EN 4520 Microwave Communication Experiment 02 Terrestrial Microwave Transmission Link

Group: 03 Date of Sub: 2010.10.20 Group Members:

070094C - Deshapriya, K.K.V.V.C. 070100U - Dharmasiri, B.K.G.S.R. 070107X - Dilhari, U.D.C. 070110B - Dissanayake, D.M.G.N. 070113L - Dissanayake, K.D.M.K. 070118G - Ekanayaka, E.M.K.U.B. 070120F - Ellawala, N.M.

Introduction

In todays communication systems we can often see the use of microwave communication links. These microwave communication links are used to communicate data within line of sight range. So there should be two antennas at the receiver and the transmitter stations which are established according to line of sight methodology in order to have a proper microwave communication system. So in this practical we need to establish a terrestrial microwave transmission link which is a small scale on but can be used to demonstrate the working principle of a microwave transmission system. The system has two sides; a transmitter side and the receiver side. So the fallowing equipments are used at those both ends in order to establish this microwave communication link perfect. At the Transmitter side: The transmitter antenna Transmitter unit (MW TX/EV) Up Converter (MW UC/EV) At the Receiver unit: The receiver antenna Receiver unit (MW RX/EV) Down Converter (MW DC/EV)
Down Converter Up ConverterUnit Transmitter Unit Receiver MW MWTX/EV MWUC/EV MW DC/EV RX/EV

In the above figure we can see the set up of such microwave communication system. The transmitter unit produces the transmitting signal by combining the normal base band input signal with a modulating microwave signal and it sends the combined IF signal to the frequency up converter which converts the IF signal to a upper frequency band. And then the antenna will transmit the MW signal. Then the receiver will receive that transmitted signal and it send that received signal to a frequency down converter to again convert the signal to an IF band signal and then the signal sends to the receiver unit to demodulate it and extract the original signal.

Terrestrial microwave links

Terrestrial microwave communication employs Earth-based transmitters and receivers. The frequencies used are in the low-gigahertz range, which limits all communications to line-ofsight. You probably have seen terrestrial microwave equipment in the form of telephone relay towers, which are placed every few miles to relay telephone signals cross country. Microwave transmissions typically use a parabolic antenna that produces a narrow, highly directional signal. A similar antenna at the receiving site is sensitive to signals only within a narrow focus. Because the transmitter and receiver are highly focused, they must be adjusted carefully so that the transmitted signal is aligned with the receiver. A microwave link frequently is used to transmit signals in instances in which it would be impractical to run cables. If you need to connect two networks separated by a public road, for example, you might find that regulations restrict you from running cables above or below the road. In such a case, a microwave link is an ideal solution. Some LANs operate at microwave frequencies at low power and use non directional transmitters and receivers. Network hubs can be placed strategically throughout an organization, and workstations can be mobile or fixed. This approach is one way to enable mobile workstations in an office setting. In many cases, terrestrial microwave uses licensed frequencies. A license must be obtained from the FCC, and equipment must be installed and maintained by licensed technicians. Terrestrial microwave systems operate in the low-gigahertz range, typically

at 4-6 GHz and 21-23 GHz, and costs are highly variable depending on requirements. Longdistance microwave systems can be quite expensive but might be less costly than alternatives. (A leased telephone circuit, for example, represents a costly monthly expense.) When line-of-sight transmission is possible, a microwave link is a one-time expense that can offer greater bandwidth than a leased circuit. Costs are on the way down for low-power microwave systems for the office. Although these systems dont compete directly in cost with cabled networks, when equipment frequently must be moved, microwave can be a cost-effective technology. Capacity can be extremely high, but most data communication systems operate at data rates between 1 and 10 Mbps. Attenuation characteristics are determined by transmitter power, frequency, and antenna size. Properly designed systems are not affected by attenuation under normal operational conditionsrain and fog, however, can cause attenuation of higher frequencies. Microwave systems are highly susceptible to atmospheric interference and also can be vulnerable to electronic eavesdropping. For this reason, signals transmitted through microwave are frequently encrypted.

Observations
(1). For an Audio signal
When we establish the microwave link and set the 1 kHz pattern generator input to the

audio input of the transmitter, we could be able to hear a continuous beep of that received signal after select the same channel at the receiver unit.
Volume of the beep sound was changed when the amplifier of the transmitter or the

receiver unit was changed accordingly. When we inserted a metal obstruction between the two antennas, the sound quality of the beep sound reduced.
When we move the obstruction from the center line of the antennas towards transmitter or

the receiver antenna the quality of the beep sound reduced more and more. And when we close the obstruction to one of the antennas, there was only a noise sound with very much of weak beep sound at the receiver speaker. After connecting the IF out from the down converter to the spectrum analyzer we could be able to see a spectrum with 3 major frequency band and we identified those as the center frequency band of the carrier and the other lesser power two as the USB and the LSB of the received signal.

 And when we add an obstruction between the links we could be able to see a decrease in

the power levels of the received signal spectrum and those observed data can be summarized as shown in the fallowing table.

-1.72 -29.34 -28.11 2.4543GH 2.4609 2.4478 dBm Fc GHz USB z LSB

Without the obstruction:

With the obstruction: Obstruction position At the center line More near to the receiver Much closer to the receiver Near to the transmitter Much closer to the transmitter Power level (dBm) LSB Fc USB -44.51 -18.77 -42.52 -45.58 -23.67 -49.14 -69.75 -46.07 -68.67 -57.73 -28.15 -55.68 -59.03 -32.64 -61.53

(2). For the Video input signal

When we connect the input of the transmitter to the video input and the output of the

receiver to the video display at the receiver, we could be able to see the color bars of the video transmission very clearly.

 The brightness and the clearness of the color bars were changed accordingly with the changes of the amplifier levels at the receiver and the transmitter. When we inserted an obstruction between the links, we could see that the quality of the output video reduced and some noise came out. When we moved the obstruction towards the transmitter or receiver antenna from their center line the quality of the video reduced more and more and we could see much noise at the output at the same time. After connecting the down converter out to the spectrum analyzer we could see a spectrum which had the shape as same as with the audio input. And same as before we could see the power levels of the spectrum reduces when the obstruction was added between the links. Obstruction position (Without obstruction) At the center line More near to the receiver Much closer to the receiver Near to the transmitter Much closer to the transmitter Power level (dBm) LSB Fc USB -28.69 -1.82 -29.04 -47.61 -19.06 -49.07 -50.81 -26.13 -51.64 -61.52 -36.74 -67.56 -53.29 -31.43 -57.25 -59.22 -43.38 -65.35

Discussion
As the results of the observation we can see that a audio signal or a video can be easily transmitted and can be easily recovered through a microwave communication system with the perfect adjustment of the amplifier, attenuator levels of the transmitter and the receiver.
Rx Tx Reflected signals Main signal lobe signa ls

We could be able to get the maximum signal quality when the transmitter and the receiver antennas at the line of sight position because then the receiver will be able to catch the main signal lobe of the transmitter with the maximum power component. Without the line of sight we could also get a reasonable output but much weaker than the above because of the side lobes and the reflections from the obstructions around the antennas produce some reflected signal to the receiver as well.

When we add a metal obstruction between the antennas, the main signal lobe will be interrupted by it and hence the receiver will only be able to receive the side lobes and the reflected signals from the around obstacles. So the received signal has a low power spectrum than the original. But when the obstruction at the center line of the antennas it can be received some significant amount of power because of some strong side lobes and reflections.
Rx Tx Reflected signals Obstruction Main signal signa lobe ls

When we move the obstruction towards one of the antennas the receiving signal will reduces its stronger reflected signals also and receive a signal with much low power than the earlier case.
Rx Tx Reflected signals signa ls

When we move the obstruction very close to one of the two antennas the receiver lost almost all the strong signal components and it will only receive very weak reflected signals.
Rx Tx Reflected signals signa ls

Conclusion
As a conclusion we can say that to establish a microwave link we need a free space area with minimum of obstructions. When we establish such microwave links we would better to escape obstructions between the antennas as much as possible, especially the metal obstructions as they can completely or much significantly attenuate or reduce the propagating E field of the micro wave signal. And also it would be better to avoid most of the obstacles around the antennas as much as possible to reduce the reflections from them which leads to reduce the noise occurrences by those reflections.