Supplementary Videos for Publication: J. Tiede et al., Frequency-Dependent Variations of the Antenna Reflection Coefficient Due to Different Wetness Conditions on the Antenna Radome
These short video sequences show the temporal evolution of the reflection coefficient magnitude during the drying process of wetted microwave link antennas. After wetting the antennas under test with distilled water using a hand sprayer, their complex reflection coefficient was measured continually over their specified operational bandwidth by use of a vector network analyzer. As a result, the drying process is observable through the temporal change of the reflection coefficients in both polarization channels. Apparently, all the viewed frequency-response characteristics return to their respective initial states after drying-off has completed. From the observations, which are described and analyzed in detail in the parent paper, it is clearly shown that the antenna reflection coefficient is sensible to wetness on the antenna radome. Consequently, the water content on an antenna radome could potentially be estimated from corresponding measurements. Especially in the field of quantitative precipitation estimation using commercial microwave links opportunistically, the option of in-situ quantification of wetness on the radome is revolutionary since it still remains a perpetual challenge to estimate and correct for wet antenna attenuation.
