

CONCLUSION