Development of a reconfigurable modular GPS beamformer for design and test

When creating a new antenna design it is often necessary to test many different configurations, in real environments as well as in simulations. Different array antennas need different feed arrangements, which can make testing many designs extremely costly. The aim of this research is to create a test bed that would allow many different configurations to be tested with minimal expense of time and money. This was done by creating a modular design that was easily reconfigurable, allowing stages to be added, removed and rearranged as necessary. This paper presents the design of the individual modules and characterises their performance, demonstrating that the modular approach offers good performance and will allow multiple designs to be evaluated without compromise.