Microwave Power Beaming using Ka-band Radar Tethered Aerostat Program

Authors

  • Travis D Haugstad Western Technical College
  • Landon Rudy Western Technical College
  • Nicholas Watson Western Technical College
  • Brian LePlante Western Technical College

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.17307/wsc.v1i1.176

Keywords:

Microwave, Electrical Engineering

Abstract

With electronic devices becoming smaller and more portable, they are being utilized more in science and everyday life.  There must be a way to power these devices without long cables, large batteries, or other power supplies. Mobile phones and CubeSats are examples of technologies that could take advantage of wireless low-energy transfer for powering or charging devices. Our platform, containing our receiving circuitry was suspended from a tethered aerostat. The platform was designed to receive the wireless signal emitted from a microwave transmitter, analyze the strength of the signal via a programmable microcontroller, and transmit the data back to our logging station on ground level. In order to receive the transmitted power in a usable state, a rectifier and multiple antennas had to be designed and built to test for reception and efficiency. The antennas designed included the Yagi-Uda and fractal-patch antennas

References

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Kustom Signals, Inc. (2011). Falcon Hand-Held Traffic Radar Operator's Manual. Lenexa, KS: Kustom Signals, Inc.

Lan Sun Luk, J., Celeste, A., Romanacce, P., Chane Kuang Sang, L., & Gatina, J. (1997). Point-to-Point Wireless Power Transportation in Reunion Island. 48th International Astronautical Congress. Turin, Italy: International Astronautical Federation.

Meserve, Martin E. “Yagi VHF.†Amateur Radio Home Page. N.p., 5 June 2004. Web. 30 Dec. 2015.

Pozar, D. M. (2012). Microwave Engineer, Fourth Edition. Amherst, MA: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Slovic, Marija, Branka Jokanovic, and Branko Kolundzija. High Efficiency Patch Antenna for 24 GHz Anticollision Radar. Mikrotalasna Revija, June 2006. Web. 28 Jan. 2016.

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Published

2017-01-17

How to Cite

Haugstad, T. D., Rudy, L., Watson, N., & LePlante, B. (2017). Microwave Power Beaming using Ka-band Radar Tethered Aerostat Program. Proceedings of the Wisconsin Space Conference, 1(1). https://doi.org/10.17307/wsc.v1i1.176

Issue

Section

Team Projects