Design and test of a mobile antenna system with tri-band operation for broadband satellite communications and DBS reception

The tri-band mobile antenna system for broadband multimedia services in the Ka/K-band and a simultaneous direct broadcast service in the Ku-band has been developed. The radiating part of the antenna consists of a shaped dual reflector system and a tri-band feed of circular polarization. The low-profile offset main reflector has an aperture size of 60 cm x 20 cm; therefore, a fan beam is formed which is sharp in azimuth and wide in elevation. The feed system contains a protruding dielectric rod for Ka/K-band and 2 x 2 active phased array. The latter provides the beam for Ku-band along with four fast electrical beams for stable satellite tracking. The new tracking algorithm based on a fusion technique involving various sensors and fast electrical beams has also been introduced. The antenna system was mounted on a large ship and a test car, and successfully operated via Koreasat-3.