ANDROID BASED ANTENNA POSITIONING SYSTEM

• Main Authors: Abu, Maisarah, LIN, TAY MEI, Md Ali, Siti Adlina
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Penerbit UTM Press 2022
• Online Access: http://eprints.utem.edu.my/id/eprint/27051/2/000750803202339.PDF; http://eprints.utem.edu.my/id/eprint/27051/; https://journals.utm.my/jurnalteknologi/article/view/17287
• Institution: Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka

To receipt the strongest possible signal, the antenna must be pointed at a precise angle in the direction of transmitter for effective wireless communication. If the movement of the antenna is controlled manually, there is a problem of aligning it at the optimum position to receive the strongest possible signal especially in remotely located areas. To overcome the difficulty of adjusting manually, Android Based Antenna Positioning System is proposed to remotely control the position of antenna by using an android phone. Two 12 V 28BYJ-48 stepper motors and ULN2003 drivers are demonstrated as a rotator to move the antenna in azimuth and elevation directions simultaneously. The commands provided from a web page through android phone are sent to the motors in real time via NodeMCU V3 microcontroller. MPU6050 sensor is mounted on the antenna to determine its position then the data collected is uploaded to Blynk application. When the antenna is positioned at specified direction in the direction of horn antenna (transmitter) based on the angles, speed and direction of motors’ movement, the strongest possible signal strength of antenna at specific frequency of 2.4 GHz can be determined using spectrum analyzer. When the antenna is positioned at X=27.52˚, Y=285.63˚, and Z=171.71˚, it has the strongest signal strength of -36.62 dBm as well as the gain of 1.713 dB. The stronger the signal strength of antenna, the higher the gain and the higher the quality connection.