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Designing Communication Systems

Version 9

Analytical Graphics, Inc.


www.agi.com agitraining@agi.com 800.220.4785 610.981.8000 2011-06

Overview
Welcome to the Designing Communication Systems training course. This course is a collection of instructor-led exercises that provide hands-on experience with a variety of the features and functions on which STK is built. It will familiarize you with the STK Software Suite, specifically STK Communications This course will focus on the core modules that are commonly used to perform various types of analysis. In order to complete the exercises herein you must have a fully functional copy of the following products: STK Professional STK/TIM (Terrain, Imagery, and Maps) STK/Integration Module STK/Communications with TIREM STK/Radar STK/Coverage

Table Of Contents

Can the Military Model Surveillance Communication in South America? ....................................................................................... 7


Problem Statement.......................................................................................... 8 Welcome To STK!............................................................................................ 8 Model the World!............................................................................................. 9 Save Your Scenario ........................................................................................ 11 Insert STK Objects Tool ................................................................................. 11 Model an Area of Interest .............................................................................. 12 Model Washington D.C.................................................................................. 14 Adding a Simple Receiver .............................................................................. 15 Create A Satellite ........................................................................................... 16 Calculate the Link Budget .............................................................................. 20 Analyzing a Dynamic Platform ....................................................................... 22 Create a Transmitter on the Aircraft .............................................................. 24 S_AmGEO Needs a Receiver......................................................................... 25 Save Your Work ............................................................................................. 27

Will Directed Antennas Help Improve Your Communication Performance? ............................................................................. 29


Problem Statement........................................................................................ 30 Model the World!........................................................................................... 30 Create a Link Budget Report.......................................................................... 31 Adding an Antenna to the Satellite ................................................................ 31 Embedded vs. Linked Antennas .................................................................... 34 Adding a Complex Receiver........................................................................... 35 Calculate the Link Budget .............................................................................. 36

Table Of Contents

Verify Performance in 3D............................................................................... 36 Other Ways to Introduce Objects .................................................................. 37 Pointing the Receiver and Transmitter........................................................... 39 Change Your Perspective............................................................................... 40 Recalculate the Link Budget .......................................................................... 41 Pointing the Transmitter to the Facility .......................................................... 41 Change Your Perspective............................................................................... 42 Calculate the Link Budget .............................................................................. 43 Additional Gains and Losses .......................................................................... 43 What is a Plugin ............................................................................................. 44 AER Report .................................................................................................... 46 Custom Graph................................................................................................ 46 Save Your Work ............................................................................................. 47

Can You Determine the Effect of Polarization On Your Communication System? ...................................................................................... 49
Problem Statement........................................................................................ 50 Model the World!........................................................................................... 50 Polarization..................................................................................................... 51 Set the Polarization of the Transmitter .......................................................... 51 Set the Polarization of the Receiver............................................................... 52 Create the Link Budget Report ...................................................................... 52 Change the Receiver Type............................................................................. 53 Change Receiver to RHC ............................................................................... 54 Load the Plugin for Aircraft Polarization ......................................................... 55 Edit the Receiver Plugin................................................................................. 56 Link Budget Comparison................................................................................ 56 Model the Second Region ............................................................................. 56 Multibeam Analysis........................................................................................ 59 Create a Multibeam Receiver ........................................................................ 59 Creating a New Link Budget Report .............................................................. 60 Create A Second Beam ID Report ................................................................. 61 Save Your Work ............................................................................................. 61

Can You Visualize Communications Contours and Beam Patterns in 2D and 3D?............................................................................................... 63
Problem Statement........................................................................................ 64 Model the World!........................................................................................... 64 Viewing Contours........................................................................................... 65 Move the Beam ............................................................................................. 66 Show Graphics in 3D ..................................................................................... 67 Add a Base of Operations .............................................................................. 68

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Add a Receiver to Tulcan ............................................................................... 69 Add a Targeted Sensor to Tulcan................................................................... 69 Data Display Panel ......................................................................................... 71 Custom 3D Views .......................................................................................... 72 Add Vector ..................................................................................................... 74 Create the Angle ............................................................................................ 74 Save Your Work ............................................................................................. 76 Viewer Exercise ............................................................................................. 76

Can the Environment Affect Your Communication System?...... 79


Problem Statement........................................................................................ 80 Model the World!........................................................................................... 81 Theory ............................................................................................................ 81 Create a Link Budget ..................................................................................... 81 Add a Rain Model........................................................................................... 82 Add Rain Outage to DC Receiver................................................................... 83 Atmospheric Absorption Models ................................................................... 84 Modeling Temperature .................................................................................. 86 Other Environmental Models......................................................................... 86 Rain Model Plugin .......................................................................................... 87 Atmospheric Absorption Plugin ..................................................................... 88 View Terrain in 3D Graphics Window ............................................................ 89 Adding TIREM................................................................................................ 90 Clear the Plugin.............................................................................................. 92 Save Your Work ............................................................................................. 92

Which Military Base Is In the Best Location to Accept Communication Data? ........................................................................................... 93
Problem Statement........................................................................................ 94 Model the World!........................................................................................... 94 Theory ............................................................................................................ 95 What is Coverage?......................................................................................... 95 Narrow Your Focus ........................................................................................ 96 Define Coverage ............................................................................................ 97 Insert Peterson and McChord........................................................................ 98 Coverage Definition ....................................................................................... 99 Set the Contour Colors ................................................................................ 100 Figure of Merit ............................................................................................. 101 Viewing Results in the 2D Window ............................................................. 102 Find the Best Place ...................................................................................... 103 Atmospheric Effects .................................................................................... 103 Increase the Gain of the Transmitter ........................................................... 104

Table Of Contents

Save Your Work ........................................................................................... 104

Can the Military Model Surveillance Communication in South America?

In this exercise, you will use STK and the STK/Communications module. You will look at two different levels of fidelity for transmitters and receivers. Upon completion of this exercise, you will be able to:

Understand Communications in the STK environment. Add a transmitter or receiver to an STK object. Calculate the Link Budget for a transmitter/receiver pair. Modify the modulation of a signal carrier.

Can the Military Model Surveillance Communication in South America?

Problem Statement
The United States military has decided to conduct an undercover surveillance operation in the northern region of South America to monitor transmissions taking place between renegade militant groups distributing weapons. The military has ordered its group of system engineers to evaluate and create an imaging communications system to capture data from the specified region and relay that information back to the military command and control center in Washington D.C. A surveillance aircraft will be deployed to monitor the activity. This aircraft needs to relay the information to a GEO satellite, which will then send the information to the control center in Washington D.C.

Break it Down
You have some information that may be helpful. Heres what you know: The total surveillance time is two (2) hours. The Washington D.C. facility has a Hawkeye 1.6 M receiver with a G/T value of 23.7 dB/K. You have a GEO satellite that has a simple transmitter with a frequency of 12 GHz and an EIRP of 23 dBW. The satellite has a receiver to accept transmissions from the aircraft. That receiver is a medium receiver with a 37 dB gain. Your aircraft is equipped with a medium transmitter with a frequency of 15 GHz, a power of 12 dBW, and a gain of 28 dB. The aircraft is modeled after a Link 22 aircraft. The aircraft transmitter has a modulation of QPSK and a data rate of 128 kb/sec.

Solution
Use STK and STK/Communications module to model a scenario that can be used to conduct undercover surveillance of South America.

Welcome To STK!
The first thing you need to do is launch STK, and create a new scenario. 1. Double-click the STK icon ( ) on the desktop. Everything in STK begins with a scenario. A scenario is STK's name for an instance of an analytical or operational task that you are modeling using STK. In STK a scenario is represented by an icon of an idealized scene. The STK scenario creates the context, or environment, within which all other objects in your scenario exist. You can create an unlimited number of scenarios with STK, however only one scenario can be open at a time.

Can the Military Model Surveillance Communication in South America?

When STK launches, the Welcome to STK! dialog will appear. Using the options available here, you can create new scenarios, open existing scenarios, or exit the STK application.
FIGURE 1. Welcome to STK!

2. Click the Create a New Scenario button. The Welcome to STK! dialog also provides an option to disable this feature in the event that you prefer to create and manage your scenarios manually. If the Welcome to STK! dialog were disabled, you could create a new scenario by either: Clicking the New ( ) button on the Default toolbar, or Selecting the New ( )option from the File menu.
FIGURE 2. Scenario icon

Model the World!


When you click the Create a Scenario button, the New Scenario Wizard dialog appears. You can input basic information about your scenario here. Lets set the basic parameters for scenario creation now. 1. Enter the following in the New Scenario Wizard dialog:

Can the Military Model Surveillance Communication in South America?

TABLE 1. New Scenario Wizard options Option Name Description Location Analysis Period Value Network_Surveillance Model surveillance communication in South America C:\Documents and Settings\student\My Documents\STK 9

Start time: Default Start Time End Time: + 2 hours

2. Click OK to create your scenario.

Get Off on the Right Foot--Stay Organized


Once you begin working with STK, you may create and save several scenarios with many objects in a short time. The most helpful technique to manage your scenario files is to save each scenario into its own folder, and give the folder and the scenario file (*.sc) the same name as in the example above. Youll find that this simple rule of thumb will help you to manage your scenarios more efficiently for the following reasons: It decreases the likelihood that you will accidentally overwrite your previous work, especially if you have objects with the same names in different scenarios (e.g. several satellites named 'LEO'). It helps keep your work organized, so that it is easier to find a given scenario later. It makes it easier to share your scenarios with others. When you use the New Scenario Wizard to create a new scenario, STK will automatically create a new directory in your default user directory (C:\Documents and Settings\Student\My Documents\STK 9) with the same name that you input for the scenario name and store all of your scenario files as described above. The scenario itself is saved as an object (*.sc) and each object within the scenario (e.g., satellites, facilities, planets, stars, receivers and transmitters, etc.) is saved individually.

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Can the Military Model Surveillance Communication in South America?

FIGURE 3. Object Browser

When you create a new scenario, STK updates the Object Browser to include the new scenario and creates the appropriate visualization windows. Once in the Object Browser the objects can be named and properties can be applied.

Save Your Scenario


1. When the scenario loads, click Save ( ). 2. Verify the scenario name and location and click Save. Once a scenario is saved the first time, it will be saved to the same location every time you click the Save button. The Save button is always available, and always saves the entire scenario, regardless of the window or object that is selected.

Insert STK Objects Tool


When a scenario is created, the Insert STK Objects tool appears automatically unless the Do not show me this again option is enabled. From here, you can begin the object creation and insertion process. The Insert STK Objects tool makes it easy to insert and configure some of the most commonly used individual objects. The left-hand pane lists commonly used STK objects. When you select an object on the left, all of the methods available for introducing that class of object will be listed on the right. The

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Can the Military Model Surveillance Communication in South America?

process and data that you will have to provide will depend on the object class and introduction method selected.
FIGURE 4. Insert STK Objects tool

The Insert STK Objects tool can be customized using the options available on the New Object page of the Application Preferences. 1. Click the Edit Preferences... button. 2. Select the New Object page. 3. Locate the Define Default Creation Methods area. The Objects list contains all of the available objects in STK. When an object is selected, all of the available methods for creating and configuring that object display in the Method list to the right. You can include or exclude options from the Insert STK Objects tool by selecting them in the list and enabling or disabling the Show object in insert new object tool. 4. When you finish, click Cancel to dismiss the New Object preferences page.

Model an Area of Interest


You will be conducting surveillance on a particular region in South America. An area target is a good way to highlight that region visually. Lets create the area target now. 1. Bring the Insert STK Object tool ( ) to the front. 2. Select the following:

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Can the Military Model Surveillance Communication in South America?

TABLE 2. Create Surveillance_Area Option Select an Object To Be Inserted: Select a Method: Value Area Target Area Target Wizard

3. Click the Insert... button. 4. Set the Name to Surveillance_Area. 5. Click the Insert Point four (4) times. These will be the latitude and longitude bounds of your area. 6. Insert the following coordinates:
TABLE 3. Coordinates of Surveillance_Area Latitude -1 deg -1 deg 1 deg 1 deg Longitude -77 deg -78 deg -78 deg -77 deg

7. Click OK on the Area Target Wizard to insert your surveillance area.

Get a Better Look


1. 2. 3. 4.
Reset (

) the animation. Right-click Surveillance_Area ( ) in the Object Browser. Select Zoom To. Mouse around in the window to get a better look at Surveillance_Area ( ).
FIGURE 5. 3D View: 3D view of Surveillance_Area

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Can the Military Model Surveillance Communication in South America?

Model Washington D.C.


Now you have a model of a meaningful world, but your world needs more objects. Your headquarters is located in Washington D.C. You can use the City Database to find Washington D.C. STK provides two objects that can be used to model a point-of-interest on the surface of the central body--Facilities ( ) and Targets ( ). Facilities and targets are almost identical in properties and behavior, the only difference between them is their icon.

Insert the Facility


Now, you can create and position the facility object. 1. Bring the Insert STK Objects tool ( ) to the front. 2. Select the following:
TABLE 4. Insert Washington DC Option Select an Object To Be Inserted: Select a Method: Value Facility Select From City Database

3. Click the Insert... button. The City Database tool will be launched. The City Database tool contains thousands of cities around the world. Individual city information includes the exact location of the city, the type of city, and more. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. Enable the City Name criteria. Enter Washington in the adjacent textbox. Click the Search button. Select the Washington District of Columbia entry from the list. Set the Color to Red. Click the Insert button. Close the City Database search tool.

The Properties Browser


Each STK object and visualization window has its own set of properties, which are organized into categories (e.g., Basic, 2D Graphics, Constraints, etc.). Customizing properties creates a meaningful environment for the other objects in your scenario. The properties used to define STK objects are organized in the Properties Browser. When you open the Properties Browser you will see the properties for whatever object or visualization window is selected in the STK Workspace. 1. Open Washingtons ( ) properties ( ).

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Can the Military Model Surveillance Communication in South America?

2. 3. 4. 5.

Select the 2D Graphics - Attributes page. Ensure the Color is Red. Keep all other defaults. Click OK.

Adding a Simple Receiver


Attached to the Washington D.C. facility is a Hawkeye 1.6 M receiver. This receiver will accept transmissions from the GEO satellite. You need to model the Hawkeye receiver that is attached to the Washington D.C. facility. This receiver is an omnidirectional antenna with constant gain. An omnidirectional antenna radiates uniformly in all directions. A gain of zero (0) dB is representative of a theoretical perfect receiver system. 1. Bring the Insert STK Object tool ( ) to the front. 2. Select the following:
TABLE 5. Create DCReceive Option Select an Object To Be Inserted: Select a Method: Value Receiver Define Properties

3. Click the Insert... button.


If the receiver is not present in the Insert STK Object tool, use the Edit Preferences to add it to the tool.

4. Select Washington. 5. Click OK. 6. Rename it DCReceive.

Set DCReceives Properties


You have a Hawkeye 1.6 receiver attached to your Washington D.C. facility. You know the parameters of the Hawkeye 1.6 receiver, specifically the G/T value of 23.7 db/K. You can set that now. 1. Select the Basic - Definition page. 2. Set the following parameters:
TABLE 6. DCReceives properties Option Type G/T Value Simple Receiver Model 23.7 dB/K

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3. Click OK. The simple receiver model is convenient when you do not have all the information necessary to model the receiver in detail. Table 7 on page 16 explains the other receiver types. Take a moment to go over each type with your instructor.
TABLE 7. Receiver types in STK Receiver Type Simple Receiver Definition User-definable specs (G/T, frequency and bandwidth), polarization, rain model and pre-receive and pre-demod gains and losses. User-definable specs (BER, extra cable factor, propagation speed factor) User-definable specs (gain, frequency, and bandwidth), system temperature, polarization, rain model, and prereceive and pre-demod gains and loses. User-definable specs (antenna selection and configuration, frequency and bandwidth), system temperature, polarization, rain model, and pre-receive and pre-demod gains and losses. User-definable specs (selection and configuration of multiple antenna beams), system temperature, polarization (for each beam), rain model and pre-receive and predemod gains and losses. Options available for Medium Receiver model, plus receiver optics and detector parameters. Receiver defined in user-supplied script.

Cable Receiver

Medium Receiver

Complex Receiver

Multibeam Receiver

Laser Receiver Plugin Receiver

The Frequency Auto Track Option (when enabled) allows a receiver to track and lock onto the transmitters carrier frequency which it is currently linking, including any Doppler shift.

The Bandwidth Auto Scale option allows the receiver to adjust its bandwidth to that of the current transmitter as you switch from one transmitter to another.

Create A Satellite
You want to surveil the northern region of South America for potential illegal activity. To do this, you will use a satellite in the geostationary orbit. You can use the Insert STK Object tool to insert the GEO satellite. 1. Bring the Insert STK Object tool ( ) to the front. 2. Select the following:

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Can the Military Model Surveillance Communication in South America?

TABLE 8. Create GEO satellite Option Select an Object To Be Inserted: Select a Method: Value Satellite Define Properties

3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

Click the Insert... button. Rename the satellite S_AmGEO. Select the Basic - Orbit page is selected. Select Lon. Ascn. Node from the RAAN drop-down menu. Use Table 9. Satellites properties to enter the satellites properties.
TABLE 9. Satellites properties Value Two Body Default Scenario Start Time Default Scenario End Time 60 sec Default Scenario Start Time Classical International Celestial Reference Frame (ICRF) 42164.2 km 0.0 0.0 0.0 300.0 0.0 deg

Option Propagator Start Time End Time Step Size Orbit Epoch Coord Type Coord System Semimajor Axis Eccentricity Inclination Argument of Perigee Lon. Ascn. Node True Anomaly

8. Click Apply.

Satellite Attitude
You want the satellites Z axis to be aligned with the center of the earth or nadir direction, as is typical for this type of satellite. You also want to make sure the X axis is constrained in the direction of the Earth Centered Inertial (ECI) velocity vector. You have to set the attitude of the satellite to Nadir alignment with ECI velocity constraint. Lets do that now. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Select the Basic - Attitude page. Ensure Standard is selected. Set the Type to Nadir alignment with ECI velocity constraint. Ensure the Constraint offset is 0 degrees. Click OK.

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Take a Look at Your Satellite


Now that you have modeled your satellite, lets view it in the 3D Graphics window. 1. 2. 3. 4. Bring the 3D Graphics window to the front. Right-click on S_AmGEO ( ) in the Object Browser. Select Zoom To to make S_AmGEO the focal point in the 3D Graphics window. Mouse around the 3D Graphics window to look at the S_AmGEO satellite.
FIGURE 6. 3D View: 3D view of the S_AmGEO

Adding a Transmitter
The GEO satellite has a simple transmitter attached. This transmitter will relay information to your position in Washington D.C. 1. Bring the Insert STK Object tool ( ) to the front. 2. Select the following:
TABLE 10. Create GEO_xmit Option Select an Object To Be Inserted: Select a Method: Value Transmitter Define Properties

3. Click the Insert... button.


If the transmitter is not present in the Insert STK Object tool, use the Edit Preferences to add it to the tool.

4. Select S_AmGEO. 5. Click OK.

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6. Rename the transmitter GEO_xmit.

Define the Transmitter Properties


Now that you have the transmitter attached to the GEO satellite, you can define its properties. GEO_xmit is a simple transmitter with a frequency of 12 GHz and an EIRP of 23 dBW. 1. Select the Basic - Definition page. 2. Set the following parameters:
TABLE 11. GEO_xmit properties Option Type Frequency EIRP Polarization Value Simple Transmitter Model 12 GHz 23 dBW Disabled

3. Click Apply. This transmitter is an omnidirectional antenna with constant gain. An omnidirectional antenna radiates uniformly in all directions. A gain of zero (0) dB is representative of a theoretical perfect transmitter system. The simple source transmitter model is convenient when you do not have all the information necessary to model the transmitter in detail, e.g. during the system engineering process. Take a look at Table 12. Transmitter types in STK for more transmitter types. Take a moment to go over each one with your instructor.
TABLE 12. Transmitter types in STK Receiver Type Simple Source Transmitter Definition User-definable specs (frequency, EIRP, and data rate), polarization, post-transmit gains and losses, and modulation. User-definable specs (frequency, gain, power, data rate), polarization, post-transmit gains and losses, and modulation. User-definable specs (frequency, power, data rate, antenna selection and configuration), polarization, post-transmit gains and losses, and modulation. User-definable specs (selection and configuration of multiple antenna beams, data rate), post-transmit gains and losses, and modulation. Options available for Medium Source Transmitter model, plus transmitter optics parameters. Source transmitter defined in user-supplied script.

Medium Source Transmitter

Complex Source Transmitter

Multibeam Source Transmitter

Laser Source Transmitter Plug-in Source Transmitter

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TABLE 12. Transmitter types in STK Receiver Type Simple Re-transmitter Definition User-definable specs (saturation flux density, saturated EIRP), polarization, post-transmit gains and losses, and backoff and frequency transfer functions. User-definable specs (saturation flux density, gain, saturated output power), polarization, post-transmit gains and losses, and backoff and frequency transfer functions. User-definable specs (saturation flux density, saturated output power, antenna selection and configuration), polarization, post-transmit gains and losses, and back-off and frequency transfer functions.

Medium Re-transmitter

Complex Re-transmitter

Modulator Tab
STK/Communications allows you to select from a number of standard modulation types, analytical jammer modulation types, and to incorporate other modulation types - including your own custom types as well as several supplied with STK/ Communications. In addition, you can select whether to use a CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) spread and, if so, specify the CDMA gain by supplying a chips/bit value. The modulation type determines two characteristics: (1) the fraction of transmitter power contained within the receivers bandwidth (computed in the Bandwidth Overlap Factor) and (2) the translation between the signal-to-noise ratio (Eb/No) and the resulting bit error rate (BER). 1. Select the Modulator tab. 2. Set the Data Rate to 30 MB/Sec. 3. Ensure Auto Scale Signal Bandwidth is enabled. When Auto Scale is enabled, the transmitter adjusts its transmitting bandwidth on the basis of its data rate and the modulation type. If autoscaling is disabled, you can specify the bandwidth as symmetric (centered around the carrier frequency) or asymmetric. 4. Ensure Use CDMA Spreading is disabled. 5. Ensure the Modulation Type is set to Bi Phase Shifting Keying (BPSK). 6. Click OK.

Calculate the Link Budget


You need to determine if you have acceptable link quality between the satellite transmitter and the DC receiver. To do this you will create a link budget report. Calculating object-to-object visibility in STK is called access. STK will calculate the times one object can access, or see, another object based on position and availability information that considers timing and constraints if necessary.

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Can the Military Model Surveillance Communication in South America?

1. Select GEO_xmit ( ) in the Object Browser. 2. Click the Access Tool button ( ) on the STK Tools toolbar. When you open the Access tool, you can select both the object from which access will be calculated and the object(s) to which access will be calculated. The object FROM which access will be calculated is selected using the Access for: option, and all objects TO which access can be calculated is selected in the Associated Objects list. You can select the object(s) TO which youd like to calculate access be selecting them in the list. 3. Expand the Object Tree under Washington ( ). 4. Select DCReceive ( ). 5. Click the Link Budget... button. What is your Carrier to Noise (C/N) ratio? Is your Bit Error Rate (BER) less than or equal to 1 e -008? Is your signal-to-noise ratio (Eb/No) between 13 to 16 dB? The Bit Error Rate is the probability that a bit received is in error. For example, if you transmit a binary one (1) and receive a binary zero (0), a bit error has occurred. Maintaining a bit error rate of 1e-8 or less is an acceptable requirement for data reception. An Eb/No value between 13 dB and 16 dB corresponds to a BER of 1e10 to 1e-19 for BPSK. 6. Leave the link budget report open. 7. Close the Access tool.

Change BPSK to QPSK


You have received new information from your headquarters in DC. There are bandwidth limitations now imposed on your system. You need to send the same data over half the bandwidth and not interfere with adjacent frequencies. How can you acheive this? We can compare the Binary Phase Shift Keying (BPSK) with Quadrature Phase Shift Keying (QPSK) and see which modulation is best. Binary Phase Shift Keying (BPSK) is the most fundamental of modulation schemes. It involves encoding a binary zero (0) as part of the sine wave and a binary one as an 180 degree phase shift of the same sine wave. Quadrature Phase Shift Keying (QPSK) is an alternative modulation scheme. It involves encoding two bits: one as part of a sine wave and the other as part of a cosine wave and summing the two. This creates a savings in bandwidth over BPSK as twice the information can be represented in the same period. This also introduces complexity in the decoder at the receiver. Lets model that in STK and see if this change affects your comm link. 1. Open GEO_xmits ( ) properties ( ). 2. Select the Basic - Definition page. 3. Select the Modulator tab.

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Can the Military Model Surveillance Communication in South America?

4. 5. 6. 7.

Click the button in the Modulation Type field. Select QPSK. Click OK on the Select Modulation window. Click OK on the GEO_xmits Properties page.

Recalculate the Link Budget


1. Bring the link budget report to the front. 2. Click the Refresh ( ) button. The bandwidth in the QPSK is half the value of the bandwidth in the BPSK case. In the QPSK case, the Carrier to Noise (C/N) is equal to the signal to noise ratio (Eb/ No). In the BPSK case, the C/N is three (3) dB less than the Eb/No value (or half the power). You can save bandwidth by using the QPSK over BPSK. Does the reduction in modulation affect your comm system? 3. Close the Link Budget report. 4. Save ( ) your work.

Analyzing a Dynamic Platform


You have set up the GEO to DC communication link. You have a surveillance aircraft monitoring the distribution of weapons in South America. The aircraft needs to send the information to DC for further analysis. The aircraft has a simple transmitter and will transmit its findings to the satellite. The satellite will then downlink to Washington D.C, which you have already determined is possible.
FIGURE 7. AWACS to DC Comm Link

Add an E-3A Sentry AWACS Aircraft


Lets add the aircraft that will gather intelligence on this region.

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Can the Military Model Surveillance Communication in South America?

1. Select the following in the Insert STK Object tool ( ):


TABLE 13. Create the aircraft Option Select an Object To Be Inserted: Select a Method: Value Aircraft Define Properties

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Click the Insert... button. Rename the aircraft Sentry_AWACS. Ensure the Basic - Route page is selected. Click the Insert Point button. Enter the following waypoints for the Aircraft:
TABLE 14. Sentry_AWACS waypoint 1 Field Value 1 deg -77.5 deg 29,000 ft

Waypoint 1

Latitude Longitude Altitude

6. Click the Insert Point button. 7. Enter the following waypoints for the aircraft:
TABLE 15. Sentry_AWACS waypoint 2 Field Waypoint 2 Latitude Longitude Altitude Value - 1 deg -77.5 deg 29,000 ft

8. Click Apply.

Change the Aircraft Model


Lets change the aircraft model to be more representative of the aircraft flying this mission. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Select the 3D Graphics - Model page. Click the button in the Model File field. Browse to C:\Program Files\AGI\STK 9\STKData\VO\Models\Air. Select the e-3a_sentry_awacs.mdl file. Click Open. Click OK.

Take a Look at the Aircraft


Now that you have modeled your aircraft, lets view it in the 3D Graphics window.

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1. Bring the 3D Graphics window to the front. 2. Right-click on Sentry_AWACS ( ) in the Object Browser. 3. Select Zoom To to make Sentry_AWACS ( ) the focal point in the 3D Graphics window. 4. Mouse around in the 3D Graphics window to get a better view of Sentry_AWACS. 5. Play ( ) the animation.
FIGURE 8. 3D View: 3D view of the Sentry_AWACS

Create a Transmitter on the Aircraft


The aircraft has a medium transmitter attached to it. The transmitter relays information gathered during the surveillance mission to the S_AmGeo satellite. You can use the Insert STK Object tool to create a transmitter. 1. Select the following in the Insert STK Object tool ( ):
TABLE 16. Create transmitter Option Select an Object To Be Inserted: Select a Method: Value Transmitter Define Properties

2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

Click the Insert... button. Select Sentry_AWACS. Click OK. Select the Basic - Definition page. Set the Type to Medium Transmitter Model. Enter the following specifications for the transmitter:

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TABLE 17. Air-xmits properties Field Frequency Power Gain Polarization Value 14 GHz 12 dBW 28 dB Disabled

8. Click Apply to accept the properties for the transmitter. 9. Rename the transmitter to Air_xmit.

Modulator of Aircraft Transmitter


The commander wants to reduce cost and bandwidth. Due to the reduction in bandwidth, there are now power limitations where you can use Offset Quadrature Phase Shift Keying (OQPSK) modulation. OQPSK is the standard modulation on a transmitter attached to an aircraft. You also know the data rate is 128 kb/sec. You can set that now. 1. Select the Modulator tab. 2. Set the Data Rate to 128 kb/sec. 3. Change the Modulator type to OQPSK. OQPSK uses four points equispaced around a circle. With four phases, OQPSK can encode two bits per symbol to minimize the BER - twice the rate of BPSK. Analysis shows that this may be used either to double the data rate compared to a BPSK system while maintaining the bandwidth of the signal or to maintain the data rate of BPSK, but halve the bandwidth needed. 4. Click OK.

S_AmGEO Needs a Receiver


The S_AmGEO has a receiver that will accept transmissions from the aircraft about the location of weapons. The medium receiver model provides more flexibility than the simple model by letting you specify the components of system temperature. The following can be set for this kind of model: Gain - the receiver antennas isotropic gain Frequency Bandwidth System Temperature Polarization Rain Outage

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Can the Military Model Surveillance Communication in South America?

Lets change the simple receiver to a Medium Receiver. 1. Bring the Insert STK Object tool ( ) to the front. 2. Select the following:
TABLE 18. Create the satellite receiver Option Select an Object To Be Inserted: Select a Method: Value Receiver Define Properties

3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

Click the Insert... button. Select S_AmGEO. Click OK. Select the Basic - Definition page. Set the following options:
TABLE 19. Satellite receiver settings Value Medium Receiver Model 37 dB

Option Type Gain

8. Click OK. 9. Rename the satellite receiver SatRcv.

Calculate the Link Budget


Lets test the quality of the link between the aircraft and the satellite. You can run a link budget report to test link quality. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Select Air_xmit ( ) in the Object Browser. Click the Access tool button ( ) on the STK Tools toolbar. Expand the Object Tree under S_AmGEO ( ). Select SatRcv ( ). Click the Link Budget... button.

Is your Bit Error Rate (BER) less than or equal to 1 e -008? Is your signal-to-noise ratio (Eb/No) between 13 to 16 dB? 6. Close the link budget report.

Graph Link Budget Data


You are interested in seeing how your signal quality changes versus the frequency as the aircraft flies the surveillance mission. To do this, you will have to create a custom link budget report.

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Can the Military Model Surveillance Communication in South America?

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12.

Click the Report & Graph Manager ( ) button in the Access tool. Ensure the Object Type is set to Access ( ). Select the Acces link between Air_xmit and SatRcv. Select the MyStyles directory. Select Create a new graph style ( ). Name the new report Rcvd Freq and EbNo. Expand the Link Information data provider. Move ( ) Rcvd Frequency to the Y axis. Move ( ) Eb/No to the Y2 axis. Click OK on the graph style Rcvd Freq and EbNo window. Click the Generate... button. Using the new graph, answer the following questions:

Does the received frequency fall within your receivers bandwidth?


FIGURE 9. Graph: Received Frequency and Eb/No

The receivers bandwidth is 128 kb/sec or between 13,999,936 and 14,000,064 kHz.

Save Your Work


1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Close any remaining reports. Close the Report & Graph Manager. Close the Access tool. Save ( ) your work. Leave the scenario ( ) open. Leave STK open( ).

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Can the Military Model Surveillance Communication in South America?

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Will Directed Antennas Help Improve Your Communication Performance?

In this exercise you will use STK and the STK/Communications module. You will look at creating antennas and customized communications plugins. Upon completion of this exercise, you will be able to:

Design a complex transmitter and receiver in STK. Point an antenna using an STK sensor as a gimbal. Take into account additional antenna gains and losses. Add STK/Communications Plugins for transmitters and receivers. Modify antenna plugins. Understand how plugins can be used to enhance the STK/Communications models.

Will Directed Antennas Help Improve Your Communication Performance?

Problem Statement
The United States military has decided to conduct an undercover surveillance operation in the northern region of South America to monitor illegal transmissions taking place between renegade militant groups distributing illegal arms. The military has ordered its group of system engineers to evaluate and create a communications system to capture data from the specified region and relay that information back to the military command and control center in Washington D.C. Currently, you are sending communications between an aircraft to a satellite to Washington D.C. The communication link between your South American satellite and Washington D.C. is being broadcasted across many communication bands. The military is concerned about interference from other communication operations on your operation. The military wants to focus the gain of the antenna toward Washington D.C. to narrow the communication. To do that, you will add an antenna on the satellite. This causes a redesign of the current South American communication system. You will need to add a directed antenna on your satellite. You will need to add a directed antenna on Washington D.C.

Break it Down
You have some information that may be helpful. Heres what you know: The total surveillance time is two (2) hours. You need to relay information to a facility in Washington D.C. that has a simple receiver attached to it. You have a GEO satellite that is equipped with a complex transmitter model with a frequency of 12 GHz and a power of 127 W. You need a parabolic antenna on the S_AmGEO satellite with a design frequency of 12 GHz, a diameter of two (2) meters, an antenna efficiency of 55%, and a back-lobe gain of -30 db. Washington DC has a complex receiver with a parabolic antenna and a five (5) m diameter.

Solution
Use STK/Communications module to model a scenario that can be used to conduct undercover surveillance on South America. You need to redesign the current South American communication system.

Model the World!


Previously, you modeled and analyzed the initial communication links in South America to determine the signal quality from a surveillance aircraft and Washington D.C. The Network_Surveillance scenario set up your initial conditions in South America

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Will Directed Antennas Help Improve Your Communication Performance?

and provided a model of your communication system. You can use that as your starting point. There is no need to change any of the scenario level properties, but you will need to save the scenario with a different name to preserve the integrity of the previously developed analysis. 1. Open the Network_Surveillance scenario if it is not already.
If you do not have the Network_Surveillance scenario, you can open a VDF version of the completed scenario at C:\Training\Comm\Intro2Comms\Scenarios.

Before you make any more changes to the scenario, save it with a different name to preserve the integrity of the previously developed analysis. 2. Save ( ) the new scenario in the default user directory (C:\My Documents\STK 9). In doing so, create a unique folder and rename the new folder and the scenario file (*.sc) Comm_Surveillance.

Create a Link Budget Report


Lets start out by creating a link budget report to see if you can improve the BER. 1. 2. 3. 4. Select GEO_xmit ( ) in the Object Browser. Click the Access tool button ( ) on the STK Tools toolbar. Select DCReceive ( ). Click the Link Budget... button.

How is your performance? Using the Link Budget report, you can see that the communication between the GEO satellite and headquarters link is poor. In order to to improve performance, there are several dynamics we should consider. One way to increase performance is to add an antenna to a satellite with an increase in power. Eventually, the transmitter on the GEO satellite and the receiver at headquarters will need to be pointed toward each other for better alignment. Lets see if that can increase performance.

Adding an Antenna to the Satellite


Your communication system is currently set up like this:

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Will Directed Antennas Help Improve Your Communication Performance?

FIGURE 1. AWACS to DC Comm Link

The aircraft will be monitoring the illegal transmissions and sending the information back to headquarters in DC. With the communication between the GEO satellite and the Sentry aircraft, you have excellent signal quality. However, as previously discovered, the Bit-Error-Rate (BER) between the GEO satellite and the receiver at headquarters link was poor. Due to the other military operations, you need to refine your transmission. The first approach to improving the signal is to add a directed antenna attached to the GEO satellite with increased power. The STK/Communications module has two types of antenna objects, embedded and linked. In previous versions of STK, each antenna was created with individual property settings and the object was embedded in the receiver or transmitter properties. Now in STK 9, an antenna object may be created once and linked to a transmitter or receiver object. Lets set up an antenna. 1. Bring the Insert STK Object tool ( ) to the front. 2. Select the following:
TABLE 1. Create antenna on S_AmGEO Option Select an Object To Be Inserted: Select a Method: Value Antenna Define Properties

3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.

Click the Insert... button. Select the S_AmGEO object. Click OK. Select the Basic - Definition page. Ensure the Type is set to Parabolic in the Antenna properties. Ensure the following values are set:

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Will Directed Antennas Help Improve Your Communication Performance?

TABLE 2. GEO_Antennas properties Field Design Frequency Diameter Antenna Efficiency Back-lobe Gain Value 12 GHz 2m 55% -30 dB

9. Click OK. 10. Rename the antenna GEO_Antenna.

Transmitter Change
You just set up the satellites antenna on your satellite, but you have to make sure that the satellite transmitter is using the new antenna. To do this you will need to direct the transmitter to use the antenna by setting the transmitter to complex transmitter model and then associating it with the antenna. The complex transmitter model allows you to select among a variety of analytical and realistic antenna models, and to define the characteristics of the selected antenna type. The following parameters can be set for this model: Frequency - the RF carrier frequency of the transmitter Power - the RF power output of the transmitter as measured at the input to the antenna Data rate - the data rate in the selected unit (typically megabits per second) Antenna Polarization Post-transmit Gains & Losses Modulation 1. 2. 3. 4. Open GEO_xmits ( ) properties ( ). Change the Model Type to Complex Transmitter Model. Click OK on the Select Model page. Enter the following Model specifications:
TABLE 3. GEO_xmits properties Field Frequency Power Value 12 GHz 127 W

5. Click Apply.

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Will Directed Antennas Help Improve Your Communication Performance?

Embedded vs. Linked Antennas


There are two ways to use antennas in STK, an embedded or linked antenna. The embedded antennas are usually attached to a parent object like a receiver and/or transmitter. These antennas are specific to their parent object. This means that they can not be used by multiple objects. The properties for the antenna are set within the properties of the receiver and transmitters. The linked antennas are independent of any receiver or transmitter and thus facilitate the sharing of the antenna by several transmitters and receivers. For example, if you have multiple transponders attached to a communication GEO satellite, you can create an antenna object and have the transmitters or receivers reference it. This is convenient when you have to change the properties of the antenna because instead of changing the properties for on each transmitter and receiver object, you only need to change the properties of one antenna. You now need to tell the transmitter to reference the antenna attached to S_AmGEO. This means you want to use the linked antenna option. 1. 2. 3. 4. Select the Antenna tab. Set the Reference Type to Link. Ensure the Antenna/GEO_Antenna as the Antenna Name. Click Apply.

Modulator Tab
You also need to limit the bandwidth to narrow the broadcast so it does not interfere with other military broadcasts. To do this, you will change the data rate. 1. Select the Modulator tab. 2. Set the following options:
TABLE 4. GEO_xmits modulator properties Option Data Rate Modulation Type Signal Bandwidth Auto Scale CDMA Spreading Value 30 Mb/sec QPSK Enabled Disabled

Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) is a Digital Wireless Technology developed by Department Of Defense in the 1960s. Digital Spread-Spectrum Modulation Technique is used mainly with Personal Communications Devices, such as mobile phones. In 1999, the International Telecommunications Union select CDMA as the industry standard for new third generation(3G) wireless systems. 3. Click OK to accept GEO_xmits ( ) properties ( ).

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Will Directed Antennas Help Improve Your Communication Performance?

Adding a Complex Receiver


Now that you have an antenna and transmitter system on your satellite, you need a complex receiver at your headquarters in Washington D.C. to accept the transmission from the satellite. The complex receiver offers a few more options that are customizable. The complex receiver model allows you to select among a variety of analytical and realistic antenna models, and to define the characteristics of the selected antenna type. The following parameters can be set for this model: Antenna Frequency Bandwidth System Temperature Polarization Rain Outage Pre-Receive & Pre-Demodulation Gains & Losses

1. Bring the Insert STK Object tool ( ) to the front. 2. Select the following:
TABLE 5. Create receiver on Washington Option Select an Object To Be Inserted: Select a Method: Value Receiver Define Properties

3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.

Click the Insert... button. Select Washington. Click OK. Rename it DC_ComplexRcv. Select the Basic - Definition page on the properties page ( ). Set the Model Type to Complex Receiver Model. Click OK on the Select Model window.

Set the Antenna


You still havent modeled the parabolic antenna. You can set those properties now. Rather than link to an antenna like before, you will set the antenna properties in the receivers properties. 1. Select the Antenna tab. 2. Set the following parameters:

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Will Directed Antennas Help Improve Your Communication Performance?

TABLE 6. DC_ComplexRcvs antenna properties Option Reference Type Type Diameter Value Embed Parabolic 5m

3. Leave all other defaults. 4. Click OK.

Calculate the Link Budget


You have created a directed receiver and antenna. Lets see the effect of this on the signal quality of your link. 1. 2. 3. 4. Select GEO_xmit ( ) in the Object Browser. Click the Access tool button ( ) on the STK Tools toolbar. Select DC_ComplexRcv ( ). Click the Link Budget... button.

What is the BER? Is it acceptable? Why is the performance so poor? Notice the difference in having an omni-directional receiver compared with a directed one. You think the performance of the latter link is much worse because of misalignment of the receiver and transmitter boresights due to the orbital geometry. You think the antennas are not pointed toward one another. 5. Leave the Link Budget report open. 6. Close the Access tool.

Verify Performance in 3D
You just determined your directed antennas performance was terrible. What could be the cause of this? Lets create boresight vectors to see if the antenna and receiver are pointed at each other. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Open GEO_xmits ( ) properties ( ). Select the 3D Graphics - Vector page. Enable the Boresight Vector. Set the Componet Size to seven (7). Click OK.

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Will Directed Antennas Help Improve Your Communication Performance?

Turn on DC_ComplexRcvs Boresight Vector


Now that you turned on GEO_xmits boresight vector, lets turn on DC_ComplexRcvs boresight vector so you can determine if they are truly pointing at one another. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Open DC_ComplexRcvs ( ) properties ( ). Select the 3D Graphics - Vector page. Enable the Boresight Vector. Set the Componet Size to seven (7). Click OK.

Change Your Perspective


1. 2. 3. 4. Bring the 3D Graphics window to the front. Click the Home View ( ) button. Reset ( ) the animation to refresh the view in the 3D Graphics window. Mouse around the 3D Graphics window until you can clearly see the vectors.
FIGURE 2. 3D View: Non-Intersecting vectors

You can easily see that the vectors do not intersect. This is the reason your performance is so poor; the receiver and transmitter do not see one another. You will need to fix this.

Other Ways to Introduce Objects


The Insert STK Objects tool also provides an option to disable this feature in the event that you prefer to create and configure objects manually. If the Insert STK Objects tool were disabled, you could open that tool by either: Clicking the Insert Object button ( ). or

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Will Directed Antennas Help Improve Your Communication Performance?

Selecting New... from the Insert menu. If you prefer to use the Object Catalog, you can enable that tool by: Clicking the New Object button ( ) to launch the Object Catalog.

The Object Catalog


All objects that you can add to a scenario are also found in the Object Catalog. The Object Catalog updates dynamically based on your selections in the Object Browser. When you select an object in the Object Browser, the Object Catalog will be populated with all eligible siblings and children of that object. When you introduce an object using the Object Catalog, a generic instance of that selected object is introduced into the scenario. STK configures that object using the standard default properties which vary depending on the object.

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Will Directed Antennas Help Improve Your Communication Performance?

FIGURE 3. Object Catalog

Pointing the Receiver and Transmitter


You need to point the receiver and the antenna toward one another. In STK, this is accomplished by placing the transmitter, receiver, or antenna on a sensor and manipulating the sensor. Since the antenna becomes a child of the sensor, the antenna will point anywhere the sensor points. Lets add some sensors to visually see what is happening. 1. Select Washington ( ) in the Object Browser. 2. Attach a Sensor ( ) object using the Object Catalog. 3. Rename it Gimbal_R.

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Will Directed Antennas Help Improve Your Communication Performance?

Target S_AmGEO
Lets point the antenna toward the S_AmGEO satellite by pointing the sensor. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Open Gimbal_Rs ( ) properties ( ). Select the Basic - Definition page. Set the Cone Angle to five (5) deg. Select the Basic - Pointing tab. Set the Pointing Type to Targeted. Move ( ) the S_AmGEO satellite to the Assigned Targets field. Click OK.

Add an Antenna Object


Remember DC has a parabolic antenna with a diameter of five (5) m. You added a sensor so you could point the antenna toward the satellites transmitter. Rather than keep your receiver properties with an embedded antenna, you now want to create an antenna and link to it like you did with your transmitter. Lets create that antenna. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Select Gimbal_R ( ) in the Object Browser. Attach an Antenna ( ) object using the Object Catalog. Rename it DC_Antenna. Open DC_Antennas ( ) properties ( ). Select the Basic - Definition page. Set the Type to Parabolic. Set the Diameter to 5 m. Click OK.

Use the Antenna


Previously, you had an embedded antenna. Now that you created your antenna, you can have the receiver use it. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Open DC_ComplexRcvs ( ) properties ( ). Select the Antenna tab. Set the Reference Type to Link. Select Sensor/Gimbal_R/Antenna/DC_Antenna. Click OK to accept the changes made to DC_ComplexRcv.

Change Your Perspective


1. 2. 3. 4. Bring the 3D Graphics window to the front. Click the Home View ( ) button. Reset ( ) the animation to refresh the view in the 3D Graphics window. Mouse around the 3D Graphics window until you can clearly see the vectors.

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Will Directed Antennas Help Improve Your Communication Performance?

FIGURE 4. 3D View: Almost Intersecting Sensors

Take a closer look. It appears the satellite transmitter and the Washington receiver are pointed at each other, but while they are much closer, they are not exactly pointed at one another. Lets verify this with your link budget report.

Recalculate the Link Budget


1. Bring the link budget report to the front. 2. Click the Refresh ( ) button. How is your BER?

Pointing the Transmitter to the Facility


Well your BER is slightly improved, but still not that great. Lets try to direct the antenna on the satellite. First you will need a pointing mechanism on your satellite as well. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. Select S_AmGEO ( ) in the Object Browser. Attach a Sensor ( ) object using the Object Catalog. Rename it Gimbal_T. Open Gimbal_Ts ( ) properties ( ). Set the Cone Angle to be five (5) deg. Select the Basic - Pointing Page. Set the Pointing Type to Targeted. Move ( ) the Washington facility to the Assigned Targets field. Click OK.

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Will Directed Antennas Help Improve Your Communication Performance?

Move the Antenna


Lets move the antenna to the targeted sensor so that it is associated with the transmitter on the new sensor. 1. 2. 3. 4. Select GEO_Antenna in the Object Browser. Cut ( ) the GEO_Antenna ( ). Select the Gimbal_T sensor. Paste ( ) the GEO_Antenna ( ).

Use the Antenna


Since you moved the antenna, you need to remind the transmitter to use it. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Open GEO_xmits ( ) properties ( ). Select the Antenna tab. Set the Reference Type is set to Link. Set the Link is set to Sensor/Gimbal_T/Antenna/GEO_Antenna. Click OK.

Change Your Perspective


1. 2. 3. 4. Bring the 3D Graphics window to the front. Click the Home View ( ) button. Reset ( ) the animation to refresh the view in the 3D Graphics window. Mouse around the 3D Graphics window until you can clearly see the vectors.
FIGURE 5. 3D View: Washington and S_AmGEO Sensors

It appears that the satellite can now send communications to DC, but lets check the link budget report to verify.

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Will Directed Antennas Help Improve Your Communication Performance?

Calculate the Link Budget


Now that you have properly pointed the sensors, the transmitter and receivers should be able to communicate with each other. Lets take a look at your signal quality to see if it has increased. 1. Bring the link budget report to the front. 2. Click the Refresh ( ) button. Has the BER improved? Is it acceptable? If you compare this report with the previous link budget report, you will see a significant difference. For example, compare the BER in each report. Without proper pointing using the parabolic antennas, the BER reads a poor value due to the inability to see each other. With proper pointing, the BER values improved. 3. Keep the most recent Link Budget report open. 4. Close all other Link Budget reports.

Additional Gains and Losses


There is always some satellite communications degradation loss. For the transmitter, user-specified post-transmit gains and losses can be applied in the transmitter panel under the Additional Gains and Losses tab. For the receiver, user-specified prereceive and pre-demodulation gains and losses can be applied in the receiver panel under the Additional Gains and Losses tab. Lets take into account these satellite degradation losses. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Open GEO_xmits ( ) properties ( ). Select the Additional Gains and Losses tab. Click the Add button. Change the Identifier name to Post-Transmit Loss. Set the Gain to -1 dB. This represents a typically occurring Post-Transmit Loss. Click OK.

Link Budget Report


Now that you have a satellite degradation loss set on the transmitter, lets see how that effects the signal quality. 1. Bring the link budget report to the front. 2. Click the Refresh ( ) button. What is your Effective Isotropic Radiated Power (EIRP)? The C/N and Eb/No are also reduced by 1 dB from the previous analysis. Post transmit may result in a slightly worse BER.

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Will Directed Antennas Help Improve Your Communication Performance?

3. Close any open reports.

What is a Plugin
A plugin allows a user to extend and customize the capabilities of STK by implementing a script and code at specific points within STK to be used in STK computations. These extendable points include: STK/Communications STK/Astrogator (Engine modeling propagator modeling and attitude modeling) Access HPOP Force Modeling Vector Geometry Tool

There are two types: (i) compiled code (usually a dynamic link library) and (ii) script code. Comm plugins currently utilize only script code. Plugin scripts have three sections. The input section which represents what is being pushed from STK to the plugin. The output section which represents what is being pushed from the plugin to STK. The final section is the equations that use the inputs to manipulate the outputs.

Custom Transmitter
Lets add it to your Air_xmit transmitter to customize the uplink. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. Open Air_xmits ( ) properties ( ). Select the Basic - Definition page. Click the to change the Type. Select the Script Plugin RF Transmitter Model. Click OK. Click the to change the script Filename. Browse to C:\Training\Comm\Intro2Comms\Plugins. Select the VB_TransmitterModel.vbs file. Open the VB script in Textpad or Wordpad.

Take a look at a Plugin in Textpad


You have a plugin that gives a transmitter the ability to hop frequencies to avoid detection. Lets view it and see if it can be used in your scenario by the aircraft. The transmitter model plugin script provides all the parameters that a transmitter needs to operate in STK like frequency, power, gain, etc. The script uses various timing and geometry inputs from STK. This particular script makes use of the range computed from the transmitter and receiver positions to compute the center frequency used in transmission. 1. Locate the following line:

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Will Directed Antennas Help Improve Your Communication Performance?

Freq = 1000 * Range

2. Change this line to read:


Freq = 500 * Range

You will notice that frequency is a function of range. This is what you want so your aircraft transmissions can avoid detection. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Click Save to save your changes. Close Textpad. Bring the properties for Air_xmit to the front. Select the VB_TransmitterModel.vbs file. Click Open. Click OK on Air_xmits ( ) properties ( ).

Custom Receiver
You now have a transmitter that hops frequency to avoid detection. Now you need a receiver on your satellite that is able to receive this type of transmission. You need to have your receiver be in tune with the transmitter frequency because you are not interested in any other frequencies on that communication band. This will require another custom plugin. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. Open SatRcvs ( ) properties ( ). Select the Basic - Definition page. Click to change the Type. Select the Script Plugin RF Receiver Model. Click OK. Click to change the script Filename. Browse to C:\Training\Comm\Intro2Comms\Plugins. Select the VB_ReceiverModel.vbs file. Click Open. Click OK to accept the changes for SatRcv.

The output parameters in these examples are hard coded as constants, but this is not a requirement. Feel free to look at this plugin in a text document.

Receiver Access
Now that you have two plugins being used, lets determine the signal quality between them. 1. 2. 3. 4. Select Air_xmit ( ) in the Object Browser. Click the Access tool button ( ) on the STK Tools toolbar. Select SatRcv ( ) as the Associated Object. Click on Link Budget... under Reports.

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Will Directed Antennas Help Improve Your Communication Performance?

5. Use the report to answer the following questions: Is the BER good? Bad? Take a look at the Received Frequency. Do you notice the slight difference? As the range between the aircraft and satellite slightly changes, the frequency, which is a function of range, also changes. The frequency is 500 times the range.

AER Report
1. Bring the Access tool to the front. 2. Click on the AER... button. You will see the variance in range directly affects the variance in the received frequency in the Link Budget report. Lets view this data in a different way.

Custom Graph
You are using a custom transmitter and receiver model. You want to graph the range and the received frequency versus time. In order to properly graph this, you need to create a custom graph. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. Click the Report & Graph Manager button ( ) on the STK Tools toolbar. Set the Object Type to Access. Select the Access Object for the Air_xmit transmitter to the SatRcv receiver. Select the MyStyles directory. Click the Create new graph style button ( ). Rename the graph Range and Rcvd Frequency vs. Time. Expand ( ) the Link Information data provider. Move ( ) Range to the Y-Axis. Move ( ) Rcvd. Frequency to the Y2-Axis. Click OK. Click the Generate... button.

Why is there a difference in the two graphs?

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Will Directed Antennas Help Improve Your Communication Performance?

FIGURE 6. Graph: Received Frequency vs. Time

The graphs appear to be slightly shifted from one another. This is due to the Doppler shift.

Save Your Work


1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Close all remaining reports. Close the Report & Graph Manager. Close the Access tool. Save ( ) your work. Leave the scenario ( ) open. Leave STK open( ).

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Will Directed Antennas Help Improve Your Communication Performance?

48

Can You Determine the Effect of Polarization On Your Communication System?

In this exercise, you will use STK and the STK/Communications module. You will investigate polarization for uplink and downlink communications. Upon completion, you will be able to:

Model polarization on an uplink and downlink. Utilize a multibeam receiver.

Can You Determine the Effect of Polarization On Your Communication System?

Problem Statement
The United States military has decided to conduct an undercover surveillance operation in the northern region of South America to monitor illegal transmissions taking place between renegade militant groups distributing illegal arms. The military has ordered its group of system engineers to evaluate and create a communications system to capture data from the specified region and relay that information back to the military command and control center in Washington D.C. Progress has been made in creating the communication system in which an aircraft captures images and relays them to a satellite, before downlinking to Washington D.C. Now you have to account for a real world condition, polarization. You need to determine the effect of polarization on the uplink and downlink for your communication system. You also might need to add in a second aircraft to help monitor the region.

Break it Down
You have some information that may be helpful. Heres what you know: The total surveillance time is two (2) hours. The polarization of the satellite transmitter is right-hand circular. You need to investigate circular vs. linear polarization for both the uplink and downlink. Add a second identical aircraft to help monitor the region. To help handle the increase in data incoming over a larger area, your comm system will need a multibeam receiver.

Solution
Use the STK/Communications module to model a scenario that can be used to conduct undercover surveillance on South America and help you model polarization.

Model the World!


Previously, you modeled and analyzed the initial communication links in South America to determine the signal quality from a surveillance aircraft and Washington D.C. The Comm_Surveillance scenario set up your initial conditions in South America and provided a model of your communication system. You can use that as your starting point. 1. Open the Comm_Surveillance scenario if it is not already.
If you do not have the Comm_Surveillance scenario, you can open a VDF version of the completed scenario at C:\Training\Comm\Intro2Comms\Scenarios.

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Can You Determine the Effect of Polarization On Your Communication System?

Before you make any more changes to the scenario, save it with a different name to preserve the integrity of the previously developed analysis. 2. Save ( ) the new scenario in the default user directory (C:\My Documents\STK 9). In doing so, create a unique folder and rename the new folder and the scenario file (*.sc) Multi_Surveillance.

Polarization
Polarization is the condition or expression of orientation of the electromagnetic field vector with reference to the antennas orientation. To calculate the loss due to polarization mismatch, you need to compare the angle between the transmitters and receivers vertical references in the plane perpendicular to the line of sight. The resultant loss is the square of the cosine of twice the angle between the two polarization states. The polarization of the satellite transmitter would need to be measured. You will try different polarizations on the ground receiver until you match.
TABLE 1. Polarization types Type Linear Right-Hand Circular Left-Hand Circular Description The transmitter/receiver is linearly polarized. The transmitter/receiver is configured for the right-hand circular polarization. The transmitter/receiver is configured for left-hand circular polarization. The transmitter/receiver is linearly polarized, and the electrical field is vertical with respect to the antenna. If the antenna is vertically oriented, the electrical field is aligned with it. The transmitter/receiver is polarized, and the electrical field is vertical with respect to the antenna. If the antenna is vertically oriented, the electrical field is aligned orthogonal with it. The receiver is elliptically polarized. The vector describing the orientation of the electrical field with reference to the antenna describes an ellipse as it rotates over time.

Vertical

Horizontal

Elliptical

Set the Polarization of the Transmitter


To start you are going to set the polarization of the transmitter on S_AmGEO as right-hand circular. Lets set that now and see the effects. 1. 2. 3. 4. Select GEO_xmits ( ) properties ( ). Select the Basic - Definition page. Select the Antenna tab. Select the Polarization tab.

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Can You Determine the Effect of Polarization On Your Communication System?

5. Enable the Use option. 6. Set the Polarization type to Right-hand Circular. 7. Click OK.

Set the Polarization of the Receiver


In normal situations, your ground station may not know the polarization of a satellite. You would have to vary the polarization on the ground until you matched and had an acceptable Bit Error Rate. Lets assume you do not know your satellite has a right hand circular polarization. You will set the ground station receiver to lefthand circular and check the link budget report for the BER. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Open DC_ComplexRcv s( ) properties ( ). Select the Basic - Definition page. Click on the Antenna tab. Select the Polarization tab. Enable the Use option. Set the Polarization type to Left-hand Circular. Set the Cross-Pol Leakage to -60 dB. This setting accounts for the interference when the polarization is not matched. 8. Click OK.

Create the Link Budget Report


You need to determine the effect these polarization changes have on your communication system. Your current link budget styles do not have a column that will show you the polarization efficiency. You need to create a custom report to receive this information. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Select the GEO_xmit ( ) transmitter in the Object Browser. Click the Access tool button ( ) on the STK Tools toolbar. Expand Washington in the Associated Objects window. Select DC_ComplexRcv ( ). Click the Report & Graph Manager button.

Duplicate the Report


You want to add polarization efficiency to your link budget report. Lets do that. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Expand the Installed Styles directory. Select Link Budget. Ensure the Show Reports option is selected. Click the Duplicate Style ( ) button. Select Link Information - Flux Density in the Report Contents window that appears.

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Can You Determine the Effect of Polarization On Your Communication System?

Note that the Link Information data providers has been expanded for you. 6. Move ( ) Polarization Effic to the Report Contents window.

Set the Units


You want your report to generate the polarization efficiency in a unitless ratio. Lets do that now. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Click the Units... button. Disable the Use Defaults option. Select the Units (units) option in the New Unit Value window. Click OK on the Units window. Click OK on the Report Style window.

Change the Name of the Report


Now that you have created a specific report to check the polarization efficiency, you need to give it a new name. 1. Select Link Budget in the My Styles folder. 2. Rename the report to Link Budget -Pol.

View the Report


1. Generate the Link Budget - Pol report. Does the receiver "see" the transmitter? You will notice that the Polarization Efficiency equals zero (0). The complete polarization mismatch results in a BER of approximately 0.5. By not choosing the correct polarization, the receiver does not see the transmitter. 2. Keep the report open for further comparisons. 3. Close the Report & Graph Manager. 4. Close the Access tool.

Change the Receiver Type


You just determined that the polarization you currently have does not work. The receiver and transmitter can not communicate with one another. Lets try a different polarization and see if you cant get the receiver to talk to the transmitter. 1. 2. 3. 4. Open DC_ComplexRcv ( ) properties ( ). Select the Basic - Definition page. Select the Antenna tab. Select the Polarization tab.

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Can You Determine the Effect of Polarization On Your Communication System?

Linear polarization means the receiver is linearly polarized with the electromagnetic field aligned with the reference axes. 5. Change the Polarization type to Linear Polarization. Whenever STK detects a complete polarization mismatch between the transmitted signal and the received signal under ideal conditions, the Cross Polarization Leakage value is applied to model the less-than-ideal real-world performance. The value, ranging from -9999.9 dB to -0.001 dB, reflects the performance of the user's system, where -9999.9 dB represents ideal conditions (no leakage). You want to make sure the Cross Pol Leakage is set to -60 dB. 6. Ensure Cross Pol Leakage is set to -60 dB. 7. Click OK.

Recalculate the Link Budget


Now that you have changed the receivers polarization, lets rerun the Link Budget Pol report to see if your signal quality has increased. 1. Select the Link Budget - Pol report. 2. Refresh ( ) the report so that the change in Polarization can be calculated. 3. Take a look at the resulting report. What is your new polarization efficiency? Note the Polarization Efficiency is 50%, which might result in a higher BER. But for this case, you do not see a higher BER. You will need to further improve the polarization of the receiver. While your BER is good you can be more efficient by matching polarization and thus using less power. 4. Keep the report open.

Change Receiver to RHC


You have just determined that linear polarization isnt good enough. You need to change the receivers polarization to right-hand circular polarization to test that polarization. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Open DC_ComplexRcvs ( ) properties ( ). Select the Basic - Definition page. Select the Antenna tab. Select the Polarization tab. Change the Polarization type to Right Hand Circular Polarization. Click OK.

Recalculate the Link Budget


Lets see if the right-hand circular polarization has increased your signal quality.

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Can You Determine the Effect of Polarization On Your Communication System?

1. Select the Link Budget - Pol report. 2. Refresh ( ) the report so that the change in Polarization can be calculated. 3. Take a look at the resulting report. What is your new polarization efficiency? Note that having the correct polarization on both ends of the link budget is desirable. This will avoid polarization mismatch and result in the best signal quality. 4. Keep the report open.

Load the Plugin for Aircraft Polarization


You have just figured out that your transmitter is using right-hand circular polarization on the downlink from the satellites transmitter to DCs receiver. Now you have to account for polarization on the uplink from the aircraft to the satellite. However, instead of using trial and error to figure out the polarization, you are going to use a plugin. This plugin for the aircraft transmitter will already have the polarization set to right-hand circular. 1. Open Air_xmits ( ) properties ( ). 2. Select the Basic - Definition page. The transmitter type is already set to Script Plugin RF Transmitter Model. You just need to change your file for this transmitter. 3. Click the button to change the file. 4. Browse to C:\Training\Comm\Intro2Comms\Plugins. 5. Open VB_TransmitterModel.vbs file using Textpad or Wordpad. 6. Find the line the following line:
returnValue(VB_TransmitterModel_outputs.PolType)

7. Ensure the PolType is set to two (2). This is the polarization for right-hand circular.
This number comes directly from the Plugin Scripting Guide. You can find that by opening the STK Programming Interface and browsin to Extend AGI Products -> Extend the Engine -> Engine Plugin Scripts -> Plugin Scripting Guide. The information on PolTypes can be found on page 57 of the Plugin Scripting Guide.

8. Save your changes. 9. Close Textpad. 10. Click OK on Air_xmits ( ) properties ( ).

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Can You Determine the Effect of Polarization On Your Communication System?

Edit the Receiver Plugin


You need to adjust the plugin attached to the satellite receiver to account for polarization. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Open SatRcvs ( ) properties ( ). Select the Basic - Definition page. Ensure the Type is set to Script Plugin RF Receiver Model. Browse to C:\Training\Comm\Intro2Comms\Plugins. Right-click on the VB_ReceiverModel.vbs file. Open the VB script in Textpad. Find the line the following line:
returnValue(VB_ReceiverModel_outputs.PolType)

8. Set the PolType value to two (2). This will set the polarization to right-hand circular like the Air_xmit ( ) transmitter. 9. Save the file. 10. Close Textpad. 11. Select the VB_ReceiverModel.vbs file in Air_xmits properties. 12. Click OK.

Link Budget Comparison


Now lets test the polarization. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Select the SatRcv ( ) in the Object Browser. Click the Access tool button ( ) on the STK Tools toolbar. Expand Sentry_AWACS in the Associated Objects window. Select Air_xmit ( ). Click the Report & Graph Manager button ( ) on the STK Tools toolbar. Generate the Link Budget - Pol report. Compare the Polarization efficiencies.

What is your polarization efficiency? The polarization on the aircraft transmitter and satellite receiver are now both right hand circular. They are perfectly matched and this is why your performance is good. 8. Close the remaining reports. 9. Close the Report & Graph Manager. 10. Close the Access tool.

Model the Second Region


Intelligence has revealed the sale of arms has moved to another location. The military has deployed a second surveillance aircraft to monitor the area. Lets do more

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Can You Determine the Effect of Polarization On Your Communication System?

analysis and planning in STK. You can start by highlighting this second area with an area target. 1. Bring the Insert STK Object tool ( ) to the front. 2. Select the following:
TABLE 2. Create a second area target Option Select an Object To Be Inserted: Select a Method: Value Area Target Area Target Wizard

3. Click the Insert... button. 4. Set the Name to Surveillance_Area2. 5. Click the Insert Point four (4) times. These will be the latitude and longitude bounds of your area. 6. Insert the following coordinates:
TABLE 3. Coordinates of Surveillance_Area2 Latitude -33 deg -33 deg -34 deg -34 deg Longitude -70 deg -71 deg -71 deg -70 deg

7. Click OK on the Area Target Wizard to insert your surveillance area.

Get a Better Look


1. 2. 3. 4.
Reset (

) the animation. Right-click Surveillance_Area2 ( ) in the Object Browser. Select Zoom To. Mouse around in the window to get a better look at Surveillance_Area2 ( ).

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Can You Determine the Effect of Polarization On Your Communication System?

FIGURE 1. 3D View: 3D view of Surveillance_Area2

Add a Second Aircraft


You know you have an aircraft heading to a second location where arms are being exchanged. This aircraft is very similar to the Sentry_AWACS you already have in your scenario. You can copy that aircraft you made previously in your scenario because you want to keep the transmitter and aircraft the same. You will merely edit the flight route. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Select Sentry_AWACS ( ) in the Object Browser. Click the Copy ( ) button. Click the Paste ( ) button to insert a second aircraft into your scenario. Rename the second aircraft Sentry_AWACS2. Open Sentry_AWACS2s ( ) properties ( ). Select the Basic - Route page. Enter the following waypoints for the Aircraft:
TABLE 4. Sentry_AWACS2 Waypoints Field Waypoint 1 Waypoint 2 Latitude 1 Longitude 1 Latitude 2 Longitude 2 Value -33 deg -70.5 deg -34 deg -70.5 deg

8. Click OK on Sentry_AWACS2 properties.

Rename the Transmitter


You need to rename the transmitter attached to the second aircraft. Lets do that. 1. Select Air_xmit ( ) that is attached to Sentry_AWACS2.

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Can You Determine the Effect of Polarization On Your Communication System?

2. Rename it Air_xmit2.

Change Your Perspective


1. Reposition the view so that Sentry_AWACS2s ( ) is the focal point in the 3D Graphics window. 2. Mouse around until you have a clear view of Sentry_AWACS2s ( ) flight. 3. Reset ( ) the animation. 4. Play ( ) the animation and watch as Sentry_AWACS2s ( ) travels along its path.
FIGURE 2. 3D View: 3D view of Sentry_AWACS2

Multibeam Analysis
The Commander has requested that the engineering team also evaluate the multibeam receivers on the satellite to see if they cover a broader area in the specified region. The multibeam receiver model allows you to set up multiple antenna beams, each with its own specifications, polarization, and orientation properties. The following parameters can be set for this model: Multibeam Antenna Data Rate Modulation Post-Transmit Gains and Losses

Create a Multibeam Receiver


Your S_AmGEO satellite needs to receive data from both of the aircraft for analysis. To do this you will set up a multibeam receiver.

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Can You Determine the Effect of Polarization On Your Communication System?

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Attach a second receiver ( ) to the S_AmGEO satellite using the Object Catalog. Rename the receiver Multibeam. Open Multibeams ( ) properties ( ). Set the Model Type to Multibeam Receiver Model. Click Duplicate five (5) times. You want to have six beams to the pattern for maximum coverage.

Notice that the Maximum Gain Beam Selection Criteria is selected by default. 6. Select all six beams using the Shift button. 7. Click the Orient button. 8. Set the following
TABLE 5. Multibeam orientation Initial Value Elevation Azimuth 87 Deg 0 Deg Increment Value 0 Deg 60 Deg

9. Click OK. 10. Click OK on the Multibeam ( ) properties.

Creating a New Link Budget Report


Now that you have created the multibeam receiver, you need to determine which beam is currently being used for each successful link. To do this, you will use a Link Budget report and add a section that informs you which multibeam is being used. You will start by looking at the first aircraft. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. Select Air_xmit ( ) in the Object Browser. Click the Access tool button ( ) on the STK Tools toolbar. Expand S_AmGEO in the Associated Objects window. Select the Multibeam receiver ( ). Open the Report & Graph Manager. Expand the Installed Styles. Select the Link Budget report. Click the Duplicate style ( ) button. Select Link Information - EIRP in the Report Contents window that appears.

Notice the Link Information data providers is selected. 10. Move ( )Rcvr Beam ID to the Report Contents window. 11. Click OK. 12. Change the name of the report to Link Budget - Beam ID.

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Can You Determine the Effect of Polarization On Your Communication System?

Create the Beam ID Report


1. Select the Link Budget - Beam ID report. 2. Click the Generate... button. What beam is being used for the transmitter?

Create A Second Beam ID Report


Now lets determine which Beam the transmitter on the second aircraft is using. To do that, you can run the Beam ID report you just created. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Select Air_xmit2 ( ) in the Object Browser. Click the Access tool button ( ) on the STK Tools toolbar. Expand S_AmGEO in the Associated Objects window. Select the Multibeam receiver ( ). Open the Report & Graph Manager ( ). Select the Link Budget - Beam ID report. Click the Generate... button.

What beam was chosen for transmitter for the second aircraft? How is the BER? You also might notice that the BER is bad. You have determined which beams are being used. You know that you do not need all of the beams you have created, but they can cover the rest of the area. You will need to improve performance to the second aircraft.

Save Your Work


1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Close the remaining reports. Close the Report & Graph Manager. Close the Access tool. Save ( ) your work. Leave the scenario ( ) open. Leave STK open( ).

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Can You Determine the Effect of Polarization On Your Communication System?

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Can You Visualize Communications Contours and Beam Patterns in 2D and 3D?

In this exercise, you will examine how the sun may cause a temporary outage in a downlink from a GEO satellite to a ground station. You will use STKs visualization capabilities to aid in analysis. Upon completion, you will be able to:

Visualize antenna beams in 2D and 3D to help visualize problems with your current system. Set up a dynamic display in your 3D Graphics window. Change views in the 3D window. Add vectors to a scenario to enhance situational understanding in three (3) dimensions. Create a viewable scenario for presentation to headquarters.

Can You Visualize Communications Contours and Beam Patterns in 2D and 3D?

Problem Statement
You are monitoring the sale of arms in South America. You have two aircraft watching certain areas of South America. However, one of your aircraft can not communicate well with your multibeam resource. You need to figure out why and correct the problem. Once you correct the aircraft communication problem, you need to make sure that the communications system at your ground location in Tulcan is not affected by the sun. The sun could potentially hinder the link between the ground and your aircraft. The results of the analysis need to include contour and beam pattern graphics. Also you need to show the ground network configuration. You will be in charge of showing the program office that you believe the single beam transmitter is more practical and economical for this mission.

Break it Down
You have some information that may be helpful. Heres what you know: Visualizing beams in 2D and 3D can help visualize problems with your current communication system. Add any BER constraints so that you do not even consider any bad BER. You need to see data displayed dynamically on your 3D Graphics window. The angle between the Tulcan-Sun vector and the Tulcan-Sentry vector must be greater than two (2) degrees to not affect the communications from the ground to the aircraft. Prepare your scenario for presentation using AGI Viewer.

Solution
Use STK/Communications to determine why one of your surveillance aircraft is not able to communicate well with the multibeam receiver. Then present your findings to the headquarters using AGI Viewer.

Model the World!


Previously, you modeled and analyzed the initial communication links in South America to determine the signal quality from a surveillance aircraft and Washington D.C. The Multi_Surveillance scenario set up conditions in South America and provided a model of your communication system. You can use that as your starting point. 1. Open the Multi_Surveillance scenario if it is not already.
If you do not have the Multi_Surveillance scenario, you can open a VDF version of the completed scenario at C:\Training\Comm\Intro2Comms\Scenarios.

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Can You Visualize Communications Contours and Beam Patterns in 2D and 3D?

Before you make any more changes to the scenario, save it with a different name to preserve the integrity of the previously developed analysis. 2. Save ( ) the new scenario in the default user directory (C:\My Documents\STK 9). In doing so, create a unique folder and rename the new folder and the scenario file (*.sc) Visualizing_Comm.

Viewing Contours
Lets take a look at the visual perspective of the antenna patterns on South America to help you see the effects of your communication system and identify any problems with your system. Lets start by viewing the contours of your multibeam receiver. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Open Multibeams ( ) properties ( ). Select the 2D Graphics - Contours page. Ensure the Show Graphics option is enabled. Ensure Relative to Maximum is enabled. Enter the following values in the Level Adding area:
TABLE 1. Contour levels Option Start Value Stop Value Step Size Value -30 db 0 db 6 db

6. Click the Add Level button. 7. Set the following option:


TABLE 2. Color method Option Start Color End Color Show Level Labels Value Red Blue Enabled

8. Click OK. 9. Reset ( ) the scenario. The contours represent gain levels for the multibeam receiver. You are changing the resolution (increasing the number of points) of the contours to make them more accurate. Below a receiver gain level of -18 dB relative to maximum gain would be undesirable.

Increase the Accuracy of the Contour Lines


1. Bring up the 2D Graphics window. 2. Zoom In ( ) on one of the contour lines.

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Can You Visualize Communications Contours and Beam Patterns in 2D and 3D?

When you are further away from the contour lines they appear round. However, when you zoom closer they appear jagged. 3. 4. 5. 6. Open Multibeams ( ) properties ( ). Select the 2D Graphics - Contours page. Enable the Set Azimuth and Elevation Resolution together option. Set the Azimuth resolution to 2.0 deg.

You will decrease the azimuth and elevation values so that you can increase the resolution on your contour values. The gaussian antenna is best at the center of the circle. Outside the circle, you can expect the performance to be poor. 7. Click OK. 8. Reset ( ) the scenario.
FIGURE 1. 2D View: 2D View of the Contour Graphics

Sentry_AWACS2 is outside the multibeam contours and link performance from the Sentry_AWACS2 transmitter to the multibeam receiver is poor.

Move the Beam


Lets try to improve the communications by moving Beam three (3) to point at a new region. Beam three is the beam that is communicating with Air_xmit2.
Beam three was previously determined to be the closest beam to Air_xmit2.

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Open Multibeams ( ) properties ( ). Select Beam 003. Select the Antenna tab. Select the Orientation tab. Set the following parameters:

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Can You Visualize Communications Contours and Beam Patterns in 2D and 3D?

TABLE 3. Beam 003s properties Option Azimuth Elevation Value 105 deg 84.5 deg

6. Click Apply.

Take a Look in 2D
1. Bring up the 2D Graphics window. 2. Zoom In ( ) on Sentry_AWACS2 to see if your contours cover the aircraft. Are the contour graphics resting on top of Sentry_AWACS2?
FIGURE 2. 2D View: Contour Graphics on Sentry_AWACS2

Show Graphics in 3D
Lets make sure the contour graphics are enabled for the 3D Graphics window. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Bring Multibeams ( ) properties ( ) to the front. Select the 3D Graphics - Attributes page. Enable the Show Lines option. Enable the Show Volume option. Click OK.

Get a Better Look


Lets take a look at the new contour graphics in the 3D Graphics window. 1. Bring the 3D Graphics window to the front.

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Can You Visualize Communications Contours and Beam Patterns in 2D and 3D?

2. Right-click on Sentry_AWACS2 ( ) in the Object Browser. 3. Select Zoom To to make Sentry_AWACS2 ( ) the focal point in the 3D Graphics window. 4. Mouse around in the 3D Graphics window to get a better view of Sentry_AWACS2. 5. Zoom Out a bit to see if your aircraft falls within the beam contours.
FIGURE 3. 3D View: 3D View of the contour graphics

Link Budget
Lets check the link budget report to see if your communication quality has improved. 1. 2. 3. 4. Select Multibeam ( ) in the Object Browser. Click the Access tool button ( ) on the STK Tools toolbar. Select both Air_xmits ( ) transmitters. Generate the Link Budget - Beam ID report.

Can your transmitters communicate with your multibeam receiver? Is the quality good? 5. Close the Link Budget - Beam ID report. 6. Close the Report & Graph Manager. 7. Close the Access tool.

Add a Base of Operations


Due to even more overwhelming arms distribution, you have made the decision to add a base of operations in South America. Sentry_AWACS will now transmit directly to a facility in Tulcan. Lets bring in this new base of operations.

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Can You Visualize Communications Contours and Beam Patterns in 2D and 3D?

1. Bring the Insert STK Objects tool ( ) to the front. 2. Select the following:
TABLE 4. Insert the Tulcan facility Option Select an Object To Be Inserted: Select a Method: Value Facility Select From City Database

3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.

Click the Insert... button. Query the City Database to find Tulcan. Click the Search button. Select Tulcan. Click the Insert... button. Close the City Database Search tool.

Add a Receiver to Tulcan


The Tulcan facility has a parabolic receiver with an antenna that will be used to accept transmissions from Sentry_AWACS. Lets model that now. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Attach a receiver ( ) to the Tulcan facility using the Object Catalog. Rename the receiver ParabolicRcv. Open ParabolicRcvs ( ) properties ( ). Select the Basic - Definition page. Set the Model Type to Complex Receiver Model. Click OK on the Select Model window. Keep all other defaults. Click OK to accept the changes to ParabolicRcvs ( ) properties ( ).

Add a Targeted Sensor to Tulcan


You will need to target the receiver towards the aircraft so your communication is better. You can create a sensor and then add an antenna to it. You will then link the receiver you just created to the communication system. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. Attach a sensor ( ) to the Tulcan facility using the Object Catalog. Rename it TulcanSensor. Open TulcanSensors ( ) properties ( ). Select the Basic - Definition page. Set the Cone Angle to one (1) deg. Select the Basic - Pointing tab. Set the Pointing Type to Targeted. Move ( ) the Sentry_AWACS to the Assigned Targets field. Click OK.

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Can You Visualize Communications Contours and Beam Patterns in 2D and 3D?

Tulcan Antenna
You have a Parabolic antenna with a four (4) ft diameter and a backlobe gain of -30 dB. Lets add it to your system. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Select TulcanSensor ( ) in the Object Browser. Attach an Antenna ( ) object using the Object Catalog. Rename it Tulcan_Antenna. Open Tulcan_Antennas ( ) properties ( ). Select the Basic - Definition tab. Set the following options:
TABLE 5. Tulcan Antennas properties Option Type Use Diameter Diameter Antenna Efficiency Backlobe Gain Value Parabolic On 4 ft 55% -30 dB

7. Click OK.

Use the Antenna


You can now link to the Tulcan antenna to the receiver. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Open ParabolicRcvs ( ) properties ( ). Select the Antenna tab. Set the Reference Type to Link. Select Sensor/TulcanSensor/Antenna/Tulcan_Antenna. Click OK to accept the changes made to ParabolicRcv.

Evaluate the Sun in System Noise Temperature


There have been some concerns raised about the sun affecting your communication system in Tulcan. You need to model the sun in your scenario and evaluate if this will be a problem when you do your analysis. You can do this through the following: Setting a system noise temperature characteristic. Monitoring the noise temperature in a data display. Viewing the volume for your Tulcan receiver in the 3D Graphics window. Using the Vector Geometry Tool to create an angle from the sun to the Tulcan facility to the GEO satellite. This angle needs to be greater than two (2) degrees for it to not effect your communications.

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Can You Visualize Communications Contours and Beam Patterns in 2D and 3D?

Lets modify the System Noise Temperature characteristics by enabling the System Noise Temperature. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Open ParabolicRcv ( ) properties ( ). Select the Basic - Definition page. Select the System Noise Temperature page. Enable the Compute option. Enable the Compute Antenna Noise option. Enable the Sun option. Click OK.

Data Display Panel


Air_xmit is downlinking information to the base of operations in Tulcan. You want to use the 3D Graphics Data Display to display the link quality while you animate the scenario.

You need to determine if the satellite can communicate with Tulcan and still have good reception. To do this you will need to find out if the Bit Error Rate (BER) is, at all times, better than 10 -8. One of the features of STK is its ability to monitor parameters in near-realtime. Lets look at how to do this with a Dynamic Display and the 3D Graphics window. In particular, you want to monitor G/T, Eb/No, and BER as they change with time. Lets start by modeling the access link between Tulcan and the aircraft. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. Select the ParabolicRcv ( ) in the Object Browser. Click the Access tool button ( ) on the STK Tools toolbar. Expand the Sentry_AWACS aircraft. Select Air_xmit as the Associated Object. Click the 3D Graphics Displays... button. Click the Add... button. Select the Link Budget - BER report style. Click OK on the Add a Data Display window. Click OK to accept changes on the 3D Graphics Data Display. Click Close to dismiss the Dynamic Display tool.

Play the Animation


1. Reset ( ) the animation. 2. Play ( ) the animation. When does the Eb/No and BER start to change radically? The change in performance is due to the antenna noise temperature being affected by the sun and would cause the communication link to stop.

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Can You Visualize Communications Contours and Beam Patterns in 2D and 3D?

FIGURE 4. 3D View: 3D View of the Sentry_AWACS with Data Display

Custom 3D Views
There are times that you need to have a live view from Tulcan to the aircraft. If this is the case, you can use custom 3D views. Lets take a look at the view from Tulcan to the aircraft. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Bring the 3D Graphics window to the front. Click the View From/To ( ) button. Select the Tulcan facility in the View From panel. Select the Sentry_AWACS satellite in the View To panel. Click OK. Zoom In ( ) and view the location of the sun over your analysis time. Play ( ) the animation.

Does the sun come close to your aircraft?

Show Volume for Beam


Right now you cant see any visualization of the communications from Tulcan in the 3D Graphics window. You can turn on the volume for the beam so you can view it in 3D. 1. 2. 3. 4. Open ParabolicRcvs ( ) properties ( ). Open the 3D Graphics - Attributes page. Enable the Show Volume option. Enter the following Antenna Beam properties:

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Can You Visualize Communications Contours and Beam Patterns in 2D and 3D?

TABLE 6. 3D Graphics volume properties Option Show as Wireframe Gain Scale Set Azimuth and Elevation Resolution Together Azimuth Resolution Elevation Stop Value Disabled 3.5 km Enabled 0.2 deg 15 deg

These changes were made for visualization purposes only to scale the antenna volume graphics to the size of the sun vector.

5. Click OK. Take a look at your 3D Graphics window. Make sure you are viewing Tulcan and notice the 3D Volume for your receiver.

Add Sun Vectors


You want to know the actual angle where Tulcan gets blocked from the downlink. You can determine how far away Tulcan is from the sun in angular distance so that the sun doesnt affect your performance. To do this, you will turn on Tulcans sun vector. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. Open Tulcans ( ) properties ( ). Select the 3D Graphics - Vector page. Enable the Sun Vector. Set the Arrow to Point. Enable Persistence. Set the Duration to 6000 sec. Set the Componet Size Scale to 5.0. Select the 3D Graphics - Model page. Slide the All slider to the right. This will increase the detail thresholds so you can see the sun vector. 10. Click OK.

Play the Animation


1. Reset ( ) the animation. 2. Play ( ) the animation.

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Can You Visualize Communications Contours and Beam Patterns in 2D and 3D?

Notice the different perspectives for illustrating how the sun enters the field of view of the receiver. Also note the G/T and BER values in the dynamic display.

Do you see how the vectors merge together? What is that angle? The animation shows the changes in the angle size between the sun vector and the link vector. 3. Save ( ) your work.

Add Vector
In order to create and show the angle between the Sun and the aircraft (with Tulcan at the vertex), you must first create the vector from Tulcan to the aircraft. Then you will create the angle between the aircraft, Tulcan and the sun. You will do this using the Vector Geometry Tool. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. Open Tulcans ( ) properties ( ). Select the 3D Graphics - Vector page. Click the Add... button. Click the Launch Vector Geometry Tool button. Click the New vector button. Name the Vector To_Sentry_AWACS. Ensure the Type is set to Displacement. Click the Select button under the Origin point. Expand Tulcan. Select Center ( ). Click OK. Click the Select... button under Destination Point. Expand the Sentry_AWACS tree. Expand the Air_xmit tree. Select the Center ( ). Click OK on the Reference Point window. Click OK on the Create Vector window.

Create the Angle


Now that you have created your vector, lets create your custom angle between your To_Sentry_AWACS vector to your Sun vector. 1. Click the Create New Angle... ( ) button in the Vector Geometry Tool. 2. Name the Angle Sun_to_Sentry.

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Can You Visualize Communications Contours and Beam Patterns in 2D and 3D?

3. 4. 5. 6.

Ensure the Type is set to Between Vectors. Click the Select... button in the From Vector field. Select Sun under Tulcan. Click OK.

Select the To Vector


Lets select the second arm of the angle. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Click the Select... button in the To Vector field. Expand the Tulcan facility. Select the Vector_To_Sentry_AWACS. Click OK on the To Vector dialog. Click OK. Click Close. Select the Sun_to_Sentry angle.

Now that you have created the angle, you need to display it in the 3D Graphics window. You will move the angle to be a selected angle for later use. 8. Move ( ) Sun_to_Sentry to the Selected window. 9. Move ( ) the Vector_To_Sentry_AWACS vector to the Selected window. 10. Click OK.

Display the Angle


You have created an angle vector and now want to display them in the 3D Graphics window. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Select the 3D Graphics - Vector page. Ensure the Show option is selected for the Vector_To_Sentry_AWACS angle. Ensure the Show option is selected for the Sun Vector. Ensure the Show option is selected for the Sun_To_Sentry angle. Enable Show Label for the angle. Enable the Show Angle Value (Deg) option for the angle. Change the color to Yellow. Click OK.

Play the Animation


1. Reset ( ) the animation. 2. Play ( ) the animation. Do you see your sun angle? Is the sun angle less than 80 degrees?

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Can You Visualize Communications Contours and Beam Patterns in 2D and 3D?

FIGURE 5. 3D View: 3D View of Sun_To_Sentry angle

Show Volume Graphics


In order to see the vectors and the angles better, you will need to disable the Show Volume on the parabolic receiver on Tulcan. 1. Open ParabolicRcvs ( ) properties ( ). 2. Select the 3D Graphics - Attributes page. 3. Disable Show Volume in the Volume Graphics field. In viewing your results, you can see that the angle between the Tulcan-Sun vector and the Tulcan-Sentry vector is greater than two (2) degrees at all times. This shows that the sun will not affect the signal between Tulcan and the Sentry.

Save Your Work


1. Save ( ) your work. 2. Leave the scenario ( ) open. 3. Leave STK open( ).

Viewer Exercise
Now you want to present your findings to headquarters in Washington D.C. To do this, you will use AGI Viewer. AGI Viewer is free application that offers anyone a full understanding of complex STK analyses and mission studies through an interactive environment in 4D. This product allows users to control animations, select preset viewpoints and camera paths, and record movies. To enhance reports and presentations, AGI Viewer can also be embedded as an ActiveX control in any Microsoft COM-compliant application such as Microsoft PowerPoint, Word, or Excel. AGI Viewer is now even

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Can You Visualize Communications Contours and Beam Patterns in 2D and 3D?

more powerful. You can publish your STK scenarios with multiple 3D windows and include user-defined STK reports. Viewer users can also manage their globe, add new geospatial content, and save their changes. 1. Extend the File menu in your STK scenario. 2. Select VDF Setup. 3. Ensure Minimal VDF is disabled.

Add the Plugins


By default, AGI Viewer will not include the custom plugins. You will need to tell Viewer to use them. 1. Click the Details/Add Custom Files... button. 2. Click Add. 3. Browse to the location of your plugins. (Typically C:\Training\Comm\Intro2Comms\Plugins) 4. Click Open. 5. Click OK on the Authoring a VDF Details window.

Save As a VDF
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Extend the File menu in your STK scenario. Select Save As. Set the Type to VDF. Name the VDF Visualizing_Comm.vdf. Click Save.

View Your Scenario in Viewer


You have created a Viewer Data File, lets look at that. 1. Locate your saved viewer file. 2. Double-click it to open it in Viewer. 3. Play ( ) the animation and view all of the options in the Viewer file.

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Can You Visualize Communications Contours and Beam Patterns in 2D and 3D?

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Can the Environment Affect Your Communication System?

In this exercise, you are going to go over the environmental options in the STK/Communications module. You will look at the rain loss models and gaseous absorption loss modules available in STK. You will also look at their impact on system temperature and how you model system temperature in STK. All of these environmental options and the effect of terrain will be tested to see their impact on your communication system. Upon completion, you will be able to:

Use and modify the STK rain models. Use and modify the STK gaseous absorption models. Change and model system temperatures in STK. Model effects of local terrain on communication systems with the use of TIREM.

Can the Environment Affect Your Communication System?

Problem Statement
You are tracking the distribution of arms in South America. Your headquarters in Washington D.C. needs the data collected by the aircraft scanning the South America regions, but it is currently raining in D.C. and Tulcan, South America (two key points in your communication system). Another problem is Tulcan is surrounded by mountains, which may affect the communication between the aircraft.

Break it Down
You have some information that may be helpful. Heres what you know: Review the rain models available in STK and apply the ITU-R P.618-9 model to your analysis. Review the Atmospheric Absorption models available in STK and apply the ITUR P.676-5 model. You need to use terrain to analytically and visually determine the effects it might have on your communication system. Your aircrafts communication system will use custom plugins to model rain and atmosphere conditions.

Solution
Use STK/Communications to account for any communication loss due to enviromental effects or terrain impacts on your communication system.
FIGURE 1. Tulcan to AWACS to S_AmGEO to DC Comm Link

The communication link is being sent from Sentry_AWACS to S_AmGEO first. Then the communication link is sent from the S_AmGEO to your headquarters in Washington where the link is being affected by the astmospheric models. You will model the effects of atmosphere on the downlink. We will evaluate these effects by applying the ITU, Plugin, and TIREM to different links.

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Can the Environment Affect Your Communication System?

Model the World!


A previously developed scenario that models and analyzes the communications used in the South American system is available to you. The Visualizing_Comm scenario analyzes the communications used in the South American system over the same time period in the same area. 1. Open the Visualizing_Comm scenario if it is not already.
If you do not have the Visualizing_Comm scenario, you can open a VDF version of the completed scenario at C:\Training\Comm\Intro2Comms\Scenarios.

Before you make any more changes to the scenario, save it with a different name to preserve the integrity of the previously developed analysis. 2. Save ( ) the new scenario in the default user directory (C:\My Documents\STK 9). In doing so, create a unique folder and rename the new folder and the scenario file (*.sc) Comm_Enviroment.

Theory
A number of environmental factors can affect the performance of a communications link or a radar system. STKs Communication and Radar modules allow users to model rain fade, gaseous absorption, clouds and fog, tropospheric scintillation, and analyze the results on their communications system. A scenarios Environment properties page (a subset of RF properties) enable you to apply these models to your analyses. When enabled, the models will affect all RF phenomena in the scenario except where overridden or varied locally.

Create a Link Budget


Lets take a look at a link budget report without taking into account the atmospheric loss. This will represent the best case scenario for your communications link between your Washington D.C. receiver and your satellites transmitters. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Select DC_ComplexRcv ( ) in the Object Browser. Click the Access tool button ( ) on the STK Tools toolbar. Select GEO_xmit ( ) in the Associated Objects field. Click the Report & Graph Manager button. Select the Link Budget - Detailed report. Click the Generate... button.

What is the free space loss? You will notice that the Link Budget - Detailed report shows no effect from rain or atmosphere because these models are not currently enabled.

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Can the Environment Affect Your Communication System?

Add a Rain Model


Rain models are used to estimate the amount of degradation (or fading) of the signal when passing through rain. The degradation is primarily due to absorption by the water molecules and is a function of frequency and elevation angle. Generally speaking, the rain loss will increase with increasing frequency. The loss will also increase with decreasing ground elevation angle due to a greater path distance through the portion of the atmosphere where rain occurs. The rain will also cause an increase in the antenna noise temperature. The rain models used in the Comm and Radar modules are global annual statistical models. The annual rainfall rate and probability of the rate for a particular location are determined from historical measurements. In general, the world is divided up into different rain regions, each with its associate rainfall rates and probabilities. Lets take a look at the different rain models: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Open Comm_Enviroments ( ) properties ( ). Select the RF- Environment page. Enable the Use option in the Rain Model field. Ensure the Rain Model is ITU-R P.618-9. Click OK.

This ITU model is represenative of satellite to ground rain and atmospheric losses. They are also widely used by the communications industry. Other atmospheric models apply to lower altitude platforms. You will see various Rain Types. Table 1. Rain models explains the various rain models.
TABLE 1. Rain models Type Crane 1982 Crane 1985 CCIR 1983 Description This is the original rain model used in earlier versions of the Communications and Radar Modules and is maintained for backwards compatibility. The latest version of the Crane rain model. The original CCIR (now ITU-R) rain model used in earlier versions of the Communications and Radar modules. Maintained for backwards compatibility. An ITU rain model based on ITU recommendation ITUR P.618. An ITU rain model based on the most recent revision of ITU recommendation ITU-R P.618. The ITU-R rain model continues to require input of only one user parameter, surface temperature. This model supersedes both ITU-R P.618.5 and ITU-R P.619.9 A rain model based on a user-supplied plugin script.

ITU-R P.618-5

ITU-R P.618-9

Plugin Rain Model

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Can the Environment Affect Your Communication System?

Rain Model
Users in the United States have traditionally used the Crane rain model (1985 version), but the ITU (International Telecommunications Union) model is equally valid. AGI recommends that you identify which rain models are necessary for your particular analysis or for yielding results comparable to those produced by other analyses. When you select the Rain Model option in the scenarios Environment page, rain model parameters can also be further set in the Receiver model page or the radar System page. Outage values and range are now rain model-dependent. If the Rain Model is not selected at the scenario level, these parameters are grayed out. To include the rain margin as part of your RF analysis, turn the Use Rain Model option on, then you can select the desired annual outage figure. All calculations will then include the appropriate rain margin values based on the frequency, elevation angle, and location of the ground segment. STK also includes the rain noise contribution in the calculation if the Rain option is selected as part of the System Temperature calculation.
If both transmitter and receiver are located above the rain height threshold, the rain loss is zero. Rain loss is computed for objects on the ground and for aircraft below the specified rain height.

Add Rain Outage to DC Receiver


While rain model usage is controlled by the receiver, the receiver does not need to be on the ground as long as the transmitter is. The rain margin values can be examined by generating a Link Budget - Detailed report. 1. Bring DC_ComplexRcvs ( ) properties ( ) to the front. 2. Select the Basic - Definition page. 3. Set the Outage Percent to 0.1%. If you need your communication system available 99.9% of the time, you need to set the outage percentage to 0.1%. 4. Click OK. 5. Refresh the Link Budget report. 6. Answer the following question: What is your rain loss? What is the degradation in BER?

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Increase the Rain Outage


1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Open DC_ComplexRcvs ( ) properties ( ). Select .001 for the Rain Outage. Click OK. Refresh the Link Budget report. Answer the following questions:

What is your rain loss? What is the degradation in BER? Notice the greater rain loss (~-0.49 dB) due to meeting a higher link availability (99.999%). Also notice the trend in increasing rain loss due to increasing link availability (or decreasing rain outage).

Atmospheric Absorption Models


Lets determine the effect of atmosphere on your communication system. You will use the ITU-R P.676-5 model. 1. 2. 3. 4. Open Comm_Enviroments ( ) properties ( ). Select the RF-Environment page. Enable the Use option in the Atmospheric Absorption Model field. Select the ITU-R P.676-5 model.

You will see various Absorption Model. Table 2. Atmospheric absorption models explains the various atmospheric models.
TABLE 2. Atmospheric absorption models Model Simple Satcom Description This is the original model used in the Communications and Radar modules for gaseous absorption. The maximum height for this model is 50 km. This model implements a recommendation of the ITU. Included here for backwards compatibility. This model implements the latest update to the ITU-R atmospheric absorption loss model. It continues to support the options for the fast approximate model and the seasonal/regional atmospheric model. The maximum height for this model is 100km. The Terrain Integrated Rough Earth Model (TIREM) adds fidelity to the calculation and dynamic modeling of point-to-point line-of-sight effects of irregular terrain, sea water, and non-line-of-sight effects. Among other things, ITREM predicts radio frequency propagation loss over irregular terrain and seawater. The maximum height for these models is 30 km.

ITU-R P676-3

ITU-R 676-5

TIREM 3.10/TIREM 3.16 (developed by business partner Alion Science and Technology)

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Can the Environment Affect Your Communication System?

TABLE 2. Atmospheric absorption models Model Plugin Atmos Absorption Description A gaseous absorption model based on a user-supplied plugin script. This propagation model is applicable to short-range and low antenna heights for the transmitter and the receiver antennas.

Two Ray (Fourth Power Law)

5. Click OK. 6. Refresh your Link Budget - Detailed report. 7. Answer the following question: What is your atmospheric loss? The Simple Satcom Gaseous Absorption Model is the original model used in STK/ Communications and STK/Radar for gaseous absorption. The maximum height for this model is 50 km. The Surface values are used when calculating the gaseous absorption attenuation. This model requires that one end of the link be above the atmosphere.
The surface values are set at the scenario level can be overridden using local values set in the individual facility, target, or vehicle RF Atmosphere properties.

The ITU model performs ray tracing on a propagation path. The intervening atmosphere is broken up into concentric shells and a number of line segments are computed within each shell along the propagation path. The specific attenuation along each segment is computed and multiplied by the length of the segment. Finally, each segment is summed to arrive at a total attenuation value. The ITU recommendation specifies two different atmosphere models and two different specific attenuation calculations, which are controlled via the following options:
TABLE 3. Attenuation calculations Option Description If selected, an empirical curve-fit model valid over the frequency range 1-350 GHz is used. Otherwise, a highly accurate physics-based model which accounts for the effects of each constituent spectral line (1-1000 GHz) is used. If selected, a season and latitude-dependent model is used. Otherwise a global reference atmosphere model is used. ITU-R P.676-3 only. This field lets you control the resolution of the ray trace by specifying the attitude difference between concentric shells.

Use Fast Approx. Method

Use Seasonal/Regional Model

Ray Trace Delta Altitude

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Can the Environment Affect Your Communication System?

Modeling Temperature
Your antenna equipment operates at a particular temperature level. Any temperature above this will cause noise interference. This noise will affect the signal to noise ratio of your communication link. Lets account for this now. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Open DC_ComplexRcvs ( ) properties ( ). Select the Basic - Definition page. Ensure the Use Rain Model option is enabled. Select the System Noise Temperature tab. Set the Noise Temperature to the following values:
TABLE 4. Noise temperature values Option Compute System Temperature Compute Antenna Noise Atmosphere Rain Value Enabled Enabled Enabled Enabled

6. Leave all other defaults. 7. Click OK. The system temperature is calculated from the Receiver Noise Figure, the Transmission Line Loss, the Transmission Line Temperature and contributions from the Sun, the atmosphere, rain, and other sources. 8. Refresh the Link Budget report to see how the rain and the atmosphere contributes to the system temperature and signal quality. What is your atmospheric component of the system temperature? What is the rain component of the system temperature?

Other Environmental Models


There are a few other environmental models that can be used by STK. However in this scenario, we are not going to use them. Take a look at them with your instructor.

Cloud and Fog


For this scenario, you are using a rain model. The cloud and fog model is unavailable when the rain model is being used. This cloud and fog model implements: Cloud Ceiling Layer Thickness Cloud Temperature Liquid Water Density Water Content

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Tropospheric Scintillation
This part of the ITU-R P.618-8 model takes account of the rapid fluctuations of the signal due to tropospheric scintillation fade. Users are also given the option to compute deep fade. To use the tropospheric scintillation model, select Use under Tropospheric Scintillation Model and, if desired, select the Compute Deep Fade option. Enter the Tropospheric Fade Outage (percentage); STK will compute the loss in dB that will occur for the percentage time not exceeding the specified limit. The other parameter required is the Percent Time Refractivity Gradient < -100 N Units/Km. This information can be obtained from the ITU-R P.453-8 recommendation. Currently, this information is not available electronically and needs to be entered manually from the ITU charts.
The Tropospheric Scintillation model is based on modeling RF energy in a beam with a certain beam width. Since Dipole antennas are omni-directional and do not provide a beam width, a standard dish antenna with 1.0 meter diameter and 70% efficiency is assumed for computing scintillation loss only. This does not impact link budget computations, which are still carried out for a dipole antenna selected as the system model.

In addition to analyzing the effects using an ITU model or standard catalog, we can also model the rain effect through a plugin. Lets use the VB_RainLossModel plugin and VB_AbsorpModel.vbs while evaluating the S_AmGEO/Multibeam and the SentryAWACS/ Air_Xmit link budget.

Rain Model Plugin


In addition to analyzing the effects using an ITU model or standard catalog, we can also model the rain effect through a plugin. Lets use the VB_RainLossModel plugin while evaluating the S_AmGEO/multibeam and the Sentry_AWACS/Air_xmit. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Open Comm_Enviroments ( ) properties ( ). Select the RF - Enviroment page. Select the Rain Model field. Click the button. Select the Script Plugin. Browse to C:\Training\Comm\Intro2Comms\Plugins. Open the VB_RainLossModel.vbs file in Textpad or Wordpad. Locate the section that reads:

loss = 1/20

9. Do not save your plugin. 10. Select the VB_RainLossModel.vbs file. 11. Click Open.

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Can the Environment Affect Your Communication System?

Atmospheric Absorption Plugin


You want to model the link between the satellite and the AWACS aircraft transmitter while utilizing an atmospheric plugin. You have received a plugin that accurately models the atmospheric conditions in your exact location. Lets use that. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Select the Atmospheric Absorption Model page. Click the button. Select the Script Plugin. Browse to C:\Training\Comm\Intro2Comms\Plugins Open the VB_AbsorpModel.vbs file in Textpad or Wordpad. Locate the section that reads:

AbsLoss - LFS/10.0

You will notice that atmospheric loss is one tenth of free space loss. You should see this loss reflected in your link budget report. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. Do not save your plugin. Close Textpad. Select the VB_AbsorpModel.vbs file. Click Open. Click OK on the Comm_Enviroments ( ) properties ( ).

Add Rain Outage to Receiver


You want to make sure the link from the Multibeam is available when it rains 99.9% of the time. You need to enable the Multibeam receiver model to calculate using the rain model option to 99.9% (0.1% rain availability). 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Open Multibeams ( ) properties ( ). Select the Model Specs tab. Enable the Use Rain Model option. Select 0.1% rain outage (99.9% link availability). Click Open. Click OK.

Link Budget Analysis


Now that you have taken into effect all the environmental constants. Lets see how they effect signal quality on the uplink from the aircraft to the satellite receiver. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Right-click on Multibeam ( ) in the Object Browser. Click the Access Tool button ( ) on the STK Tools toolbar. Expand Sentry_AWACS ( ). Select the Air_xmit ( ) as the Associated Object. Click the Report & Graph Manager ( ) button.

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6. Expand the Installed Styles directory. 7. Select the Link Budget - Detailed report. 8. Click the Generate... button. Notice that the rain loss is -0.05 dB and the Atmos Loss is 1/10 of Free Space Loss as computed from the VBScript.

View Terrain in 3D Graphics Window


STK works with several sources of terrain data. When used with STK, terrain exploits sophisticated multi-dimensional interpolation algorithms to provide accurate 360 degree azimuth-elevation masks for access calculations from any point on the Earths surface. These algorithms also provide altitude information for user defined facilities and ground based targets. Terrain allows a vivid 3D visual depiction of the Earths true surface relief and analysis on its effect on accesses and visibility. 1. Select the 3D Graphics window. 2. Open the Globe Manager ( ) if it is not already. The Globe Manager is used to create a profile for a globe in the 3D Graphics window by applying and managing world background textures (.wtm), image inlays (.jp2 &.pdttx), terrain inlays (.pdtt), specular textures (.wtm) and night light textures (.wtm) from multiple sources, both local and external, including AGI Globeserver, to create a globe profile. Profile items can then be set to be displayed or hidden in the 3D Graphics window and organized into sets which can be turned on and off in the 3D Graphics window. Using the Globe Manager you can display different globe features in different 3D Graphics windows and display different aspects of a scenario globe in multiple 3D Graphics windows. Each 3D Graphics window has its own globe profile that can be edited independently. You will now bring in your terrain and imagery of the region. The terrain and imagery has been created for you. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. Click the Add Terrain/Imagery ( ) button. Click the button to browse to the terrain location. Browse to C:\Training\Comm\Comm2Intros\Terrain_Imagery. Select SouthAmerica.jp2. Select SouthAmerica.pdtt. Click Open. Click OK.

This JP2 file has been previously created for you, but STK can convert terrain and imagery, if you had needed to create the file.

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Zoom To It!
Before we move on, lets take a closer look at the imagery in the 3D Graphics window. The Globe Manager includes a Zoom To option that will quickly focus your 3D Graphics window on a selected piece of terrain or imagery. 1. 2. 3. 4. Bring the Globe Manager ( ) to the front. Right-click SouthAmerica.jp2 ( ). Select the Zoom To ( ) option. Mouse around and view the terrain from various angles.
FIGURE 2. 3D View: View of South America.jp2 in 3D

Can you notice the changes the file has made in the 3D Graphics window?

Adding TIREM
Tulcan resides in a mountainous region. You need to model the effects of terrain on your communication system. To do this, you will use TIREM. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Open Comm_Enviroments ( ) properties ( ). Select the Basic - Terrain page. Enable the Use option on SouthAmerican.pdtt. Enable the Use Terrain option. Select the RF - Environment page. Enable the Atmospheric Absorption Model option. Click the button. Select the TIREM 3.20 model.

The TIREM (Terrain Integrated Rough Earth Model) extension is available for STK/Communications and STK/Radar. The TIREM extension allows STK/ Communications to predict radio frequency propagation loss over irregular terrain and seawater for ground-based and air-borne transmitters and receivers. The TIREM extension incorporates the commercial TIREM propagation tool, which is the de facto propagation tool for the United States Federal Government. TIREM is used in hundreds of modeling and simulation (M&S) tools and tactical military radios for the Department of Defense. 9. Click OK on the Select AtmosAbsorptionModel.

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10. Click Apply on Comm_Enviroments ( ) properties ( ).

Set the Antenna Height


The antenna attached to the Tulcan facility is located on the roof. You need to tell STK this. To do it, you need to set the height above ground. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Open Tulcans ( ) properties ( ). Select the Basic - Position page. Enable the Use Terrain Data option. Set the Height Above Ground to 0.0045 km. Click OK.

Link Budget Between Tulcan Rcv and Air Xmit


Lets create a detailed link budget report between Tulcans receiver (ParabolicRcv) and the aircraft transmitter (Air_Xmit) to show the effects of adding the TIREM loss. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Right-click on ParabolicRcv ( ) in the Object Browser. Click the Access Tool button ( ) on the STK Tools toolbar. Expand Sentry_AWACS ( ). Select the Air_xmit ( ) as the Associated Object. Click the Report & Graph Manager ( ) button. Expand the Installed Styles directory. Select the Link Budget - Detailed report. Click the Generate... button.

The TIREM losses show up in the atmospheric loss (atmos loss) and antenna noise temperature due to atmosphere (Tatmos) columns in the Link Budget - Detailed report.

Get a Better Look


1. Right-click on Tulcan ( ) in the Object Browser. 2. Select the Zoom To option. 3. Mouse around and view Tulcan.

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FIGURE 3. 3D View: Tulcan Above Terrain

Clear the Plugin


You do not want the residual effects of the plugin affecting your analysis. Lets remove them. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Open Comm_Enviroments ( ) properties ( ). Select the RF - Environment page. Set the Rain Model Type to ITU-R P618-9. Set the Atmospheric Absorption Type to ITU-R P676-5. Click Apply.

Save Your Work


1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Close the remaining reports. Close the Report & Graph Manager. Close the Access tool. Save ( ) your work. Leave the scenario ( ) open. Leave STK open( ).

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Which Military Base Is In the Best Location to Accept Communication Data?

In this exercise, you want to send data to various locations across the United States from South America. Upon completion, you will be able to:

Set up a communications scenario with a ground station and GEO satellite. Use STK/Coverage to evaluate system performance over a region.

Which Military Base Is In the Best Location to Accept Communication Data?

Problem Statement
You have been watching the sale of arms in South America. You have two aircraft surveilling the areas and relaying the information they find to headquarters in Washington DC. Washington DC has decided to send the raw information collected from the aircraft to a few military bases throughout the United States. The military bases need to evaluate the data to determine if more aircraft are needed to monitor other locations. The military bases include the following: Edwards AFB (California) Eglin AFB (Florida) Fort Huachuca (Arizona) McChord AFB (Washington) Peterson AFB (Colorado) Vandenberg AFB (California)

In this scenario, you are going to use the DC_ComplexRcv in Washington, D.C. as a template receiver. Using DC_ComplexRcv you can evaluate the Eb/No for other locations in the continental United States. We will do this using the coverage module. Then you can evaluate the effectiveness of the other potential sites.

Break it Down
You have some information that may be helpful. Heres what you know: You are interested in sending information to a few military bases around the United States. Due to the location of some of your military bases, you need to look at their atmospheric effects. You will assume that the DC_ComplexRcv is a template receiver for other locations (same properties). You need to determine the communication feasibility of South American sending these other locations data.

Solution
Use STK/Coverage to determine if Washington will be able to send the raw data to each of the military bases around the United States. You will use this information to determine the best location, based on the best and strongest communication signal, to send the data you have collected.

Model the World!


Previously, you modeled and analyzed atmospheric conditions and their effect on communication links in South America. The Comm_Environment scenario set up your

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Which Military Base Is In the Best Location to Accept Communication Data?

conditions in South America and provided a model of your communication system. You can use that as your starting point. There is no need to change any of the scenario level properties, but you will need to save the scenario with a different name to preserve the integrity of the previously developed analysis. 1. Open the Comm_Environment scenario if it is not already.
If you do not have the Comm_Environment scenario, you can open a VDF version of the completed scenario at C:\Training\Comm\Intro2Comms\Scenarios.

Before you make any more changes to the scenario, save it with a different name to preserve the integrity of the previously developed analysis. 2. Save ( ) the new scenario in the default user directory (C:\My Documents\STK 9). In doing so, create a unique folder and rename the new folder and the scenario file (*.sc) Comm_Coverage.

Theory
Coverage analyses are based on the accessibility of assets (objects that provide coverage) and geographical areas. For analyses purposes, the geographical areas of interest are further refined using regions and points. Points have specific geographical locations and are used in the computation of asset availability. Regions are closed boundaries that contain points. Accessibility to a region is computed based on accessibility to the points within that region. The combination of the geographical area, the regions within that area, and the points within each region is called the coverage grid.

What is Coverage?
The STK/Coverage module allows you to analyze the global or regional coverage provided by one or more assets (facilities, vehicles, sensors, etc.) while considering all access constraints. Specific results are generated based on detailed access computations performed to user-defined grid points within an area of coverage. Using STK/Coverage you can: Define areas of interest Define coverage assets (satellites, ground facilities, etc.) Define the time period of interest Determine and report measures of coverage quality

STK/Coverage provides the necessary tools, but you have some work to do too. Lets

get started.

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Which Military Base Is In the Best Location to Accept Communication Data?

Clean Up the Scenario


Currently, you have rain and atmosphere models set for South America and Washington D.C. This will slow down coverage calculations unnecessarily. You can analyze these after your initial coverage calculations, if you choose. Lets remove the rain and atmosphere models. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Open Comm_Coverages ( ) properties ( ). Select the RF - Environment page. Disable the Rain Model option. Disable the Atmospheric Absorption model. Click OK.

Narrow Your Focus


Take a look back at Break it Down on page 1-94. You are interested in military bases around the continental United States. Lets narrow the focus to just the United States.

2D Graphics Window Coverage


Before you begin to visually define your analysis area, lets remove all the images that you dont want cluttering up the 2D Graphics window. Any background images might make the coverage contours harder to see. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Open the 2D Graphics window properties ( ). Select the Details page. Disable the Image option in the Background area. Enable the Provincial borders. Click OK.

This will give you a nice black background on which to show your coverage results.

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Which Military Base Is In the Best Location to Accept Communication Data?

FIGURE 1. 2D View: 2D Map with only borders and outlines

Get a Better Look


1. Bring the 2D Graphics window to the front. 2. Zoom In ( ) around the continental United States.

Define Coverage
You have previously looked at the Eb/No and BER for a single city (Washington, DC) in the United States. Now you want to know these parameters for the entire country.

Insert Facility
Lets bring the Airforce locations into your scenario. 1. Open the Insert STK Object Tool ( ). 2. Use the Facility Database ( ) method to insert facilities ( ) representing your Airforce facilities. 3. Using the Facility Database, insert the following facilities: Edwards AFB Eglin AFB Fort Huachuca Vandenberg AFB

4. Close the Facility Database tool when finished.

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Which Military Base Is In the Best Location to Accept Communication Data?

Insert Peterson and McChord


McChord and Peterson Airforce bases are not in the Facility Database tool. Lets manually put them into your scenario. 1. Bring the Insert STK Object tool ( ) to the front. 2. Select the following:
TABLE 1. Create Peterson AFB Option Select an Object To Be Inserted: Select a Method: Value Facility Define Properties

3. Click the Insert... button. 4. Select the Basic - Position page. 5. Set the following coordinates:
TABLE 2. Peterson AFB coordinates Option Latitude Longitude Value 38.80 deg -104.70 deg

6. Click OK. 7. Rename the facility Peterson.

Insert McChord
You still need to insert McChord Airforce base. 1. Bring the Insert STK Object tool ( ) to the front. 2. Select the following:
TABLE 3. Create McChord Option Select an Object To Be Inserted: Select a Method: Value Facility Define Properties

3. Click the Insert... button. 4. Select the Basic - Position page. 5. Set the following coordinates:
TABLE 4. McChord coordinates Option Latitude Longitude Value 47.14 deg -122.50 deg

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Which Military Base Is In the Best Location to Accept Communication Data?

6. Click OK. 7. Rename the facility McChord.

Coverage Definition
To determine the Eb/No over the US_Area, you are going to analyze the coverage in the US. You need to tell STK to use the US area as your region-of-interest. Use a coverage definition object to define an analytical area that will limit itself to user defined boundaries. A coverage definition object is defined by: Selecting the area(s) of interest Identifying the assets that may provide coverage to those areas Setting the time period over which coverage statistics are to be analyzed Once the coverage definition object is defined, access periods to the coverage area can be computed to determine the availability of an asset or set of assets that satisfy all geometric, lighting, temporal and other user-specified constraints within that area. Lets create the coverage objects in the scenario. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. Select Comm_Coverage ( ) in the Object Browser. Insert a Coverage Definition ( ) object using the Object Catalog. Rename it US_Coverage. Open US_Coverages ( ) properties ( ). Select the Basic - Grid page. Set the Grid Definition Bounds Type to Latitude Bounds. Enable the Custom Locations option. Click the Specify... button. Browse to C:\Training\Comm\Intro2Comms\ExtraFiles. Select the Comm_Coverage.pnt file. Click OK on the Point File list. Set the Point Granularity to two (2) degrees using Lat./Lon.

A point shape file only looks at coverage at certain points. You are only interested in the Airforce and Army bases that need the surveillance data. You can show the coverage across the entire US, but you want to show only relevant contours around these locations. This will also improve performance since there are only six or seven coverage points. Point Granularity determines the location of grid coordinates by applying the value entered in the text box to the right of the field at the equator. STK stretches grid points in longitude at higher or lower latitudes in an attempt to preserve the area of the grid point.

Associate Class for Analysis


Once you have defined the grid area, you can specify an object class or a specific object to be applied at each grid point. This means that each grid point can take on the properties of an associated object.

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Which Military Base Is In the Best Location to Accept Communication Data?

The object can be used to associate three types of information with the grid points: access constraints, basic object properties, and the shape of the ellipsoidal obstruction surface used by the Line Of Sight constraint. By default, the grid points are located on the surface of the CoverageDefinition's central body and accesses to grid points are constrained to a line of sight not obstructed by the central body. If you select an object, the constraints set for the object are also used by all the points within the grid. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Click the Grid Constraint Options... button. Change the Reference Constraint Class to Receiver. Select the Washington/DC_ComplexRcv receiver. Click OK. Click Apply.

You have now applied the receivers properties to each grid point in your coverage.

Choosing Assets to Provide Coverage


The asset properties allow you to specify the STK objects used to provide coverage. The asset you are interested in is the GEO_xmit transmitter attached to the S_AmGEO satellite. 1. 2. 3. 4. Bring the Coverage Definition properties to the front. Select the Basic - Assets page. Select the S_AmGEO/GEO_xmit transmitter. Click the Assign button. An asterisk (*) should appear next to the transmitter and the Status will read Active.

Set the Contour Colors


Before you calculate the coverage, lets set the color for the static graphics that will display on the 2D and 3D Graphics windows. The static graphics display coverage data for all points based on evaluation over the entire coverage interval. 1. Select the 2D Graphics - Attributes page. 2. Ensure the Static Graphics color is blue. 3. Click OK.

Compute Coverage
You are now ready to compute coverage to determine the Eb/No quality for the CoverageDefinition. 1. Right-click on the US_Coverage ( ) in the Object Browser. 2. Extend the CoverageDefinition menu. 3. Select Compute Accesses.

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Which Military Base Is In the Best Location to Accept Communication Data?

A progress window, along with graphics on the map, will appear showing the progress of the access computation.

Figure of Merit
You can evaluate the quality of coverage for an area by creating one or several figure of merit objects attached to the coverage definition of object. The figure of merit object allows you to evaluate the quality of coverage provided by the selected set of assets (defined for the coverage definition object) over the coverage area. The coverage definition defines the problem while any figures of merit provide methods for summarizing and viewing the resultant data. To evaluate coverage quality, you will first need to set basic parameters that determine the way in which quality is computed. This involves choosing the method for evaluating the quality of coverage provided, setting measurement options and identifying the criterion needed to achieve satisfactory coverage. 1. Select US_Coverage ( ) in the Object Browser. 2. Insert a Figure of Merit ( ) object using the Object Catalog. 3. Rename the Figure of Merit Eb_No.

Set the Access Constraint


By default, a figure of merit will use simple coverage to determine if the transmitter has access to all of the military bases across the United States. But you still need to qualify the coverage with an access constraint. 1. 2. 3. 4. Open the Eb_Nos ( ) properties ( ). Select the Basic - Definition page. Select Access Constraint as the Definition Type. Enter the following values:
TABLE 5. Eb_Nos properties Option Constraints Across Assets Compute Timestep Value Eb/No Maximum Average 60.00

5. Click OK.

Determine Range of Data Values


Lets take a look at the range of values of Eb/No for your coverage sites. This data will also come in handy later to determine the start and stop values of your contours

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Which Military Base Is In the Best Location to Accept Communication Data?

for the output display on the 2D Graphics window. To do this, you will run a Grid Stats report to give you an appropriate range in value. 1. 2. 3. 4. Right-click Eb_No ( ) in the Object Browser. Open the Report & Graph Manager ( ). Select the Grid Stats report. Click the Generate... button.

This will give you the minimum and maximum values for the contours of the FOM. 5. Take a note of the minimum and maximum values.

Viewing Results in the 2D Window


You want to display the Coverage in the 2D Graphics window. You also want it to focus on the Eb/No values. Lets set the contours of Eb/No so they will display in the 2D Graphics window. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Open the Eb_Nos ( ) properties ( ). Select the 2D Graphics - Contours page. Enable the Show Static Graphics option. Set the Level Adding method to Start, Stop, Step. Set the following options:
TABLE 6. Static graphic options Option Start Value Stop Value Step Field Value Enter the Minimum Contour value from the Grid Stats report. Enter the Maximum Contour value from the Grid Stats report. 5 db

6. Click the Add Levels button. 7. Set the following options:


TABLE 7. Static graphics color properties Option Color Method Start Color Stop Color Value Color Ramp Red Blue

8. Click OK. 9. Bring the 2D Graphics window to the front so you can view the color-coded contours. 10. Zoom In around the various sites to see their contours.

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Which Military Base Is In the Best Location to Accept Communication Data?

There is quite a range in performance as you travel West and North. This range is from the boresight intersection of the satellite transmit antenna. Blue represents the high Eb/No (50 dB). Light green represents the low Eb/No (10 dB).

Create a legend
A legend will help you determine which contour colors are acceptable for the Eb/No values. 1. 2. 3. 4. Open the Eb_Nos ( ) properties ( ). Select the 2D Graphics - Contours page. Click the Legend button. Click OK.

You will notice that a few of the military sites are not getting the best Eb/No values. The legend only gives you a general idea of the values. What if you want a specific Eb/No value for each site? You can use the Grid Inspector Tool.

Find the Best Place


What would be the best military base to send the raw data? You can use the Grid Inspector tool to figure this out. 1. Bring the 2D Graphics window to the front. Take a look at the color-coded contours with the RF environment activated. 2. Right-click Eb/No ( ) in the Object Browser. 3. Extend the FigureofMerit menu. 4. Select the Grid Inspector tool. The Grid Inspector tool enables you to focus more closely on a region or point within a coverage grid, furthering your analysis efforts. 5. Click any military base to take a look at the average Eb/No value. You are looking for an Eb/No value greater than 11 dB. Any base operating within a green-blue region will show this. Which military base is the best to send the data? 6. Close the Grid Inspector tool.

Atmospheric Effects
You have some facilities in varying climates. You need to take atmosphere into consideration to determine its effect on the communication link. 1. Open Comm_Coverages ( ) properties ( ).

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Which Military Base Is In the Best Location to Accept Communication Data?

2. Select the RF - Environment page. 3. Enter the following parameters:


TABLE 8. Atmospheric properties Option Use Rain Model Type Surface Temperature Use Atmospheric Absorption Model Value Enabled ITU-R P.618-8 273.15 K Enabled

4. Click OK.

Get a Better Look


1. Bring the 2D Graphics window to the front. 2. Reposition the view so that United_States is the focal point in the 2D Graphics window. You notice that some of the airforce bases are operating in a poor BER. What can you do about that? One way is to increase the power of the transmitter.

Increase the Gain of the Transmitter


Due to the position of some of the military bases, they have poor signal quality. You might have to enhance the power of the transmitter. Lets try that and see if that helps the quality of the communication link. 1. Open GEO_xmits ( ) properties ( ). 2. Set the Power to 40 dBW. 3. Click OK. Besides Washington DC, what base would be the best option to receive the data?

Save Your Work


1. Save ( ) your work. 2. Close the scenario ( ). 3. Close STK ( ).

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