Fabrication and Measurement of

Homemade Standard Antennas

Marta Guardiola, Beatriz Monsalve, Irena Calafell, Gemma Roqueta and Jordi Romeu

Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC)

Jordi Girona 1-3, Campus Nord UPC, 08034 Barcelona, Spain
Tel. +34 93 401 73 61; E-mail: {marta.guardiola, bmonsalve, irena, gemma.roqueta, romeu}@tsc.upc.edu

Abstract
Apprenticeship is linked to training. This paper is intended to be a tutorial on how to design, fabricate, and measure
antennas in an economical and easy way, using recycled materials and common electronic devices such as a laptop
and an access point. Several antenna designs built with household materials are proposed, giving practical design and
fabrication guidelines. The use of the Wi-Fi band allows linking the experiment with daily-life devices, and proposing
a simple and economical antenna-measurement system. The capacity to experiment with antennas from their design
to measurement will definitely stimulate undergraduate or graduate students to get acquainted with the basic topics
of antennas and propagation. The paper presented herein was awarded with the first price in the IEEE AP-S Student
Challenge 2010 [1, 2].

Keywords: Antennas; antenna accessories; antenna feeds; antenna measurements; antenna radiation patterns;
antenna theory; propagation; propagation losses; attenuation measurement

1. Introduction this extent, the antennas are designed to work in the Wi-Fi band
(IEEE Standard 802.11b at 2.45 GHz), and the signal levels are

T he concept of an “antenna” has acquired significance

during recent years among the non-scientific community,
thanks to the exponential incorporation of wireless devices
into our daily lives. Antennas are commonly used in radio,
television, cell phone, and wireless Internet. However, they are
often regarded as “that thing” that “somehow” works, doing
“something” and then the device works.
In order to push forward this vague knowledge about the
magic of antennas among graduate or undergraduate students,
this paper presents a proposal for a didactic antenna demon-
stration system to show how antennas work. This proposal is
aimed at encouraging students to go from the apparently cum-
bersome classical antenna handbook formulations [3] to real
implementation, in an easy, costless, and ecological way [4],
still achieving reasonable performance.
The proposal is inspired by the “do-it-yourself” concept,
and hence provides explanatory assembly instructions sug-
gesting a simple antenna-measurement system. The antennas
are built with materials easily obtainable in every home. Their
performance is assessed without requiring any specific or
expensive professional antenna-measurement equipment. To
received with a conventional wireless card installed in a laptop.
Free software for network analysis is used for this purpose.
Additionally, an access point (AP) to feed the antenna under
test, a USB wireless adaptor with an external monopole antenna
to act as a probe, antenna connectors, and cables are required.
This approach also has the advantage of linking antenna design
to a ubiquitous service, familiar to all students, such as wireless
Internet access. In the old days, movements such as ham radio
were the bait that lured many people into antenna design.
Nowadays, it is wireless Internet what can motivate people to
embrace the rewarding field of antenna theory.
2. Antenna Theory
To assess the capability of fabricating and measuring
antennas with recycled materials, several types of antennas
working in the Wi-Fi band with quite different radiation char-
acteristics are proposed: a patch antenna, a pyramidal horn, a
helical antenna in the axial mode, and a discone antenna. The
antennas are designed following the design rules that can be
found in classical handbooks of antennas [3, 5]. The radiation
patterns are represented for the two main cuts of the antennas,

IEEE Antennas and Propagation Magazine, Vol. 54, No. 1, February 2012 177
by the direction of the electric field and the direction of maxi-
mum radiation. Following the same principle, the H plane is
the plane formed by the direction of the magnetic field and the
direction of maximum radiation. Details on the specific design
and expected performance of each antenna are shown hereafter.

2.1 Patch Antenna

Figure 1. A schematic diagram of a patch antenna.
The patch antenna was selected as an example of a
narrowband, low-cost, and easy-to-fabricate antenna. Patch
antennas are typically linear polarized, but circular polarization
can also be achieved. This kind of antenna is often used when
integration in a platform is required, thanks to its low profile,
reduced size, and weight. This antenna can be used in remote-
sensing and mobile applications, for instance.

The structure of the patch antenna, as shown in Figure 1,

is composed of a metallic patch situated on a dielectric surface
with a metallic ground plane underneath. The dimensions of the
patch are typically half the wavelength inside the dielectric.

The radiated fields produced by a rectangular patch such

as that shown in Figure 1 can be expressed as [6]

Eθ = 0 , (1)

 l  Figure 2a. The geometry of the pyramidal horn.

− jkr sin  k cos θ 
2hE0 e  2  sin θ cos  k d sin θ cos φ 
Eφ = − j  
π r cos θ  2 
(2)

According to the relative position of this antenna with respect

to the axis, and considering the direction of the electric field
indicated in Figure 1, the E plane is defined as the zy plane (
φ = π 2 ), and the H plane is defined as the zx plane ( φ = 0 ).

2.2 Pyramidal Horn

The pyramidal horn is an aperture antenna with linear

polarization that allows the radiation of narrow beams in both
horizontal and vertical dimensions. These types of antennas
are widely used when working in the microwave band, since
they provide high gain, they are well matched with the feeding
waveguide, and they have easy design and fabrication rules.
The antenna is fed by a rectangular waveguide, as shown in
Figure 2.

The general expressions of the radiating fields for an

aperture in the xy plane may be expressed as

e − jkr  η  ′ jk y′
E
=θ (θ , φ ) j 1 + cos θ  sin φ ∫∫ E y e jk x x e y dx′dy ′
2λ r  Z 0  S0 Figure 2b. The E plane (top) and H plane (bottom) for the
(3) pyramidal horn.

178 IEEE Antennas and Propagation Magazine, Vol. 54, No. 1, February 2012
 e − jkr η  ′ jk y′ An initial expression for χ that fulfills the design equation for
Eφ (θ , φ ) j
=  + cos θ  cos φ ∫∫ E y e jk x x e y dx′dy ′
2λ r a given G0 may be written as
 Z0  S0
(4)
G0
χ ( initial=
) χ=
1 . (11)
where the field in the pyramidal horn’s aperture is 2π 2π

π j β δ ( x ) +δ ( y ) 
Once the value for χ has been determined, ρe and ρ h are
E y = E0 cos xe , (5) calculated using Equation (10). The dimensions of the horn’s
a1
aperture, a1 and b1 , are calculated as
with the phase shift expressed as
G0 3
a1 = 3λρ 2 ≈ 3λρ h = λ, (12)
2 2 ð 2ð÷
2
a b x y
δ ( x) + δ ( y) = 1 + 1 − −
8 ρ h 8 ρe 2 ρ h 2 ρe
(6) 2λρ1 ≈ 2λρe = 2 λ .
b1 = ÷ (13)
2 2
x y
≅− − . Finally, the last design parameters, pe and ph , are obtained
2 ρ h 2 ρe
from Equations (7) and (8).
The dominant mode of the waveguide ( TE10 ) has a vertical
electric field and a horizontal magnetic field, which define the E
and H planes, respectively. According to the axis depicted in 2.3 Helical Antenna in Axial Mode
Figure 2, the E plane is the yz plane ( φ = π 2 ), and the H plane
is the xz plane ( φ = 0 ). The helical antenna in axial mode is a wideband antenna
commonly used in applications requiring high directivity. Its
The pyramidal horn’s dimensions ( a1 , b1 , ρe , ρ h , pe , ph ) geometry [6], as shown in Figure 3, consists of N turns of
are designed to obtain optimum gain, G0 [3]. The following diameter D , spaced a distance S between turns. The total
length of the antenna is L = NS . The length of the wire is
approximations are made for simplification purposes: ρ1 ≈ ρe
and ρ 2 ≈ ρ h . These two parameters are expressed as Ln = NL0 , where = L0 S 2 + C 2 is the length of the wire
between turns, and C = π D determines the perimeter of the
1 helix’s circumference. The angle, α , between the tangent to
 ρ  2 1  2 the helix and the plane perpendicular to the helix’s axis deter-
( b1 − b )  e  −  ,
pe = (7) mines the input impedance of the antenna. This angle is defined
 b1  4 as
 

1 −1  S  −1  S 
 ρ  2 1  2 =α tg=   tg   . (14)
πD  C 
( a1 − a )  h  −  .
ph = (8)
 a1  4
  The axial mode is reached when the perimeter of the cylinder
is of the order of one wavelength. Under these circumstances,
Under these considerations, the design equation is reduced to the main beam of radiation is situated on the axis of the helix.

2 2
 b  G0 3 1 a  G02 1 
 2χ − = ( 2 χ − 1)  2π
−   − 1 (9)
 λ   2π χ λ   6π 3 χ 
 

where

ρe
=χ (10a)
λ

and

ρ h G02 1
= . (10b)
λ 8π 3 χ Figure 3. The geometry of the helical antenna.

IEEE Antennas and Propagation Magazine, Vol. 54, No. 1, February 2012 179
This mode allows the generation of circular polarization with
maximum bandwidth, provided that

3 C 4
< < . (15)
4 λ 3

The optimum values are C λ = 1 and S = λ 4 . Accordingly,

the angle α may be defined to be between 12° and 18° (with
14° as the optimum value). The impedance of the antenna is
normally chosen between 100 Ω and 200 Ω , and can be
expressed as Figure 4. The geometry of the discone antenna.

C
R ≈ 140 . (16)
λ
turizing, in order to reduce the physical length of the antenna,
The directivity may be calculated through reducing the length of the coaxial cable. The effect is an elec-
trical enlargement of the antenna, the disc being a capacitive
charge. The cone shape provides a wider frequency bandwidth.
C2S
D = 15 N , (17) The radiated field of the discone in Figure 4 can be expressed as
λ3 [8]

and the axial ratio is

− jkV0 e − jkr
Eθ =
2N + 1  θ 
RA = . (18) 8π r log  cot 0 
2N  2 
π
2π 2
The normalized radiation pattern of a helical antenna in axial − jkr2 (1−sin θ sin θ 2 cos(φ −φ2 ) + cos θ cos θ 2 )
mode with its axis aligned along the z direction and without a ∫ ∫ r2 Ae dφ2 dθ 2 , (21)
0 θ0
ground plane is expressed as 2

 π  sin ( Nψ 2 ) where
EN (θ ) = sin   cos θ , (19)
 2 N  sin (ψ 2 )
=A sin θ sin θ 2 + cos θ cos θ 2 cos (φ − φ2 ) + cos (φ − φ2 )
where (22)

S 1  and r2 is a variable radius expressed as

ψ= 2π  (1 − cos θ ) + . (20)
λ 2 N 
Cmax π C θ
−L L − max 0
However, there is no closed expression for the radiation pat- = r2 2 θ + 2 2 2 . (23)
tern of the helical antenna with a ground plane. In this case, π θ0 2 π θ0
− −
theoretical radiation patterns will be obtained through elec- 2 2 2 2
tromagnetic simulations.
According to the relative position of this antenna with respect
to the axis, the E plane is defined as the xz plane ( φ = 0 ) and the
2.4 Discone Antenna H plane is defined as the xy plane ( θ = π 2 ).

The discone antenna [7] is one of the oldest wideband For an optimum design, the aperture angle is taken to be
antennas. The antenna has linear polarization, and can reach a θ 0= 60° , and the dimensions of the antenna may be expressed
bandwidth of 3:1, although it may have poor gain. This kind of
as
antenna is commonly used in applications that require high
bandwidth and need complete (360°) coverage in the horizon-
S = 0.3Cmin , (24)
tal plane. The antenna is made of three main parts: the disc, the
cone, and the coaxial cable, as shown in Figure 4. The disc is
D = 0.7Cmax . (25)
connected to the coaxial core, and is placed perpendicular to its
axis. The coaxial shield is connected to the cone’s vertex.
The lateral length of the cone, Ls , can be approximated by
This antenna could be regarded as a monopole mounted λ
Cmax , and Cmax = , where λ is the wavelength at 2.45 GHz.
on a ground plane. The disc is used as a technique for minia- 4

180 IEEE Antennas and Propagation Magazine, Vol. 54, No. 1, February 2012
 Figure 5. A snapshot of the assembly instructions for the construction of the patch antenna at 2.45 GHz.

IEEE Antennas and Propagation Magazine, Vol. 54, No. 1, February 2012 181
Figure 6a. A picture of a patch antenna fabricated with Figure 6b. A zoomed-in view of the feeding point for the
recycled materials. antenna in Figure 6a.

Figure 7. Measurements of the S11 parameter of the patch

antenna at 2.45 GHz.

Figure 8. The theoretical and measured E-plane (left) and H-plane (right) patterns of the patch antenna at 2.45 GHz.

182 IEEE Antennas and Propagation Magazine, Vol. 54, No. 1, February 2012
 Figure 9. A snapshot of the assembly instructions for the construction of the pyramidal-horn antenna at 2.45 GHz.

IEEE Antennas and Propagation Magazine, Vol. 54, No. 1, February 2012 183
 3. Assembly Instructions

The antennas were fabricated using household materials,

such as adhesive strips, tetra pack containers, cans, cardboard
and polystyrene foams (PS). Connectors (SMA and N types)
and cables were needed to feed the antennas. All these antennas
can be designed using well-tested expressions available in
classical antenna handbooks [3, 5]. The operational wavelength
at Wi-Fi band requires a manufacturing accuracy of the order of
5 mm λ 20 , which is well achievable with tools available in
the home.

3.1 Patch Antenna

A square patch was fabricated using a beverage can and

the aluminum cardboard of a tetra pack as a ground plane. The
ground plane was fixed to a Styrofoam block, to make the
structure stiffer. The dielectric substrate was air (and some
portions of Styrofoam used to maintain the distance between
the patch and the substrate). The patch was fed by a coaxial line
and an N connector. Starting from a λ 2 × λ 2 square patch,
the final dimensions were optimized for good matching at
2.45 GHz. The whole process with the specified dimensions of
the antenna is summarized in the assembly instructions of
Figure 5. The resulting antenna is shown in Figure 6.

The S11 parameter of the antenna was measured using a

network analyzer, and the results are shown in Figure 7. Theo-
retical and measured radiation patterns in the E and H plane are
shown in Figure 8.

3.2 Pyramidal Horn

An S-band pyramidal horn was fabricated with cardboard

and aluminum film. The horn was fed by a rectangular
waveguide fabricated with a milk tetra pack, with a pin as the
exciting source. The dimensions of this waveguide and the
position of the pin were calculated according to the waveguide
theory in [3]. The whole process is summarized in the assem-
bly instructions in Figure 9. The resulting pyramidal horn,
constructed with recycled materials, is shown in Figure 10.

The performance of the pyramidal horn was tested in

the laboratory. The matching of the antenna (Figure 11) was
measured using a network analyzer, and the radiation pattern
(Figure 12) was measured inside an anechoic chamber. The
measured radiation patterns were compared to the theoretical
patterns calculated with Equations (3) and (4). Agreement
between measurements and simulations was achieved.

3.3 Helix in Axial Mode

The antenna was fabricated with the aluminum cardboard Figure 10. (top to bottom) A general view of the pyramidal
of a milk tetra pack for the ground plane, and copper wire as the horn; the aperture; the interconnection between the horn
radiating element. Adhesive strip, toothpicks, and a cardboard and the feeding waveguide; and the feeding waveguide.

184 IEEE Antennas and Propagation Magazine, Vol. 54, No. 1, February 2012
 Figure 11. Measurements of the S11 parameter of the
pyramidal horn at 2.45 GHz.

Figure 12. The theoretical and measured radiation patterns of the pyramidal horn at 2.45 GHz: E plane (l) and H plane (r).

cylinder were used to support the helix. The design was done in
the Wi-Fi band for N = 6 rounds. The perimeter of the helix
circumference was 14.5 cm, which was consistent with the
margins specified in Equation (15). The radius of the wire was
0.5 mm, and the separation between turns, S , was 3 cm. The
whole process is summarized in the assembly instructions in
Figure 13. The resulting antenna, constructed with recycled
materials, is shown in Figure 14.
The matching of the antenna was measured using a net-
work analyzer, and is represented in Figure 15. The measured
radiation pattern was compared to simulations of a helix in
axial mode with a ground plane using a numerical tool (NEC2D
[9]). The results of the E and H planes are represented in
Figure 16, showing good agreement between measurements
and simulations in the main beam.
stability purposes. A coaxial cable with an SMA connector was
used to feed the antenna. The whole process is summarized in
the assembly instructions shown in Figure 17. The resulting
antenna, constructed with recycled materials, is shown in
Figure 18.
The matching of the antenna was measured using a net-
work analyzer, and it is shown in Figure 19. The measured
radiation pattern was compared to the theory. The results of
the E and H planes represented in Figure 20 showed good
agreement between measurements and theory.
4. Complete system

3.4 Discone Antenna Once the antennas were designed and manufactured, and
their performance tested in a specialized antenna laboratory, a
The antenna was fabricated with the aluminum cardboard didactic setup to assess the performance of the antennas was
of a milk tetra pack. Adhesive strip and foam were used for proposed.

IEEE Antennas and Propagation Magazine, Vol. 54, No. 1, February 2012 185
 The antenna system proposed herein allows playing with
the antennas, and learning about some basic concepts such
as radiation pattern, polarization, and link budget, without
requiring any specific or expensive professional antenna-
measurement equipment. Moreover, the antenna world is linked
to the ever-present Internet. To this extent, the antennas were
designed to work in the Wi-Fi band (IEEE Standard 802.11b at
2.45 GHz). The signal levels were received with a conventional
wireless card with external monopole, all connected to a laptop.
Free software for network analysis was used for this purpose,
allowing the monitoring of the received signal level during a
certain time period. An access point (AP) was used to feed the
antenna under test. The whole setup is shown in Figure 21.
In order to guide the user in obtaining and visualizing the
data acquired with the proposed experiments (corresponding to
the three main concepts detailed in next section), a user-friendly
interface was implemented. This tool can be executed on any
computer, and does not require any specific software. Snapshots
of the three menus contained in the tool are shown in Figure 22.
Figure 13a. A snapshot of the assembly instructions for the construction of the axial-mode helical antenna at 2.45 GHz.
186 IEEE Antennas and Propagation Magazine, Vol. 54, No. 1, February 2012
5. Experimental Antenna Measurements
Different antenna experiments were proposed for a com-
prehensive understanding of the following concepts: how an
antenna works, what is a radiation pattern, the polarization
concept, the characteristics of different antennas and their
influence on system performance, and the link budget. In the
next paragraphs, these experiments are explained, and the
results are presented for three different antennas.
5.1 Radiation Pattern
It is well known that the radiation pattern of any antenna
has to be measured inside an anechoic chamber in order to
avoid any undesirable reflection. To do that, several steps have
to be taken into account. On the one hand, a rigorous proce-
dure of calibration and alignment is required, and on the other
hand, depending on the size of the antenna and the size of the
Figure 13b. The diagrams for the assembly instructions for the construction of the axial-mode helical antenna at 2.45 GHz.

IEEE Antennas and Propagation Magazine, Vol. 54, No. 1, February 2012 187
 Figure 14. The axial-mode helical antenna fabricated using
recycled materials.

Figure 15. Measurements of the S11 parameter of the axial-

mode helical antenna at 2.45 GHz.

Figure 16. The simulated and measured E-plane (l) and H-plane (r) patterns of the axial-mode helical antenna at 2.45 GHz.

188 IEEE Antennas and Propagation Magazine, Vol. 54, No. 1, February 2012
 Figure 17. A snapshot of the assembly instructions for the construction of the discone antenna at 2.45 GHz.

IEEE Antennas and Propagation Magazine, Vol. 54, No. 1, February 2012 189
 Figure 18. The discone antenna fabricated using recycled
materials.

Figure 19. Measurements of the S11 parameter of the dis-

cone antenna at 2.45 GHz.

Figure 20. The theoretical and measured E-plane (l) and H-plane (r) radiation patterns of the discone antenna at 2.45 GHz.

190 IEEE Antennas and Propagation Magazine, Vol. 54, No. 1, February 2012
 Figure 21. Schematics of the measurement setup.

Figure 22. Snapshots of the three menus contained in the

executable tool for guidance in experimental measurements:
(l-r) The guides for the radiation pattern, link budget, and
polarization experiments.

Figure 23. The experimental setup in an outdoor environ-

ment.

Figure 24. Different planes measured in the experiment

for (top to bottom) the helical antenna, the pyramidal-
horn antenna, and the discone antenna. A schematic of the
antenna used and the orientation are also depicted.

IEEE Antennas and Propagation Magazine, Vol. 54, No. 1, February 2012 191
 Table 1. The received power as a function of polarization.
AUT
Helix antenna (circular polarization)
Pyramidal horn antenna (vertical polarization)
Discone antenna (vertical polarization)
Table 2. The link budget.
AUT Distance = 5 m
Helix antenna
Pyramidal horn antenna
Discone antenna
anechoic chamber, a near-field/far-field transformation also has
to be done. The aim of the approach presented herein is to have
a first contact with the electromagnetic world, so the retrieved
“radiation pattern” is an approximation of the real pattern. The
important point in this experiment is thus to understand how an
antenna radiates (where the radiation maximum and minimum
are), how important is the alignment of the two antennas
(antenna under test and probe), and why it is so important to
avoid undesirable reflections.
Once the general procedure for performing antenna
radiation-pattern measurements has been introduced, the ana-
log procedure proposed in the kit is described. First of all, the
location and distance between the AUT (the antenna under
test, designed and manufactured) and the probe (the wireless
card of the laptop) has to be fixed. In order to avoid unwanted
reflections as much as possible, outdoor measurements are
strongly recommended. The distance between the antennas was
fixed at 5 m, which ensured that we were in the far-field region.
A schematic of the setup is presented in Figure 21. The final
experiment is depicted in Figure 23. Three different antennas
were characterized: the helical antenna, the pyramidal-horn
antenna, and the discone antenna. The results are presented in
Figure 24.
Comparing the results obtained using the proposed experi-
ment with those obtained through the conventional method
inside an anechoic chamber, the differences are noticeable.
However, with this simple and low-cost system it is possible to
find out how an antenna radiates, and what are the differences
among the antennas. As an example, from the measured results
included in Figure 24, it can be clearly seen that the most
directional antenna is the pyramidal horn, as expected. Also,
the concept of an omnidirectional antenna is visible in the
discone antenna case. As for the helical antenna, since it has a
circular polarization, an E plane or H plane cannot be defined.
Instead, three possible cuts are shown. Moreover, due to the
asymmetry of its ground plane, the radiation pattern was not
omnidirectional, as expected.
192 IEEE Antennas and Propagation Magazine, Vol. 54, No. 1, February 2012
Vertically Horizontally
Polarized Probe Polarized Probe
–39 dBm –41 dBm
–28 dBm –45 dBm
–44 dBm –62 dBm
Distance = 2.5 m
–39 dBm –33dBm
–28 dBm –22 dBm
–44 dBm –38dBm
5.2 Polarization, Co-Polar and Cross-Polar
Components, and Gain Concepts
The polarization of an antenna is given by the polariza-
tion of the radiated field, which in turn can be defined as the
geometric figure traced by the electric field in a fixed point as
a function of time [3]. Although the polarization is a function
of the direction, it is usually defined along the direction of the
radiation maximum. Polarization can be classified as linear
(vertical or horizontal), circular (right-handed or left-handed),
or elliptical.
To be able to detect the predominant polarization of the
antenna under test, a linearly polarized probe is required. A
USB wireless card with an articulated monopole was proposed
as a probe. The concepts of the co-polar and cross-polar com-
ponents were also introduced, since the antennas had to be
equally polarized in order to maximize the received signal.
With this simple experiment, not only the polarization of
the antenna can be seen, but also the concept of antenna gain.
The gain of each antenna under test was involved with the
received power, because only the antenna changed between the
different measurements. In Table 1, the values of the received
power as a function of the polarization of the probe are shown
for each antenna under test. The measurements were done in
the direction of maximum radiation. Whereas for a circularly
polarized antenna the vertical and horizontal components
had similar received powers, for a linearly polarized antenna,
almost a 20 dB difference between both components could be
observed. Additionally, the relative gain of the three antennas
could be inferred, the horn antenna being the antenna with the
highest gain, and the discone antenna being the antenna with
the smallest gain.
5.3 Link Budget
A link-budget study can be done by separating the trans-
mitter from the receiver along a given direction, and comparing
the obtained received power. The equation relating the received
and transmitted power is called the Friis equation, and is 6. A. Cardama, L. Jofre, J. M. Rius, J. Romeu, S. Blanch,
 λ 
2 Antennas, Barcelona, Edicions UPC, 1998.
Prx = Ptx G AUT GProbe   , (26)
 4π R 
7. R. Brault, R. Piat, Las Antenas, Madrid, Parainfo, 1991.
where G AUT and G probe are the gains of the antenna under test
8. K. Nagasawa and I. Matsuzuka, “Radiation Field of Discone
and the probe, respectively. The losses due to free-space Antenna with a Oblique Cone,” IEEE International Symposium
2 on Antennas and Propagation Digest, 4, July, 1992, pp. 1828-
 λ 
propagation are included in the term   . An easy way to 1831.
 4π R 
evaluate this formula is to measure two distances, one twice the
9. G. J. Burke and A. J. Poggio, “Numerical Electromagnetics
other, and to observe a 6 dB decay for the longer distance.
Code (NEC) – Method of Moments,” Livermore, CA, Law-
Table 2 summarizes the experiment realized with two different
rence Livermore Laboratory, 1981.
distances, where the results were in concordance with the Friis
equation.
10. http://goo.gl/aZbyK.

6. Conclusions
Introducing the Authors
Whereas robustness is not an resulting parameter of anten-
nas fabricated with recycled materials, input impedances and
power-pattern cuts agreed pretty well with the expectations from
the classical theory of antennas and numerical computations.
The use of reused materials allowed the development of a full
antenna design, and performing a low-cost experimental setup
at 2.45 GHz. A practical guideline for students was proposed to
design, manufacture, and measure antennas, aimed at learning
about the basic concepts, such as radiation pattern, polarization,
and link budget. This approach eases the understanding of
electromagnetic fields, and antennas in particular. To download
the associated material, please visit [10] or contact the authors. Marta Guardiola was born in Besalú (Girona), Spain,
in 1984. She received the Telecommunication Engineer
degree and the European Master of Research on Information
and Communication Technologies (MERIT) from Universitat
7. Acknowledgment Politècnica de Catalunya in 2008 and 2009, respectively. Since
September 2009, she has been pursuing her PhD degree at
The authors would like to thank Helen Martínez and her Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, where she is involved
advisors for their start up with the conception of the idea of in microwave-imaging algorithms and systems for biomedical
antennas manufactured using recycled materials. applications. Her research interests also include ultra-wideband
antennas, and modeling of the dielectric properties of biological
tissues.
8. References

1. http://www.apsursi2010.org/.

2. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hxy0IiF_swg.

3. C. A. Balanis, Antenna Theory: Analysis and Design, Third

Edition, New York, John Wiley and Sons, 2005.

4. H. Martínez, J. M. González-Arbesú and S. Blanch,

“Antennas Made Simple: Making Antennas with Recycled Beatriz Monsalve was born in Barcelona in 1981. She
Materials,” IEEE International Symposium on Antennas and received the Telecommunication Engineer degree from Uni-
Propagation Digest, 3, June, 2004, pp. 3345-3348. versitat Politècnica de Catalunya in 2006. Since September
5. J. D. Kraus, Antennas, New York, Mc-Graw Hill, 1950. 2007, she has been pursuing her PhD degree at Universitat

IEEE Antennas and Propagation Magazine, Vol. 54, No. 1, February 2012 193
Politècnica de Catalunya, where she is involved in the design
and characterization of electrically small and embedded
antennas. Her research interests also include ultra-wideband
antennas, MIMO antennas, and electromagnetic characteriza-
tion of new technological materials.
for the nondestructive testing of civil engineering structures,
spiralometric discrimination of embedded objects, and ultra-
wideband antennas.

Irena Calafell was born in Vilassar de Mar, Spain, in

Jordi Romeu
1983. She received the MS degree in Telecommunication
Engineering Studies in 2009, and the MS degree in research
on information and communication technologies in 2011 at the
Polytechnic University of Catalonia (UPC), Barcelona, Spain.
From February 2009 to February 2011 she was a research
assistant with the Department of Signal Theory and Commu-
nications, UPC, where she worked on antenna modeling and
antenna excitation optimization for SAR applications. She has
also been involved in the study and characterization of meta-
material antennas. She is currently working toward the PhD
degree in signal theory and communications. Her research
interests include antennas and microwaves, especially micro-
wave industrial applications.

Gemma Roqueta was born in Llagostera (Girona),

Spain, in 1983. She received the degree in telecommunication
engineering from the Technical University of Catalonia (UPC),
Barcelona, Spain, in 2007. She is currently working toward the
PhD degree at the Technical University of Catalonia, where she
working on the development of wideband microwave-imaging
applications for nondestructive quality testing methods for civil
structures. In 2006, she was involved in research on body-area
networks as a foreign student at the Université Catholique de
Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium. From August 2010 to
December 2010, she was a Visiting Scholar at the Civil and
Environmental Engineering Department, Henry Samueli
School of Engineering, University of California, Irvine, under
the FPU fellowship program. She worked on antennas and
electromagnetic imaging and visualization systems for civil
structures with corrosion there. Her research interests include
indoor and outdoor propagation, wideband microwave imaging

194 IEEE Antennas and Propagation Magazine, Vol. 54, No. 1, February 2012