[SFDXA] Breakthrough in antenna system performance analysis - From QRZ

[Bill]

Breakthrough in antenna system performance analysis

         Frank Donovan W3LPL has one of the few “super-stations” in the 
world. While using two WSPRlite antenna testers from SOTABEAMS to 
compare antenna arrays he noticed that excellent results could be 
obtained if he filtered the reception data so that he only used truly 
simultaneous reception reports. Since WSPR transmitters transmit at 
random time intervals, such simultaneous reports would be relatively 
rare – unless you are using a “super-station”! SOTABEAMS analysed 
Frank’s data and agreed that it was an interesting observation. Thus 
they worked to incorporate this into their antenna analysis system. The 
first stage was to upgrade their DXplorer.net data analysis system to 
allow filtering by simultaneous spots and also by range/wave angle. In 
addition to this enhancement, real-time statistical analysis was 
incorporated.

         Not everyone has a “super-station” so a hardware upgrade was 
done to the WSPRlite transmitters to allow pairs of transmitters to work 
synchronously (transmitting at the same time) but also pseudo-randomly 
so as to correctly share the WSPR frequency slots. This enhancement 
greatly increases the amount of data and makes simultaneous analysis of 
even small low-efficiency antennas possible.

         Together these changes make real-time performance analysis of 
antenna systems available in a way that has never before been possible. 
This exciting new analysis method is now live. Frank will be talking on 
this system at the Contest University at Dayton 2017.

         Details of the system are at www.sotabeams.co.uk/wsprlite

         Example test results at: http://www.sotabeams.co.uk/blog/

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