Tracking Feed Systems

Tracking feeds follow a moving satellite or compensate for ground station movement due to reflector distortion by wind and temperature changes. Tracking methods include step track, conical scan, extra boresight null channel tracking, or monopulse by means of multiple horn modes or multiple-element arrays. Analysis of received noise in extra channel illustrates the limits of the tracking accuracy. Pseudo-monopulse uses slow switching between azimuth and elevation tracking to reduce the number of receivers.