We have deve1oped a new Ku-band portable digital SNG (Satellite News Gathering) RF terminal that uses a low sidelobe flat antenna. The antenna consists of 16 planar microstrip subarray antennas, and each of these has a phase shifter and a solid-state power amplifier with output power of 5 W and efficiency of 21%. We have used this system successfully in various experiments on transmission via a satellite. After about 20 rounds of experiments, we confirmed the stable transmission of a QPSK signal from the SNG RF terminal and that the terminal was capable of electronic satellite tracking within ±3 degress.
