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ALMA MEMO #456

Characteristics of a Reflector Antenna :
Parameters, graphs and formulae for Cassegrain systems with Mathematica expressions for numerical computation

Jaap Baars

April 2003



Keywords: Antenna theory, Cassegrain antenna, Mathematica, Radio antenna, Radio telescope

In this report I collect data on the characteristics of a reflector antenna in the form of Figures and Formulae. The goal is to make available in one place information which is useful for the analysis of antenna measurements and radio astronomy observations. I discuss the illumination efficiency, axial and lateral defocus, pointing aspects, aperature blocking and random surface errors. The computations and the derived illustrations are made with the aid of Mathematica and all Mathematica expressions are included at the end of the report. This collection of data is an extension of my earlier summary of antenna parameters, issued as and NRAO Electronic Division Internal Report (EDIR), No. 57 of August 1966. Some of the figures of that report are included here.


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Last modified: 2003-05-22

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