Small anechoic chambers for evaluating a wireless device under test (DUT) are characterized by a set of antennas to which a test signal is applied and for which excitation coefficients are applied such that the test signal approximates a single plane wave or a preselected superposition of plane waves in the near field of the antennas. The test-equipment antennas in the chamber may be as close as one wavelength from the boundary of a test zone in which the DUT is disposed. Hence, the test zone can be in the near field of the test-equipment antennas and the test zone can be less than a wavelength from the chamber walls. Consequently, it is possible to perform tests in a small anechoic chamber that previously required a large anechoic chamber, e.g., advanced spatial channel-model tests and antenna-pattern measurements.