Measurement of the Antenna Characteristics of the VLBI Radio Telescope of the Urumqi Station

The performances of a radio telescope affect the quality of data recorded by it. To improve data quality antenna characteristics of a radio telescope need to be measured. Current methods of measuring antenna characteristics include the Standard Site Method and the Radio Observation Method, which are suitable for different systems. The Radio Observation Method is highly efficient and fast in measuring large antennas. In this paper we first describe the procedures of calibrating an antenna of a VLBI radio telescope with a terminal FS (Field System). The procedures are based on the Radio Observation Method. As an application of the procedures, we apply these for measuring gain values and pointing errors of the antenna of the 25m radio telescope of the Urumqi Station. We particularly describe the implementation methods and steps of the measurement. We finally discuss the procedures based on the measurement results.