The wave vector filter (WVF) concept offers a promising new diagnostic tool for analyzing both structure‐borne and fluidborne noise fields. For instance, as with intensity measurements, WVF measurements allow one to distinguish between radiated and nearfield, or incompressible, noise components. In this paper some of the issues that arise in implementing the WVF concept, e.g., spatial nonstationarity, are analyzed in the context of a harmonically line driven rib stiffened, submerged, infinite plate. The plate is assumed to be thin and the ribs are modeled as locally reacting. First the response of this spatially infinite system is determined in both the spatial and wavenumber domains for a few representative geometries. And this is interpreted as the output from a “perfect” WVF. By response is meant plating strain or acceleration or near‐ or farfield pressure. Next these fields are analytically sampled over a finite domain thus introducing the issues of spatial nonstationarity and other finite filter effects. Results are compared for few and many ribs and various structural loss factors. The effects of structural resonances are discussed.