Antenna engineering for the whole of the RF spectrum
From 100 kHz to 80 GHz, from a single embedded antenna inside a sensor to a commissioned broadcast transmitter site. The work falls into the eight areas below; most engagements draw on several.
Antenna design
The core of the practice: antennas designed to suit the product, its industrial design, its host platform and its environment.
- Embedded antennas for personal and IoT devices
- Electrically small antennas: wearables, labels, security, marine AIS
- Base‑station and broadcast antenna systems
- GNSS antennas, single and multi‑band, planar and circularly polarised (see examples)
- Near‑field antennas for 125/134‑kHz and 13.56‑MHz bands
- Antennas for active and passive RFID
- Antennas for ground penetrating radar and specialist sensors
- Antenna siting, planning and coverage design
- Antennas for medical devices, including implantables
- Antennas for drones
RF systems & propagation
The platform around the antenna, and the radio path the signal has to travel.
- RF circuit design and test
- RF platform design for multi‑function devices
- Radio‑system specification review & compliance
- LF, MF and HF propagation studies & field‑strength measurement
- VHF / UHF / SHF path analysis
- Satellite link budgets
- EMC investigation and remediation
- High‑voltage RF ISM‑band applications
EMF safety & compliance
Practical ICNIRP, CEMFAW and RADHAZ advice grounded in more than 50 years of working around high‑power RF.
- ICNIRP compliance of base stations
- Implementation of CEMFAW
- Advice to overseas government regulators and UK local authorities
- EMF hazard investigation and remediation
- On‑site field‑strength measurements and surveys
- ICNIRP advice for landlords and property owners
Expert witness & patents
Independent technical evidence for courts, tribunals, planning authorities and licensing bodies, domestic and international.
- Base‑station siting and planning matters
- Expert witness for property owners
- Accident and engineering‑failure investigation
- Expert witness in patent litigation
- Patent drafting
- Prior‑art searching
- Responding to Examiners' search reports
On‑site services
Measurement, commissioning and diagnostic work carried out in the field, worldwide.
- Site surveys and reports
- On‑site fault diagnosis and rectification
- Installation and commissioning
- Measurement of antennas and associated equipment
- LF and MF antenna systems, 100 W to 600 kW
- Commissioning of broadcast transmitter sites
Measurement & simulation
Laboratory measurement, with access to anechoic chambers, and industry‑standard electromagnetic simulation tools.
- VNA: measurement and matching of antenna impedances on breadboards and prototype samples
- Spectrum analyser: measurement of output power levels and spectrum characteristics, with diagnosis of EMC issues
- CST Studio Suite: EM simulations of many types of antennas and structures (see a GNSS example)
- NEC‑4: MoM simulations well‑suited to modelling wire antennas and extended structures
- I have access to an ETS‑Lindgren 3‑D chamber (400 MHz – 6 GHz) and an MVG StarLab® chamber (600 MHz – 10 GHz), which provide radiation patterns, gain, polarisation characteristics and efficiency. The ETS‑Lindgren chamber can make active measurements of TRP and TIS.
Advisory & management
For SMEs in technical markets and for investors conducting due diligence.
- Reviewing prospects of companies seeking investment
- Advice on investments, mergers and acquisitions relating to the RF industry
- Process and operations review & recommendations
- Advice on technical proposals for new products and markets
- Market assessments for new products
- Business development
Technical writing & training
Content and courses drawn from decades of standards work, research supervision and industrial practice.
- In‑company short courses on antennas, propagation & radio systems
- Training on ICNIRP & CEMFAW implementation
- Training on RF measurements and RF platform design
- Specifications, proposals, presentations
- Product handbooks and user manuals
- Standards documents
- Patents & technical white papers
- Corrosion, metals & plastics in RF hardware
GNSS antennas: simulation and hardware
An animated CST simulation of a circularly polarised patch, with ceramic, stacked and quadrifilar‑helix antennas for GNSS receivers.
See the GNSS examples →Radio link budget calculator
Estimate received signal, signal‑to‑noise ratio, link margin and range, with free‑space, log‑distance and two‑ray path loss and a fade margin set by the reliability you need.
Where the work usually lands
Most engagements involve one of the market areas below, though the practice is deliberately broad: an antenna is an antenna whether it sits in a watch, a lighthouse or a satellite.
Not sure which of these applies to your problem?
Most enquiries start with a short phone call or email. I'll tell you whether the project is a good fit and, if it isn't, who else in the field you might usefully talk to.