Introduction
Introduction
Widely employed means of broadband radio transmission in point to point service
Introduction
Historically, LOS microwave was the basic transport means for FDM configurations using frequency modulation
In modern times the trend has moved from analog transmission to digital
By digital we mean a digital baseband that modulates an analog RF carrier The baseband is 8 bit PCM either of DS1 hierarchy or E1 hierarchy
Selection of an operational frequency band considering RF interference environment and legal constraints
Path survey is done to ensure accuracy of previous steps Establishing a frequency plan
Installation
Beam alignment, equipment line up, check out and acceptance by a customer
Branching losses (Comes from the hardware used to deliver the transmitter/receiver output to/from the antenna)
This contribution is not calculated but is considered in the planning process as an additional loss
Example
Calculate free space loss for a distance separation of 40 Km and frequency of 6 GHz
Bending of Radio Wave Ray Beam above 100 MHz from Straight Line
If radio wave above 100 MHz travelled a straight line , the engineering of LOS microwave systems would be much easier We could accurately predict
Height of towers required at repeater and terminal stations Position of the radiating device on tower
Bending of Radio Wave Ray Beam above 100 MHz from Straight Line
Our goal is to determine the height of a microwave radiator to permit reliable radio link communication from one location to the other
Methodology
To determine tower height
We establish position and height of obstacles in path between stations To each obstacle height we will add earth bulge
Earth Bulge
Earth Bulge
Earth Bulge
This is the number of feet or meters an obstacle is raised higher in elevation (into the path) owing to earth curvature or earth bulge The amount of earth bulge in feet at any point maybe determined by formula
Earth Bulge
d1 is the distance from near end of the link to the point (obstacle location) d2 is the distance from far end of the link to the point (obstacle location)
Atmospheric refraction may cause ray beam to be bent towards the earth or away from the earth
Earth Bulge
If it is bent towards the earth , it is as if we shrank the earth bulge or lowered it from its true location If the beam is bent away from the earth it is as if we expanded the earth bulge or raised it up towards the beam above its true value
This lowering or raising is handled mathematically by adding a factor K to the earth bulge equation
Earth Bulge
Earth Bulge
The value commonly used for r0 is 6370 km
The effective earth radius is calculated from the formula
Earth Bulge
Taking surface refractivity value of 301 and calculating r
Surface Refractivity
This is the refractivity at the altitude of LOS microwave site that we selected or the average refractivity of the path The sea level refractivity can be obtained for the area from the nearby weather bureau or from a chart
Surface Refractivity
Surface Refractivity
Surface Refractivity
To calculate Ns when we are given N0 the mean sea level refractivity we have
Where hs is the altitude above mean sea level in km of the LOS radio site
For k<1, earth bulge is effectively increased and tower height has to be increased as range is reduced
Calculate the clearance value where an obstacle is 5 mi from the transmit antenna, total path length is 20 mi and operational frequency is 6 GHz
Carefully mark all obstacles or obstructions and possible points of reflections such as bodies of water, marshes or desert areas
Assign consecutive letters to each obstacle Plot horizontal location of each point on the graph paper
Compute the equivalent earth curvature for each point using Compute Fresnel zone clearance by equation 5.8
For obstacles other than midpoint of path , find the percentage of the total path from transmitter to obstacle
For a microwave receiver with 10 MHz bandwidth and 3 dB noise figure, thermal noise threshold is given by
FM Systems
Deviation is a measure of instantaneous frequency variation Direct function of the level of the modulating signal Higher the level of the modulating signal , the more deviation we can expect
From the relation discussed before for noise power threshold , doubling IF bandwidth increases thermal noise by 3 dB
FM Improvement Threshold
At FM receiver, FM improvement will be achieved if Carrier to Noise ratio is at least 10 dB
FM Improvement Threshold
FM Improvement Threshold
Mechanisms of Fading
Multipath Fading
Power Fading
Multipath Fading
Stems from interference between direct wave and reflected wave The reflection maybe from the ground or from atmospheric sheets or layers May display fades in excess of 30 dB for periods of seconds or minutes This form of fading will be observed during quiet, windless and foggy nights when temperature inversion occurs near ground
Multipath Fading
Multipath Fading
Multipath Fading
Atmosphere is heated from below as solar radiations warm the earth surface
Earth surface in return warm the atmosphere directly above it This rising of heat from earth surface is responsible for clouds formation through convection
An elevated inversion layer is thus a region of warm air above a region of cold air, but higher in the atmosphere (generally not touching the surface)
Windy
Mountainous