Design of Active V-Dipole Antenna on UAS for Receiving NOAA Polar Satellite Imagery

In sub-optimal environments for satellite reception, an unmanned aerial system (UAS) can navigate to a higher vantage point to receive better quality satellite broadcasts. Small UAS platforms are constrained by weight and size, making VHF antenna implementation difficult for satellite reception onboard a UAS. This research designs, simulates, and implements a small form factor V-dipole antenna with matching circuit and low noise amplifiers to receive high quality National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) satellite imagery and weather data from a custom DJI Matrice 100 UAS platform. A software defined radio was used to filter and demodulate VHF satellite signals, and an Nvidia TX2 embedded computer processed the satellite images onboard the UAS. Performance was evaluated by the quality of the image reception and practicality of the antenna design in flight.