Identification of anomalies in paraboloid antenna reflector surface from its power radiation patterns

Explosive growth of geo-stationary communication satellites has reduced the inter satellite space. This has resulted in very tight radiation specifications for earth station antennas. Antennas with surface flaws usually do not meet these specifications. This paper provides a method of identifying flaws on the surface of a parabolic reflector which when rectified would allow these antennas to meet radiation specifications without any expensive rebuilding or reassembly process.