CHONGQING (CQNEWS) -- In the 5G era, the antenna is an important part of the wireless communication transmission process, and it is closely related to you. Mobile phones and communication base stations are inseparable from it. In Chongqing, there is the first antenna and feeder testing laboratory in Southwest China. As the country’s largest third-party antenna feeder testing laboratory, how does it work and what testing does a 5G antenna accept? Let’s explore the secrets.

Located in Wansheng, Chongqing, this antenna feeder testing laboratory covers an area of 38.52 mu, with a total planned construction area of 25676.7 square meters, including remote darkroom, rain, aging and salt fog testing laboratory.

Entering the far-field darkroom of the antenna feeder testing laboratory, blue absorbing materials with a total area of about 9000 square meters are all around, as if in the blue ocean.

The wave-absorbing material is in the shape of a gold tower. Sponge and carbon are its main materials, which can absorb or greatly reduce the electromagnetic wave energy received on its surface, thereby reducing the interference of electromagnetic waves. Here, the mobile phone signal was also “sucked away” and disappeared.

The indoor far-field darkroom has a length of 60 meters, a width and height of 30 meters. It is the core part of the entire antenna and feeder testing laboratory. The main function is to test the performance indicators of the antenna. A 5G antenna weighing more than 40kg is fixed on the U-shaped turntable. With the turntable rising to 15m slowly, the detection begins. “A receiving antenna is installed 50 meters away and 15 meters up to detect the antenna's transmitting performance,” said Yu Chun, an engineer at the Western Branch of the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology.

The darkroom is also equipped with a whole vehicle antenna testing system. Household vehicles under 12 tons and medium communication.

In the environmental reliability lab, the antenna goes into the rain room. This is the use of a simulated antenna in a rainstorm environment. The maximum rain strength in the rain room can be up to 1500 mm per hour. In addition to the rain, the antenna is also tested into the temperature box, aging and salt spray testing laboratory, etc. In the temperature chamber, the antenna will be tested to a minimum of -70°C. Through these tests, whether the antenna has corrosion resistance, harsh environment, etc should be checked.

As the first antenna and feeder testing laboratory in Southwest China, it not only has the detection capabilities of 5G, 4G, 3G, and 2G base station antennas, but also the detection capabilities of radar, microwave, and millimeter wave antennas. Feeders still in use for 2G and 3G can also be tested here.

Although it is boring to deal with antenna, the antenna is the “frontier nervous system” of mobile communication, which affects the huge wireless network. “The quality of the 5G antenna is related to the security of thousands of households and the entire communication. When I think of this, I think my work is very meaningful,” Yu Chun said. (Translated by Luo Juan, Fathom Language Limited)