AN ADAPTIVE SYSTEM FOR ANTENNA ALIGNMENT

Abstract

A software controlled adaptive system for antenna alignment is proposed here for DVB access from vehicle as a part of intelligent transportation system (ITS). This is achieved by measuring the SNR and then using motors to 3-Dimensionally move the receiver parabolic dish to align with satellite. Experiment is performed in two parts. In first experiment, a single motor is used to align a prototype Yagi-Uda antenna. And in second experiment, a prototype dish antenna is aligned using two motors which are controlled through software. An accelerometer is simulated to determine the direction of motion of the vehicle on which the receiver antenna is mounted. The initial alignment of the antenna by SNR measurement provides the data for alignment retention in transportation environment. MATLAB/SIMULINK platform is used to develop the master control software. Virtual reality is used to simulate the nonlinear motion of the car. Comparative results, with and without corrective algorithm, and the peak-to-peak SNR variation against antenna beam width is shown.