+49-5032 801 9985 info@antennity.com

Practical VNA and antenna course for embedded developers — 4 sessions of 2 hours each

5G NTN cattle tracker
5G NTN cattle tracker
5G NTN cattle tracker

Antennity invites you to a hands-on online workshop. Over two weeks, embedded developers and hardware engineers will learn how to measure antennas reliably using a vector network analyser (VNA), interpret results correctly and specifically improve performance through tuning and matching. No prior knowledge of RF technology is required. The course takes you step by step from the basics to practical application.

We cover the most important antenna parameters. We provide an introduction to working with the VNA. We demonstrate how a clean test setup and correct calibration determine the quality of the measurement results. We then measure real antennas and discuss typical influences caused by the enclosure, the environment and the hand.

In the final section, participants learn how to design and tune matching networks and apply them to their own IoT devices. The workshop combines technical depth with clear practical relevance for the day-to-day work of embedded developers. It is particularly suitable for teams who wish to gain a better understanding of antenna designs, read measurement reports with confidence and collaborate with RF specialists on an equal footing.

Practical materials and exercises

Optionally, all participants will receive a PCB antenna kit containing five test PCBs. The boards are based on the 80-page A4 white paper ‘Low Cost PCB — Do-It-Yourself Antennas for the Wireless IoT’, sponsored by NeoCortec. The white paper provides the technical basis for the layouts in the kit. This allows the concepts taught in the workshop to be applied directly to real hardware. Short exercises between the live sessions reinforce understanding of calibration, test set-up and data analysis. Participants’ own measurement results can be incorporated into the discussion.

KEY TOPICS

  • Antenna basics: return loss, VSWR, bandwidth, efficiency.
  • Working with the VNA: set-up, operation, display modes, common pitfalls.
  • Calibration: Methods for VNA calibration, reference standards, identifying systematic errors.
  • Measuring real-world antennas: PCB antennas and other designs, the influence of the enclosure and the environment.
  • Tuning and matching: Impedance matching, designing and evaluating matching networks

YOUR BENEFITS

  • Gain a better understanding of and be able to evaluate antennas and test reports.
  • Carry out and document VNA measurements independently.
  • Apply targeted tuning and matching approaches rather than simply ‘trying things out’.
  • Apply workshop content directly to your own projects — including a Q&A session.

AIM OF THE WORKSHOP

You will learn how to carry out antenna measurements confidently using the VNA, critically evaluate measurement results and implement basic tuning and matching steps yourself. This will give you greater control over antenna designs in your IoT projects and reduce your reliance on external service providers.

TECHNOLOGY INTRODUCTION

  • From the initial antenna sketch to a measurable solution in the laboratory.
  • The role of the VNA in the development of embedded and IoT devices.
  • Interplay between antenna geometry, PCB layout, enclosure and test setup.
  • Interpretation of S-parameters, Smith charts and typical characteristic curves.
  • Translating measurement results into concrete design decisions.

OPTIMISATION OF ANTENNA MEASUREMENT TECHNIQUES

  • Accurate calibration and set-up to minimise measurement errors.
  • Repeatable measurement processes for development and validation.
  • Structured documentation of measurement results.
  • Improved communication between embedded development and RF design.

WORKSHOP DETAILS

  • Target audience: Embedded developers, hardware developers, IoT teams with little or no RF experience.
  • Duration: 8 hours (4 sessions of 2 hours each) over 2 weeks.
  • Dates: Mondays and Thursdays (online).
  • Number of participants: Up to 50 people.
  • Location: Online.
  • Language: English. German is available as an option for one-to-one training or for small groups (price to be confirmed).
  • Materials: Handout containing workshop content, exercises, optional PCB antenna kit.
  • Cost: €400 per participant plus €140 for the optional PCB antenna kit containing five test PCBs.

Antennity turns you into an antenna measurement expert — practical, easy to understand and directly tailored to your IoT projects, based on the white paper sponsored by NeoCortec  ‘Low Cost PCB — Do-It-Yourself Antennas for the Wireless IoT’.