Limpkin’s blog has a great write-up on radio frequency (RF) radiation pattern measurements in an anechoic chamber. This is NOT the chamber in Harry Potter stories:

RF anechoic chambers have the following characteristics:
– emitted RF signals don’t bounce off the walls, all the cones absorb them
– RF signals from the outside don’t come in: the chamber is a faraday cage
– these chambers are very silent (but that’s just for me)

RF anechoic chambers are (really, really really) not cheap to rent. The one you see above is a chamber I had the occasion to do measurements in, located in Erlangen (Germany) at the Fraunhofer Institute.

The blog goes into detail on the environment and the gear used to measure the RF radiation coming off a device. So the next time you see those FCC and CE certifications, you’ll know why they add a bit of expense to the radio part you’re getting.

See the entire post here and the video below. What are you working on in RF? Post your responses in the comments below.