Facilities

Star-H maintains a state of the art laboratory research and development facility at its State College, Pennsylvania location.  This laboratory is fully equipped with RF test equipment including signal and modulation generators, network and spectrum analyzers, and high-speed digitizing oscilloscopes to allow the analysis and testing of advanced analog and digital RF communications and antenna systems. 

RF testing capabilities and systems include narrowband FM systems in the VHF and UHF range, SINCGARS, HF with MIL-STD-1045 and MIL-STD-188-141B ALE standards, HF link simulators, and a large outdoor antenna testing range. 

Star-H also operates a mechanical design and prototyping shop with a limited production capability and offers low rate production services for its custom antenna systems.

For electromagnetic and antenna design, Star-H uses the NEC-4, WIPL, Eiger, NEC Basic Scattering Code, and other methods to model antenna and structure geometries and accurately predict their electromagnetic characteristics. Proprietary numerical optimization routines allow us to computer-generate the mathematically optimal configuration for a given problem. Modeling allows us to predict real-world antenna performance, including interaction among multiple antennas on a platform, as well as interactions between antennas and nearby structures.

Star-H has the capability of modeling dielectric structures, including biological tissues.

FIGURE - WIPL model of 850 MHz cell phone and head with brain tissue.

Star-H also has the ability to build and test scale model and full-size antennas for field and anechoic chamber testing, or to conduct tests of your antenna designs or RF systems.  We have particular expertise in working with systems for long-range and NVIS HF communications, as well as line of site VHF and UHF communications systems. Through an arrangement with the Pennsylvania State University, Star-H has access to state of the art near and far-field antenna measurement capabilities from 45 MHz to 50 GHz. Testing facilities also include a 7-acre outdoor antenna farm, mountaintop sites, and miles of rural terrain, as well as urban environment for real-world field strength measurements.