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A Practical Guide to Antennas

Friday, May 16, 2025

New Technical Guide: A Practical Approach to Antennas for EMC Compliance

AMETEK CTS has released a new technical note, A Practical Guide to Antennas for EMC Compliance, designed to support engineers and compliance professionals in selecting and using antennas more effectively during EMC testing.

This in-depth guide consolidates key RF theory and practical test setup considerations into a single, accessible resource. Covering core topics such as antenna gain, directivity, VSWR, effective aperture, polarization, and the Friis transmission equation, it offers both foundational knowledge and application-specific insights.

Engineers working to IEC 61000-4-3 and CISPR 11 standards will find particular value in the included real-world examples. These highlight how AMETEK CTS antennas—such as the CBL 6111D and HLA 6121—perform in typical emission and immunity test environments.

Topics include:
Key electromagnetic wave principles
How antenna characteristics influence measurement accuracy
Antenna factor and field strength conversion
Practical calculations for test setup power and distance
Application-specific examples for both radiated immunity and emission testing

Whether you're configuring a new test setup or troubleshooting field strength measurements, this guide is a reliable reference for enhancing test confidence and compliance accuracy.

Download the full guide here