Journal of Radio Electronics. eISSN 1684-1719. 2026. №7
Full text in Russian (pdf)
DOI: https://doi.org/10.30898/1684-1719.2026.7.12
Antennas for a UAV-Based Mobile Autonomous
Measurement Module for Calibration
of MF-band Local Radio Navigation Systems
V.S. Panko, A.A. Erokhin, A.G. Andreev
Siberian Federal University,
660074, Russia, Krasnoyarsk, st. Kirenskogo, 28
The paper was received June 16, 2026.
Abstract. The paper addresses the urgent task of improving the accuracy and safety of marine navigation by enhancing methods for monitoring local medium-wave (MF) radio navigation systems. A comparative analysis of the efficiency of electrically small antennas of electric and magnetic types under near-field radiation conditions is carried out. The antennas are intended for operation as part of a mobile autonomous measuring module mounted on an unmanned aerial vehicle. The study was performed at a frequency of two megahertz, corresponding to a wavelength of one hundred and fifty meters, with a receiving antenna height of one meter. The main parameters considered were radiation resistance, efficiency, effective length, and power delivered to the load under given signal propagation conditions. Efficiency in free space does not reflect the actual effectiveness of antennas in receiving mode near a transmitter. It is established that for electric antennas (dipole, loaded dipole, biconical), the radiation resistance is on the order of thousandths of an ohm, which, with comparable ohmic losses, provides an efficiency of tens of percent. For magnetic antennas (loop, spiral), the radiation resistance is several orders of magnitude smaller, as a result of which their efficiency approaches zero. However, when a purely active load is chosen, equal in magnitude to the total input impedance, magnetic antennas can provide load power comparable to that of electric antennas. The highest load power values with minimal size and weight are demonstrated by the loaded dipole, with an effective length of about one meter and an efficiency of about thirty-seven percent.
Key words: electrically small antenna, electric antenna, magnetic antenna, MF band, local radio navigation system, radio navigation.
Financing: This work was supported by the Russian Science Foundation under grant no. 25-29-20180 (https://rscf.ru/project/25-29-20180/) and by the Krasnoyarsk Regional Science Foundation.
Corresponding author: Alexey A. Erokhin, aerokhin@sfu-kras.ru
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For citation:
Panko V.S., Erokhin A.A., Andreev A.G. Antennas for a UAV-based mobile autonomous measurement module for calibration of MF-band local radio navigation systems. // Journal of Radio Electronics. – 2026. – №. 7. https://doi.org/10.30898/1684-1719.2026.7.12 (In Russian)