TRANS MIS S ION LINES

INTRODUCTION

R.F. Energy of a transmitter is guided up to radiator (mast) by the propagation of Trans-

verse Electro-magnetic waves along systems of parallel conductors called Transmission
lines or feeder lines . The input energy is stored in the field of conductors and is
propagated along the system at some finite velocity.

It is essential to keep the antenna at a distance from transmitter due to prevent

Radiation hazard
pick up from antenna and consequent problem with transmitter circuit
Normally this distance is either on 50 V/m field strength contour or minimum
half the wavelength at frequency of operation.

The feeder line should carry the power from the transmitter to Antenna with

Minimum loss
Minimum radiation.

BASIC TRANSMISSION LINES

There are three types of transmission lines used at RF. They are :

(i) Open wire feeder lines

(ii) Co-axial feeder lines
(iii) Wave guides

Characteristics Impedance Of Feeder Lines

Characteristics impedance (Zo) is defined as the input impedance of an infinite line. This
is determined wholly by the geometry of its cross section. A transmission line can be
represented as having R, L,C.
Induction Course (Radio)

Fig. 1 Zo of a Feeder Line

The inductance, resistance, capacitance and conductance of the line determine the
characteristics impedance. This is shown in the figure 1. G is the conductance of the
line.

The characteristic impedance is given by the following basic formula

R j L
Zo
G j C
At higher frequencies R & G becomes negligible with respect to reac tan ces of L & C. There fore
L
Zo
C

The characteristics impedance can be lowered or increased depending on some specific

requirement by varying the above two parameters.

a) To obtain a lower Zo than designed, follow as under :

Increase conductor size maintaining the same Conductor to conductor

distance.
Decrease distance between conductor for same conductor size.
Increase no. of wires in each side.
Parallel two or more feeders
Connect lumped shunt capacitors across the line at equal distances.

b) To increase the impedance opposite of above is done.

TYPES OF FEEDER LINES

1. On basis of circuit, they are :

Balanced lines : Where there are equal and opposite potential in both
wires.

Unbalanced lines : Here one wire is at high potential and the other side
is at low potential.

2. Structurally there are two basic forms :

(I) Open wire line (ii) Enclosed line.

STI(T) Publication 146 004/IC(Radio)/2001
 Transmission Line

Open wire feeder lines

Z0 276 log 2 S / d

d
S

In MW band, normally the feeder lines used are unbalanced and has following
characteristics.

6 wires, 230 Ohms

16 wires, 120 Ohms
24 wires, 60 Ohms

In SW, normally the balanced feeder lines are used. The impedances are

300 ohms, 4 wire

600 ohms, 2 wire

3. Basic Applications of feeder line :

To guide energy from transmitter to Antenna. In this mode energy move

along the lines in a single travelling wave.

For Storing energy in excess of that dissipated in load, in the form of

standing waves.

LOSSES IN THE FEEDER LINES

There are four types of losses. They are :

Copper Loss : It is due to the heating of conductor.

Earth Loss : It arises due to imperfect earth conductivity.
Insulation Loss : It is due to insulation loss and is minor in a well
designed system.
Radiation Loss : It is due to irregularity and usually very small for well
designed lines.

Copper Loss

R.F. Wave travels along the exterior of a conductor due to skin effect. The conductor
gets heated up resulting in losses in the feeder line. It can be reduced by increasing the
radius of conductor and also by using more no. of wires in parallel. It is directly
proportional to square root of frequency, so higher the frequency, more the losses.

STI(T) Publication 147 004/IC(Radio)/2001

Induction Course (Radio)

Earth Loss

In unbalanced open wire lines there is division of charges between ground wires and
that induced in the earth under feeder lines resulting in part of the return current in the
ground. The rotation of return current in the grounded wires and to the total current in
live wires decides earth losses. It can be reduced by laying two nos. of copper wires in
the ground through out the length of feeder wire line and by increasing the height.

Radiation Loss

One cause of radiation from open lines is from the vertical connections at the ends.
Decreasing the height can reduce it, but if height is decreased, the ground losses will
increase. So best way-out is to use better shielding of high potential wires by using
greater number of ground wires.

CHOICE OF FEEDER LINE IMPEDANCE

When the feeder line impedance is chosen low, feeder current will be more, resulting
increase in copper loss and earth loss. When feeder line impedance is high, feeder
voltage will be high resulting in the use of higher voltage rating insulators. So the choice
depends upon the availability of components and technology in use.

In AIR, following types of feeder lines are used.

230 ohm 6 wire (open wire) lines for all old 100 kW as well as 10/20 kW.
60 ohm quasi coaxial feeder line - megawatt of Chinsuraha, Rajkot and
Nagpur.
120 ohm quasi coaxial feeder - all 300 kW and all 100/200 kW new
version.

120 ohm feeder line is now standardised for modern transmitters.

230 OHMS COPPER WIRE FEEDER LINE

This type of feeder line is most popular and has been used in all old installations of
10/20/100 kW/MW XTRs. There are total 6 wire (8 SWG, app 4.064 mm). Two inner
are on high potential and four outer are ground conductors

Quasi Coaxial Feeder Line

In this category of line normally there are two designs :

In which there are 8 inner wires and 8 outer wires each of 8 SWG. This has
been used in all 100/200/300 kW XTRs.
In which there are 12 inner conductors of 6 mm dia and 16 screen conductors
of 8 SWG and this has been used at 1000 kW Nagpur, Calcutta (Chinsuraha)
and Rajkot.

STI(T) Publication 148 004/IC(Radio)/2001

 Transmission Line

Measurement Of Characteristic Impedance, Zo

Zo of a feeder line is given by the relation

Zo Z oc .Z sc
Zoc = Open circuit Impedance, measured at input by keeping the feeder line end open
Zsc = Short circuit Impedance, measured at input by keeping the feeder line end short

Generally Zoc & Zsc are either capacitive or inductive depending upon the length of
feeder line as multiple of /4.

Zoc & Zsc can be measured with VIM or RF bridge by keeping the line open and shorting
high potential wire (inner) with ground wire (outer) at other end.

Another method utilises the fact that when the feeder line is terminated by its
characteristic impedance, its input impedance is equal to the characteristic impedance.
Input impedance is measured for various termination. The characteristic impedance is
equal to that termination for which input impedance is same as the termination itself.

POWER TRANSMISSION CAPACITY OF FEEDER LINE

The power handling capacity of a line depends upon :

Nos. of live wires used in parallel.

The charge density per unit surface of the wire.
Maximum allowable potential gradient to avoid flashover, and corona etc.

Power handling capacity of a line (120 ) is calculated as below : RF Current carrying

capacity of copper conductor x dia of live conductor in inches = 76.2 x .1574 = 10 Amp.

For 8 wires total current is = 10 x 8 = 80 Amp.

Therefore, power handling capacity = I2 x R = (80)2 x 120 = 768 kW say, 760 kW.

In practice, the maximum voltage that a line can handle/withstand with out flashover etc.
is 80% of the D.C. Value of max. voltage.

PRECAUTION WHILE ERECTING A FEEDER LINE

Bends should be gradual and free of any sharp corners (preferably of 120o or
so).
The exact and equal length of wires should be used at bends. To keep the
length same is more important than to maintain the equal spacing as it
increases the series inductance of line.
The poles should be placed at equal distance and symmetrically (app. 15
mtr),
Splitting joints should be smooth and free of any irregularity.
The height above ground should be uniform otherwise ground return current
will differ, varying the earth losses.

STI(T) Publication 149 004/IC(Radio)/2001

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