March 1998

		Eliminating the Porcupine Look Cellular...PCM...GSM...GPS...With the proliferation of services used for mobile communications, many cars begin to suffer from the "porcupine effect," as new antennas are added for each new application. Consumers find the presence of all these antennas unsightly, and governmental users, such as law enforcement agencies, often want to conceal their antennas to avoid detection. The Department's Antenna Laboratory, directed by Professor Warren Stutzman, has been working with Astron Corporation, Sterling, Virginia, to develop antennas that can be concealed within or on the body of a car. New antenna designs are fabricated and mounted to the car model. Then the antenna performance is measured using the rooftop antenna range at the top of Whittemore Hall. The use of a scaled car model permits quick, economical testing of design concepts before proceeding to expensive full scale testing. Right, Mike Barts (G) adjusts the model at the range. The antenna is behind the side-view mirrors.

The Bradley Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Virginia Tech