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EC404 ADVANCED

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COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS

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• Prerequisite:
EC302 Digital Communication, EC403 Microwave & Radar
Engineering

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• Course objective:

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To impart the basic concepts of various communication systems
• Syllabus:

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• Microwave Radio Communications, Diversity, protection switching

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arrangements, Digital TV,

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• Satellite communication systems, Satellite sub systems, Evolution of mobile

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radio communications,
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• Introduction to Modern Wireless Communication Systems, wireless networks,
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Over view of WIMAX technologies,
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• Cellular concept, Wireless propagation mechanism,

• Introduction to Multiple Access ,GSM system architecture, Introduction to
new data services
Text books and References
• Text Books:
• 1. Dennis Roody, Satellite communication, 4/e, McGraw Hill, 2006.

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• 2. Herve Benoit, Digital Television Satellite, Cable, Terrestrial, IPTV, Mobile TV in the DVB

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Framework, 3/e, Focal Press, Elsevier, 2008

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• 3. Simon Haykin, Michael Mohar, Modern wireless communication, Pearson Education,
2008

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• 4. Theodore S. Rappaport: Wireless communication principles and practice,2/e, Pearson

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• Education, 1990

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• References:
• 1. Jochen Schiller, Mobile Communications, Pearson, 2008.
•
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2. Mishra, Wireless communications and Networks, McGraw Hill, 2/e, 2013.
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• 3. Nathan, Wireless communications, PHI, 2012.
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• 4. Singal, Wireless communications, Mc Graw Hill, 2010.

• 5. Tomasi, Advanced Electronic Communication Systems, 6/e, Pearson, 2015.
• 6. W.C.Y.Lee, Mobile Cellular Telecommunication, McGraw Hill, 2010.
MODULE 1

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MICROWAVE RADIO COMMUNICATION

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• Microwave Radio Communications : Introduction, Advantages and

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Disadvantages, Analog vs digital microwave, frequency vs amplitude

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modulation

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• Frequency modulated microwave radio system, FM microwave radio

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repeaters

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• Diversity, protection switching arrangements, FM microwave radio
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stations, microwave repeater station, line of sight path
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characteristics
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• Refer: Chapter 13: Advanced Electronic Communication Systems by Wayne Tomasi,

6/e, Pearson, 2015.
Introduction
• Microwaves are generally described as electromagnetic waves with
frequencies that range from approximately 500 MHz to 300 GHz or more.

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• Because of their inherently high frequencies, have relatively short

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wavelengths, hence the name “micro” waves.

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• For example, a 100-GHz microwave signal has a wavelength of 0.3 cm

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• A 100-MHz commercial broadcast-band FM signal has a wavelength of 3

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m.

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• The wavelengths for microwave frequencies fall between 1 cm and 60 cm,

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slightly longer than infrared energy.
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• There are many different types of microwave systems operating over distances that
vary from 15 miles to 4000 miles in length.
• Intrastate or feeder service microwave systems or short haul systems :

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They carry information for relatively short distances, such as between cities within the

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same state.

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• Long-haul microwave systems :

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Those used to carry information for relatively long distances, hence they are Interstate

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and backbone route applications.

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• Microwave radio system capacities range from less than 12 voice-band channels to

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more than 22,000 channels.

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• Early microwave systems carried frequency-division- multiplexed voice-band

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circuits and used conventional, noncoherent frequency-modulation techniques.
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• More recently developed microwave systems carry pulse-code-modulated time-
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division-multiplexed voice-band circuits and use more modern digital modulation

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techniques, such as phase-shift keying (PSK) or quadrature amplitude modulation

(QAM).
 Layout of a typical

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a
microwave radio

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link

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• Information originates and terminates at the terminal stations, whereas the

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repeaters simply relay the information to the next downlink microwave station.

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• Figure 1a shows a microwave radio link comprised of two terminal stations (one at

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each end) that are interconnected by three repeater stations.

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• Microwave stations must be geographically placed in such a way that the terrain

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(lakes, mountains, buildings, and so on) do not interfere with transmissions

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between stations. This sometimes necessitates placing the stations on top of hills,

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mountains, or tall buildings.

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• Figure 1b shows how a microwave radio link appears from above.
• The geographic location of the stations must be carefully selected such that natural
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and man-made barriers do not interfere with propagation between stations.
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• Sometimes it is necessary to construct a microwave link around obstacles, such as
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large bodies of water, mountains, and tall buildings.

ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF MICROWAVE RADIO
Advantages of Microwave Radio
1. Radio systems do not require a right-of-way acquisition between stations.

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2. Each station requires the purchase or lease of only a small area of land.

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3. Because of their high operating frequencies, microwave radio systems can carry

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large quantities of information.
4. High frequencies mean short wavelengths, which require relatively small

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antennas.

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5. Radio signals are more easily propagated around physical obstacles such as water

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and high mountains.

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6. Fewer repeaters are necessary for amplification.

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7. Distances between switching centers are less.
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8. Underground facilities are minimized.
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9. Minimum delay times are introduced.

10. Minimal crosstalk exists between voice channels.
11. Increased reliability and less maintenance are important factors.
Disadvantages of Microwave Radio
1. It is more difficult to analyze and design circuits at microwave
frequencies.

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2. Measuring techniques are more difficult to perfect and implement

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at microwave frequencies.

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3. It is difficult to implement conventional circuit components

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(resistors, capacitors, inductors, and so on) at microwave frequencies.

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4. Transient time is more critical at microwave frequencies.

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5. It is often necessary to use specialized components for microwave

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frequencies. ge
6. Microwave frequencies propagate in a straight line, which limits
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their use to line of- sight applications.

ANALOG VERSUS DIGITAL MICROWAVE
• A vast majority of the existing microwave radio systems are frequency
modulation, which of course is analog. Recently, however, systems have

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been developed that use either phase shift keying or quadrature amplitude

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modulation, which are forms of digital modulation.

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• Many of the system concepts are the same, however the performance of

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digital signals are evaluated quite differently.

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• Satellite radio systems are similar to terrestrial microwave radio systems;

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in fact, the two systems share many of the same frequencies.

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• The primary difference between satellite and terrestrial radio systems is
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that satellite systems propagate signals outside Earth’s atmosphere and,
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thus, are capable of carrying signals much farther while utilizing fewer
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transmitters and receivers.

 FREQUENCY VERSUS AMPLITUDE MODULATION
• Frequency modulation (FM) is used in microwave radio systems rather than amplitude
modulation (AM) because AM signals are more sensitive to amplitude nonlinearities inherent in

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wideband microwave amplifiers.

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• FM signals are relatively insensitive to this type of nonlinear distortion and can be transmitted

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through amplifiers that have compression or amplitude nonlinearity with little penalty.

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• FM signals are less sensitive to random noise and can be propagated with lower transmit

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powers.

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• Intermodulation noise is a major factor when designing FM radio systems.

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• In AM systems, intermodulation noise is caused by repeater amplitude nonlinearity.

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• In FM systems, intermodulation noise is caused primarily by transmission gain and delay

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distortion. ge
• Consequently, in AM systems, intermodulation noise is a function of signal amplitude, but in
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FM systems, it is a function of signal amplitude and the magnitude of the frequency deviation.
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• Thus, the characteristics of FM signals are more suitable than AM signals for microwave
transmission.
Simplified block diagram of an FM microwave radio

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Description of microwave radio
FM Microwave Radio Transmitter

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The baseband is the composite signal that modulates the FM carrier and may

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comprise one or more of the following:

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1. Frequency-division-multiplexed voice-band channels

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2. Time-division-multiplexed voice-band channels

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3. Broadcast-quality composite video or picturephone

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4. Wideband data

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• The pre-emphasis network provides an artificial boost in amplitude to the
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higher baseband frequencies. This allows the lower baseband frequencies
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to frequency modulate the IF carrier and the higher baseband frequencies

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to phase modulate it. This scheme ensures a more uniform signal-to-noise

ratio throughout the entire baseband spectrum.
Microwave Transmitter…. contd
• An FM deviator provides the modulation of the IF carrier that eventually becomes the main
microwave carrier. Typically, IF carrier frequencies are between 60 MHz and 80 MHz, with 70

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MHz the most common. Low-index frequency modulation is used in the FM deviator.

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Typically, modulation indices are kept between 0.5 and 1. This produces a narrowband FM

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signal at the output of the deviator. Consequently, the IF bandwidth resembles conventional

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AM and is approximately equal to twice the highest baseband frequency.

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• The IF and its associated sidebands are up-converted to the microwave region by the mixer,

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microwave oscillator, and bandpass filter. Mixing, rather than multiplying, is used to translate

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the IF frequencies to RF frequencies because the modulation index is unchanged by the

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heterodyning process. Multiplying the IF carrier would also multiply the frequency deviation

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and the modulation index, thus increasing the bandwidth.

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• Microwave generators consist of a crystal oscillator followed by a series of frequency
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multipliers. For example, a 125-MHz crystal oscillator followed by a series of multipliers with a
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combined multiplication factor of 48 could be used to a 6-GHz microwave carrier frequency.
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The channel-combining network provides a means of connecting more than one microwave
transmitter to a single transmission line feeding the antenna.
Microwave Radio Receiver
• In the FM microwave receiver the channel separation network
provides the isolation and filtering necessary to separate individual

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microwave channels and direct them to their respective receivers.

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• The bandpass filter, AM mixer, and microwave oscillator down-

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convert the RF microwave frequencies to IF frequencies and pass

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them on to the FM demodulator.

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• The FM demodulator is a conventional, noncoherent FM detector

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(i.e., a discriminator or a PLL demodulator).

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• At the output of the FM detector, a de-emphasis network restores the
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baseband signal to its original amplitude-versus-frequency
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characteristics.
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FM MICROWAVE RADIO REPEATERS

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 FM MICROWAVE RADIO REPEATERS
• The permissible distance between an FM microwave transmitter and its
associated microwave receiver depends on several system variables, such as

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transmitter output power, receiver noise threshold, terrain, atmospheric

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conditions, system capacity, reliability objectives, and performance

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expectations.

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• Typically, this distance is between 15 miles and 40 miles. Long-haul

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microwave systems span distances considerably longer than this.

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• Consequently, a single-hop microwave system, is inadequate for most

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practical system applications. With systems that are longer than 40 miles or

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when geographical obstructions, such as a mountain, block the transmission
path, repeaters are needed.
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• A microwave repeater is a receiver and a transmitter placed back to back or
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in tandem with the system. The repeater station receives a signal, amplifies
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and reshapes it, and then retransmits the signal to the next repeater or
terminal station down line from it.
Repeater Location
Factors that determine the distance between repeaters

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• Nature of the terrain between and surrounding the sites

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• In relatively flat areas path (hop) lengths will average between 25 miles and 35

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miles between stations.

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• Increasing the path length will result in increasing the antenna tower heights.

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• Transmitter output power and antenna gain are also factors to be considered.

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• The exact distance is determined primarily by line-of-sight path clearance and

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received signal strength.

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• For frequencies above 10 GHz, local rainfall patterns could also have a large
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bearing on path length.
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• In all cases, however, paths should be as level as possible.

• The possibility of interference, either internal or external, must be considered.
Microwave Repeater types

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Basically, there are three types of microwave

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repeaters:

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• IF (Heterodyne repeaters)

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• Baseband repeaters

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• RF repeaters of
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 IF Repeater
• With an IF repeater the received RF carrier is down-converted to an IF frequency, amplified, reshaped,
up-converted to an RF frequency, and then retransmitted. The signal is never demodulated below IF.

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Consequently, the baseband intelligence is unmodified by the repeater.

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 Baseband Repeater

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(reconfigured type)

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• With a baseband repeater, the received RF carrier is
down-converted to an IF frequency, amplified,

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filtered, and then further demodulated to baseband.

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• The baseband signal, which is typically frequency-

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division-multiplexed voice-band channels, is further
demodulated to a master group, super group, group, or

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even channel level.

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• This allows the baseband signal to be reconfigured to

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meet the routing needs of the overall communications
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network.
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• Once the baseband signal has been reconfigured, it FM
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modulates an IF carrier, which is up-converted to an

RF carrier and then retransmitted.
 Baseband Repeater
(non-reconfigured type)

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• The repeater demodulates the RF to baseband,

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amplifies and reshapes it, and then modulates the FM
carrier.

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• With this technique, the baseband is not reconfigured.

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• Essentially, this configuration accomplishes the same

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thing that an IF repeater accomplishes.

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• The difference is that in a baseband configuration, the

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amplifier and equalizer act on baseband frequencies

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rather than IF frequencies.

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• The baseband frequencies are generally less than 9

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MHz, whereas the IF frequencies are in the range 60
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MHz to 80 MHz
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• Consequently, the filters and amplifiers necessary for
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baseband repeaters are simpler to design and less

expensive than the ones required for IF repeaters.
• The disadvantage of a baseband configuration is the
addition of the FM terminal equipment.
 RF-to-RF repeater

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• With RF-to-RF repeaters, the received microwave signal

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is not down-converted to IF or baseband;

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• It is simply mixed (heterodyned) with a local oscillator

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frequency in a nonlinear mixer.

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• The output of the mixer is tuned to either the sum or the
difference between the incoming RF and the local

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oscillator frequency, depending on whether frequency

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up- or down-conversion is desired.

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• The local oscillator is sometimes called a shift oscillator

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and is considerably lower in frequency than either the
received or the transmitted radio frequencies. For

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example, an incoming RF of 6.2 GHz is mixed with a 0.2-

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GHz local oscillator frequency producing sum and
difference frequencies of 6.4 GHz and 6.0 GHz. For

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frequency up-conversion, the output of the mixer would
be tuned to 6.4 GHz, and for frequency down-conversion,
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the output of the mixer would be tuned to 6.0 GHz.
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• With RF-to-RF repeaters, the radio signal is simply
converted in frequency and then reamplified and
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transmitted to the next down-line repeater or terminal

station.
• Reconfiguring and reshaping are not possible with RF-
to-RF repeaters.
 Diversity
Radio fade:

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• Microwave systems use line-of-sight transmission; therefore a direct signal path must exist between the

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transmit and the receive antennas. Consequently, if that signal path undergoes a severe degradation, a

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service interruption will occur.

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• Over time, radio path losses vary with atmospheric conditions that can vary significantly, causing a

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corresponding reduction in the received signal strength of 20, 30, or 40 or more dB. This reduction in

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signal strength is temporary and referred to as Radio fade. Radio fade can last for a few milliseconds

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(short term) or for several hours or even days (long term).

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• Automatic gain control circuits, built into radio receivers, can compensate for fades of 25 dB to 40 dB,

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depending on system design; however, fades in excess of 40 dB can cause a total loss of the received
signal. When this happens, service continuity is lost.

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• Techniques that are used to minimize this problem of radio fade are known as Diversity techniques
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which means adopting more than one method or diverse methods.

 Diversity
• Diversity suggests that there is more than one transmission path or method of
transmission available between a transmitter and a receiver.

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• In a microwave system, the purpose of using diversity is to increase the

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reliability of the system by increasing its availability.

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• When there is more than one transmission path or method of transmission

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available, the system can select the path or method that produces the highest-

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quality received signal.

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• Generally, the highest quality is determined by evaluating the carrier-to-noise

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(C/N) ratio at the receiver input or by simply measuring the received carrier

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power.

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• The most common methods used to achieve diversity are

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• Frequency diversity ge
• Space diversity
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• Polarization diversity
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• Hybrid diversity
• Quad diversity
• Receiver diversity
 Frequency diversity
• Frequency diversity is simply modulating two
different RF carrier frequencies with the same

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IF intelligence, then transmitting both RF
signals to a given destination.

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• At the destination, both carriers are

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demodulated, and the one that yields the

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better-quality IF signal is selected.
• The IF input signal is fed to a power splitter,

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which directs it to microwave transmitters A

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and B.

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• The RF outputs from the two transmitters are

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combined in the channel-combining network

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and fed to the transmit antenna.

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• At the receive end the channel separator directs
the A and B RF carriers to their respective

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microwave receivers, where they are down-
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converted to IF.
• The quality detector circuit determines which
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channel, A or B, is the higher quality and directs

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that channel through the IF switch to be further

demodulated to baseband.
• Disadvantage of the method is that it doubles
the amount of frequency spectrum and
equipment necessary.
 Space diversity
• The output of a transmitter is fed to
two or more antennas that are

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physically separated by an

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appreciable number of wavelengths.

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• Similarly, at the receiving end, there

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may be more than one antenna

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providing the input signal to the

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receiver.

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• If multiple receiving antennas are

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used, they must also be separated by

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an appreciable numberge of
wavelengths.
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• The rule is to use two transmit

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antennas or two receive antennas but

never two of each.
Space diversity
• When space diversity is used, it is important that the electrical distance from a transmitter to each of its antennas and
to a receiver from each of its antennas is an equal multiple of wavelengths long. This is to ensure that when two or
more signals of the same frequency arrive at the input to a receiver, they are in phase and additive.

ala
• If received out of phase, they will cancel and, consequently, result in less received signal power than if simply one

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antenna system were used.

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• Adverse atmospheric conditions are often isolated to a very small geographical area.
• With space diversity, there is more than one transmission path between a transmitter and a receiver. When adverse

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atmospheric conditions exist in one of the paths, it is unlikely that the alternate path is experiencing the same

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degradation.

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• Consequently, the probability of receiving an acceptable signal is higher when space diversity is used than when no

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diversity is used.

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• An alternate method of space diversity uses a single transmitting antenna and two receiving antennas separated

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vertically.
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• Depending on the atmospheric conditions at a particular time, one of the receiving antennas should be receiving an
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adequate signal.
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• Again, there are two transmission paths that are unlikely to be affected simultaneously by fading.
• Space-diversity arrangements provide for path redundancy but not equipment redundancy.
• Space diversity is more expensive than frequency diversity because of the additional antennas and waveguide.
• Space diversity, however, provides efficient frequency spectrum usage and a substantially greater protection than
frequency diversity.
Polarization diversity
• With polarization diversity, a single RF carrier is propagated
with two different electromagnetic polarizations (vertical and

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horizontal).

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• Electromagnetic waves of different polarizations do not

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necessarily experience the same transmission impairments.

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• Polarization diversity is generally used in conjunction with space

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diversity.

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• One transmit/receive antenna pair is vertically polarized, and the
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other is horizontally polarized.
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• It is also possible to use frequency, space, and polarization

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diversity simultaneously.
Hybrid diversity
• Hybrid diversity is a somewhat specialized form of diversity that consists of

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a standard frequency-diversity path where the two transmitter/receiver

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pairs at one end of the path are separated from each other and connected to

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different antennas that are vertically separated as in space diversity.

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• This arrangement provides a space-diversity effect in both directions—in

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one direction because the receivers are vertically spaced and in the other

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direction because the transmitters are vertically spaced.

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• This arrangement combines the operational advantages of frequency
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diversity with the improved diversity protection of space diversity.
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• Hybrid diversity has the disadvantage, however, of requiring two radio
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frequencies to obtain one working channel.

Receiver diversity
• Receiver diversity is using more than one receiver for a single
radio-frequency channel.

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• With frequency diversity, it is necessary to also use receiver

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diversity because each transmitted frequency requires its own

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receiver.

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• However, sometimes two receivers are used for a single

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transmitted frequency.

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Quad diversity
• Quad diversity is another form of hybrid diversity and provides the most

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reliable transmission

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• It is the most expensive.

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• The basic concept of quad diversity combines frequency, space,

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polarization, and receiver diversity into one system.

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• Its disadvantage is providing redundant electronic equipment, frequencies,

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antennas, and waveguide, which are economical burdens.

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PROTECTION SWITCHING ARRANGEMENTS
COMPARISON

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PROTECTION SWITCHING DIVERSITY

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• Very similar to Diversity technique in general • Very similar to Protection switching technique in general

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concepts concepts
• Alternate facilities that are temporarily made • Techniques that are used to minimize radio fade by

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available to avoid a service interruption during adopting more than one method or diverse methods

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periods of deep fades or equipment failures constitute

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a Protection switching arrangement.
• Protection • Diversity systems provide an alternate transmission path

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switching arrangements, provide

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protection for a much larger section of the for only a single microwave link (i.e., between one
communications system that generally includes transmitter and one receiver) within the overall

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several repeaters spanning a distance of 100 miles or
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more.
• Protection switching arrangements are usually shared • Diversity systems also generally provide 100% protection to
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between several radio channels. a single radio channel

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• Protection switching arrangements protect against
equipment failures in any of the electronic equipment
(transmitters, receivers, and so on) in any of the
microwave stations between the two switching
stations.
• Diversity, protects only against adverse atmospheric
conditions between a transmit antenna and a receive
antenna
PROTECTION SWITCHING ARRANGEMENTS
• Two types of protection switching arrangements: hot standby and diversity.
• With hot standby protection, each working radio channel has a dedicated

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backup or spare channel.

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• With diversity protection, a single backup channel is made available to as many

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as 11 working channels.

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• Hot standby systems offer 100% protection for each working radio channel.

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• A diversity system offers 100% protection only to the first working channel to

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fail. If two radio channels fail at the same time, a service interruption will occur.

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Hot Standby
• At the transmitting end, the IF
goes into a head-end bridge,
which splits the signal power

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and directs it to the working

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and the spare (standby)

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microwave channels

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simultaneously.

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• Consequently, both the
working and the standby

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in
channels are carrying the same

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baseband information.

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• At the receiving end, the IF

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switch passes the IF signal

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from the working channel to
the FM terminal equipment.

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The IF switch continuously
monitors the received signal
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power on the working channel
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and, if it fails, switches to the

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standby channel.
• When the IF signal on the
working channel is restored,
the IF switch resumes its
normal position.
Diversity
• This system has two working channels
(channel 1 and channel 2), one spare
channel, and an auxiliary channel.

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• The IF switch at the receive end

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continuously monitors the receive

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signal strength of both working

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channels. If either one should fail, the

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IF switch detects a loss of carrier and
sends back to the transmitting station

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IF switch a VF (voice frequency) tone-

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encoded signal that directs it to switch

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the IF signal from the failed channel

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onto the spare microwave channel.

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• When the failed channel is restored,

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the IF switches resume their normal
positions.

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• The auxiliary channel simply provides
a transmission path between the two
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IF switches.
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• Typically, the auxiliary channel is a

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low-capacity low-power microwave

radio that is designed to be used for a
maintenance channel only.
FM MICROWAVE RADIO STATIONS

Basically, there are two types of FM microwave stations:

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• Terminals and repeaters.

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th
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• Terminal stations are points in the system where baseband signals either originate or

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terminate.

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• Repeater stations are points in a system where baseband signals may be reconfigured

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or where RF carriers are simply “repeated” or amplified.

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Essentially, a terminal station consists of four major sections:

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• The baseband

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• Wireline Entrance Link (WLEL)ge
• FM-IF
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• RF
FM MICROWAVE RADIO STATION BLOCK DIAGRAM

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FM MICROWAVE RADIO STATIONS
Baseband Section
• The baseband may be one of several different types of signals. For example,

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frequency-division-multiplexed voice-band channels can be used.

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Wireline entrance link

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• WLEL serves as the interface between the multiplex terminal equipment and the FM-

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IF equipment. A WLEL generally consists of an amplifier and an equalizer (which

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together compensate for cable transmission losses) and level-shaping devices

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commonly called pre- and de-emphasis networks

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IF section

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• The FM terminal equipment generates a frequency modulated IF carrier.
• This is accomplished by mixing the outputs of two deviated oscillators that differ in
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frequency by the desired IF carrier.
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• The oscillators are deviated in phase opposition, which reduces the magnitude of
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phase deviation required of a single deviator by a factor of 2.

• This technique also reduces the deviation linearity requirements for the oscillators
and provides for the partial cancellation of unwanted modulation products.
FM MICROWAVE RADIO STATIONS
RF Section

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FM MICROWAVE RADIO STATIONS
RF Section - Transmitter
• The IF signal enters the transmitter through a protection switch.

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• The IF and compression amplifiers help keep the IF signal power constant and at

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approximately the required input level to the transmit modulator (transmod)

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• A transmod is a balanced modulator that, when used in conjunction with a

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microwave generator, power amplifier, and bandpass filter, up-converts the IF carrier

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to an RF carrier and amplifies the RF to the desired output power.

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• Power amplifiers for microwave radios must be capable of amplifying very high

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frequencies and passing very wide bandwidth signals.

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• Klystron tubes, traveling-wave tubes (TWTs), and IMPATT diodes are examples of
microwave power amplifiers
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• A microwave generator provides the RF carrier input to the up-converter. It is a

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crystal-controlled oscillator operating in the range 5 MHz to 25 MHz .

• An isolator is a unidirectional device often made from a ferrite material. The isolator is
used in conjunction with a channel-combining network to prevent the output of one
transmitter from interfering with the output of another transmitter.
FM MICROWAVE RADIO STATIONS
RF Section – Receiver

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• The RF receiver is essentially the same as the transmitter except that it works in

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the opposite direction.

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• The IF amplifier in the receiver has an automatic gain control (AGC) circuit.

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• Typically, a highly sensitive, low-noise balanced demodulator is used for the

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receive demodulator (receive mod). This eliminates the need for an RF amplifier

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and improves the overall signal-to-noise ratio.

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• When RF amplifiers are required, high-quality, low-noise amplifiers (LNAs) are

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used.

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• Examples of commonly used LNAs are tunnel diodes and parametric amplifiers.
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MICROWAVE REPEATER STATION
Block Diagram

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MICROWAVE REPEATER STATION
• The received RF signal enters the receiver through the channel separation network and bandpass

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filter.

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• The receivemod down-converts the RF carrier to IF.

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• The IF AMP/AGC and equalizer circuits amplify and reshape the IF.

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• The equalizer compensates for gain-versus-frequency nonlinearities and envelope delay distortion

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introduced in the system.

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• Again, the transmod up-converts the IF to RF for retransmission.

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• However, in a repeater station, the method used to generate the RF microwave carrier frequencies

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is slightly different from the method used in a terminal station.

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• In the IF repeater, only one microwave generator is required to supply both the transmod and the
receive mod with an RF carrier signal.

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• The microwave generator, shift oscillator, and shift modulator allow the repeater to receive one
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RF carrier frequency, down-convert it to IF, and then up-convert the IF to a different RF carrier
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frequency.
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LINE-OF-SIGHT PATH CHARACTERISTICS
• Normal propagation paths in a
microwave radio system
• Free-space path ----line-of-sight path

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directly between the transmit and receive

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antennas ---the direct wave.

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• Ground-reflected wave ---- the portion of

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the transmit signal that is reflected off

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Earth’s surface and captured by the

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receive antenna.

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• Surface wave ----consists of the electric

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and magnetic fields associated with the

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currents induced in Earth’s surface.
• Ground Wave---The sum of these three
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paths in terms of both amplitude and
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phase .
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• Sky wave --- the portion of the transmit

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signal that is reflected back to Earth’s

surface by the ionized layers of Earth’s
atmosphere.
Free-Space Path Loss
• Free-space path loss is defined as the loss incurred by an electromagnetic wave as it propagates

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in a straight line through a vacuum with no absorption or reflection of energy from nearby

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objects.

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• Free-space path loss is a misstated and often misleading definition because no energy is

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actually dissipated.

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• Free-space path loss is a fabricated engineering quantity that evolved from manipulating

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communications system link budget equations, which include transmit antenna gain, free-

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space path loss, and the effective area of the receiving antenna (i.e., the receiving antenna gain)

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into a particular format.

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• Free-space path loss is a distance and frequency-dependent term.

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• Free-space path loss assumes ideal atmospheric conditions, so no electromagnetic energy is

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actually lost or dissipated—it merely spreads out as it propagates away from the source,
resulting in lower relative power densities.
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• A more appropriate term for the phenomena is spreading loss.
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• Spreading loss occurs simply because of the inverse square law.

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Free-Space Path Loss

• The mathematical expression for free-space path loss is

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𝟒𝐃 𝟐

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• 𝐋𝐩 = ( )

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

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𝒄
• and  =
𝒇

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𝟒𝐟𝐃 𝟐
• Therefore, 𝐋𝐩 =

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( )
𝐜

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where Lp = free-space path loss (unit less)

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D = distance (kilometers)

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f = frequency (hertz) ge
λ = wavelength (meters)
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c = velocity of light in free space (3 x 108 m/s)

Free-Space Path Loss
• In dB,

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𝟒𝐟𝐃 𝟐 𝟒𝐟𝐃

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• 𝐋𝐩 = 𝟏𝟎 𝐥𝐨𝐠 ( ) = 2𝟎 𝐥𝐨𝐠

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𝐜 𝒄

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𝟒
• 𝐋𝐩 =2𝟎 𝐥𝐨𝐠 + 𝟐𝟎 𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐟 + 𝟐𝟎 𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐃

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𝒄

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• For c=3x108 m/s, and frequency in MHz and distance in km

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• 𝐋𝐩 =3𝟐. 𝟒 + 𝟐𝟎 𝐥𝐨𝐠𝒇𝑴𝑯𝒛 + 𝟐𝟎 𝐥𝐨𝐠 𝑫𝒌𝒎

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• When frequency is in GHz,
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• 𝐋𝐩 = 𝟗𝟐. 𝟒 + 𝟐𝟎 𝐥𝐨𝐠𝒇𝑮𝑯𝒛 + 𝟐𝟎 𝐥𝐨𝐠 𝑫𝒌𝒎

• Example: Determine the path loss for a 3.4-GHz signal propagating 20,000 m.