RADIATION-PATTERN ANALYSIS OF A GPS MICROSTRIP ANTENNA MOUNTED ON THE ROOF OF A CAR MODEL

The radiation patterns of a circularly polarized GPS microstrip disk antenna mounted on the roof of a car are analyzed using UTD. Based upon the excellent agreements between the calculated and the measured results in all the observation directions, the effects of the antenna location upon radiation patterns are discussed in detail. As the distance between the antenna and the edge decreases, the gain in the low elevation angle on the same side as the edge considerably decreases. The effects of the earth are also extracted. They cause the fine ripples in the low elevation angle, though they are negligible in macroscopical view. Furthermore, the validity of the simple design neglecting the earth and the plates other than roof is investigated. The errors are localized at low elevation angle. The results obtained in this paper are useful in the design of the general antennas for mobile communication.