AbstractIn earlier papers, we proposed a circularly polarized printed array antenna composed of strips and slots (CP‐PASS). We showed that it possessed good properties such as a good axial ratio, a relatively high gain, and had sufficient frequency bandwidths. The purpose of this paper is to obtain a practical design method for CP‐PASS in order to realize a desired radiation pattern or to increase further its antenna gain. First, an equivalent circuit model of a basic element set of CP‐PASS is represented taking into account interelement couplings and a feed line loss. On the basis of the equivalent circuit model, design conditions of circular polarization and input impedance matching are formulated for a normal use of CP‐PASS. Second, satisfying the above conditions, a procedure for determination of an arrangement, dimensions and input impedance of the elements is described to realize desired antenna properties. Numerical examples of CP‐PASS with uniform aperture distributions are shown to clarify its fundamental characteristics. Third, a practical method for determination of the element lengths and coupling gaps is described on the basis of the basic radiating‐element characteristics obtained before. Finally, to demonstrate the validity of the design method presented here, a Chebyshevarray CP‐PASS consisting of four element sets is designed and tested