Line of Sight (LoS)

What does Line of Sight (LoS) mean?

Line of sight (LoS) is a type of propagation that can transmit and

receive data only where transmit and receive stations are in view
of each other without any sort of an obstacle between them. FM
radio, microwave and satellite transmission are examples of line-
of-sight communication.

What does Attenuation mean?

Attenuation is a telecommunications term that refers to a reduction

in signal strength commonly occurring while transmitting analog or
digital signals over long distances.

Attenuation is historically measured in dB but it can also be

measured in terms of voltage.

Attenuation can relate to both hard-wired connections and to

wireless transmissions.

There are many instances of attenuation in telecommunications

and digital network circuitry.
Inherent attenuation can be caused by a number of signaling
issues including:

 Transmission medium - All electrical signals transmitted

down electrical conductors cause an electromagnetic field
around the transmission. This field causes energy loss down
 the cable and gets worse depending upon the frequency and
length of the cable run. Losses due to
 Crosstalk from adjacent cabling causes attenuation in copper
or other conductive metal cabling.
 Conductors and connectors - Attenuation can occur as a
signal passes across different conductive mediums and
mated connector surfaces.

 Repeaters are used in attenuating circuits to boost the signal

through amplification (the opposite of attenuation). When
using copper conductors, the higher the frequency signal, the
more attenuation is caused along a cable length. Modern
communications use high frequencies so other mediums
which have a flat attenuation across all frequencies, such as
fiber optics are used instead of traditional copper circuits.

Free-space loss:

 Free space loss: The free space loss occurs as the signal

travels through space without any other effects attenuating the
signal it will still diminish as it spreads out. This can be thought
of as the radio communications signal spreading out as an ever
increasing sphere.

 NOISE:

In electronics, noise is an unwanted disturbance in an electrical

signal. ... In communication systems, noise is an error or
undesired random disturbance of a useful information signal.
The noise is a summation of unwanted or disturbing energy from
natural and sometimes man-made sources.

Thermal noise: is generated naturally by thermal agitation of

electrons in a conductor commonly found in opto-electronic
devices. ... In communication, thermal noise has a major
influence to the quality of the receiver. The lower the thermal
noise the higher and more expensive is receiver sensitivity.

Intermodulation noise: is due to the presence of the products

of intermodulation. If a number of signals are passed through a
non-linear device the result will be intermodulation products that
are spurious frequency components. These components may be
inside or outside the frequency band of interest for the device.

Impulse noise: is a noncontinuous series of irregular pulses

or noise spikes of short duration, broad spectral density and of
relatively high amplitude. Impulse noise can be caused by
positioning a communications cable near a source of intermittent
but strong electromagnetic pulses, such as an elevator motor

 Crosstalk:

In electronics, crosstalk is any phenomenon by which a signal

transmitted on one circuit or channel of a transmission system
creates an undesired effect in another circuit or
channel. Crosstalk is usually caused by undesired capacitive,
inductive, or conductive coupling from one circuit or channel to
another.
Atmospheric noise: or static is caused by lighting discharges in
thunderstorms and other natural electrical disturbances occurring
in the atmosphere. These electrical impulses are random in
nature. Hence the energy is spread over the complete frequency
spectrum used for radio communication.

, MULTIPATH:

In radio communication, multipath is the propagation

phenomenon that results in radio signals reaching the receiving
antenna by two or more paths. ... This may cause a radio signal to
become too weak in certain areas to be received adequately,
so multipath propagation can be detrimental in
radio communication systems.

Refraction: is bending of signals as it passes from one medium to

another . Refraction causes degradation in signal strength and
sometimes loss of communication in Point to Point links.
Loss of communication in P2P link occurs in long distance links
when there in change in atmospheric refractive index which
causes signals to divert from original path and communication
does not take place.

FADING

“ This is about the phenomenon of loss of signal in

telecommunications .“

In wireless communications, fading is variation of the attenuation

of a signal with various variables. These variables include time,
geographical position, and radio frequency. ... A fading channel is
a communication channel that experiences fading.

Flat Fading: In flat fading, all frequency components get affected

almost equally. Flat multipath fading causes the amplitude to
fluctuate over a period of time. Selective Fading:
Selective Fading or Selective Frequency Fading refers to
multipath fading when the selected frequency component of the
signal is affected.

MULTIPATH PROPAGATION: A radio signal spreads out in

different directions as it radiates away from the broadcast antenna.
Parts of the spreading wave will encounter reflecting surfaces, and
the wave will scatter off these objects. In an urban environment,
the wave might reflect off buildings, moving trains, or airplanes.
Multipath occurs when a signal takes two or more paths from the
transmitting antenna to the receiving antenna. We’ll assume that
one signal, the direct ray, travels directly from the transmitter to the
receiver. The direct ray is usually (but not always) the strongest
signal present in the receiving antenna. The other signals (or rays)
arrive at the receiving antenna via more roundabout paths. These
reflected signals eventually find their way to the receiving antenna.
In our analysis, we’ll assume these indirect rays arrive after the
direct ray and that the indirect rays are weaker in power than the
direct rays.

Antennas are an essential part of

radio telecommunications equipment, bridging the gap between
electronic and electromagnetic signals. The shape and size of
an antenna is a strong clue as to its type, as the design dictates
the antenna's purpose.

Antenna have to be classified to understand their physical

structure and functionality more clearly. There are many types of
antennas depending upon the applications applications.

Type of antenna Examples Applications

Dipole antenna, Personal

Monopole antenna, Helix applications,
Wire Antennas antenna, Loop antenna buildings, ships,
automobiles, space
crafts

Waveguide (opening), Flush-mounted

Aperture Antennas Horn antenna applications, air-craft,
space craft

Parabolic reflectors, Microwave

Corner reflectors communication,
Reflector Antennas
satellite tracking,
radio astronomy

Convex-plane, Concave- Used for very

Lens Antennas plane, Convex-convex, highfrequency
Concaveconcave lenses applications

Circular-shaped, Air-craft, space-craft,

Rectangularshaped satellites, missiles,
Micro strip Antennas
metallic patch above the cars, mobile phones
ground plane etc.

Yagi-Uda antenna, Micro Used for very high

strip patch array, gain applications,
Array Antennas Aperture array, Slotted mostly when needs to
wave guide array control the radiation
pattern

Terrestrial microwave transmissions: are sent

between two microwave stations on the earth (earth station). It is
the most common form of long-distance communication.
Satellite microwave transmissions involve sending microwave
transmissions between two or more earth-
based microwave stations and a satellite.

Microwaves: are used for cooking food and for satellite

communications. High frequency microwaves have frequencies which are
easily absorbed by molecules in food. ... Microwaves pass easily through the
atmosphere, so they can pass between stations on Earth and satellites in
orbit.

Radiowave Transmission : 
The radio waves have frequency range from 3 KHz and 1 GHz.
These waves are easy to generate and these can travel along
long distances. These waves are omni directional in nature which
means that they can travel in all the directions. They are widely
used for the communication between both indoor and outdoor
because they have the property that they can penetrate through
the walls very easily. These waves are usually used for AM and
FM radio, television, cellular phones and wireless LAN. 
 

Figure: Radiowave Transmission

2. Microwave Transmission : 
Microwaves are the electromagnetic waves which have frequency
range between 1 GHz to 300 GHz. These can travel along long
distances. These are unidirectional in nature which means that
they can travel only in straight line. At very high frequency that
cannot penetrate into walls. These waves are usually used for
one to one communication between sender and receiver, cellular
phones, satellite networks and wireless LAN. 

Figure: Microwave Transmission

3. Infrared Waves : 
Infrared Waves are the electromagnetic waves which have
frequency range between 300 GHz to 400 GHz. These cannot
travel along long distances. These waves are used for short
range communication and they also use line-of-sight of
propagation. These waves cannot pass through solid objects like
walls etc. These also not penetrate through walls. The most
common application of the IR waves is remote controls that are
used for TV, DVD players and stereo system. 
 
 Figure: Infrared Transmission

Difference between Radio wave, Microwave and Infrared waves :