Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Ground Station Autonomous Tracking System

Includes bibliographical references (page 27)The CSUN Undergraduate UAS team has experienced RF communication issues\ud between the aircraft and ground station during previous AUVSI competitions. A\ud graduate study and analysis was performed in efforts to explore the communication\ud improvements that could be achieved by implementing a low cost Autonomous Tracking\ud System (ATS). Analysis results using a developed Link Budget spreadsheet tool showed\ud that positive link margin can be achieved by implementing a hobbyist level pan and tilt\ud mechanism coupled with proper securing and boresighting of the ATS before operation.\ud Further improvements to the data link can also be obtained by using a low gain / wide\ud beam width patch antenna versus a high gain / narrow beam width parabolic antenna\ud which isn???t necessary given the aircraft range requirements. In addition, a potential local\ud pan and tilt manufacturer with interest collaborating with the CSUN team was\ud discovered