TERRESTRIAL MICROWAVE

COMMUNICATION SYSTEM
K FACTOR
RELIABILITY OBJECTIVE
FRESNEL ZONE EFFECT
MICROWAVE ANTENNA SYSTEM
K FACTOR
ATMOSPHERIC REFRACTION
earths atmosphere is composed of gases, vapors and water molecules
the atmosphere changes dynamically, it is never constant and which significantly affects radio
signal propagation
propagation velocity changes with respect to the density of the medium
These differences in propagation velocity result in refraction of a signal propagated through the
atmosphere



K FACTOR
In normal atmosphere near the earths surface, propagation velocity is
approximately 99.997% of that in free space. Under normal circumstances,
atmospheric density decreases linearly with altitude, resulting in a propagation
velocity differential between the top and bottom of a wave front. Since the upper part
of the wave front propagates through less dense atmosphere than the lower part to
which it is coupled, it propagates faster than the lower part. The result is a signal
path that normally tends to follow earth curvature, but to a lesser to a degree. The
bending of the radio signal path caused by differences in atmospheric density is
referred to as atmospheric refraction.
K FACTOR
K FACTOR
- describes the type and amount of signal refraction
- Defines the degree and direction of bending
- Any change in the amount of beam bending caused by atmospheric condition can be expressed as a
change in K.



Where: Ns is the surface refractivity

K FACTOR
A K factor of 1 describes a condition where there is no refraction of the
signal, and it propagates in a straight line.
A K factor of less than 1 describes a condition where the refracted signal
path deviates from a straight line, and it arcs in the direction opposite the
earth curvature.
A K factor greater than 1 describes a condition where the refracted signal
path deviates from a straight line, and it arcs in the same direction as the
earth curvature.

K FACTOR
PHYSICAL EARTH BULGE
- refers only to the effects of physical earth curvature.
- Earth bulge describes the effect of physical earth curvature along a direct path between two
points on the earths surface. The earth surface appears to bulge upwards in the path, with
the peak of the bulge occurring at mid-path. This assumes that the earths surface is flat,
with no topological variation along the path between the two points.

K FACTOR
- The amount of physical earth bulge along a path can be calculated from the following formula:







Where:
h = Vertical distance from a horizontal reference line in feet
d1 = Distance from the data point to point A in miles
d2 = Distance from the data point to point B in miles

K FACTOR
EFFECTIVE EARTH BULGE
- Effective earth bulge represents the effects of atmospheric refraction, or K, combined
with physical earth bulge
- Microwave signals propagated through normal atmospheric conditions do not travel in a
straight line. Instead, they normally propagate in an arc with a radius approximately 1.33 (4/3)
times that of true earth radius. Therefore, we refer to this condition as K=4/3, or normal earth.
This refers to the amount of earth bulge that would normally result under these standard
atmospheric conditions.
K FACTOR
- Because the signal arc of a propagated signal path through normal atmosphere follows
earth curvature, to a degree, this curvature effectively reduces the amount of earth
bulgemaking it less than it is, when considered in strictly physical terms. When the
effects of atmospheric refraction are combined with physical earth bulge, a modified
profile is produced, known as effective earth bulge.
- Keep the following four rules in mind, since they are true under all conditions.
1. When K=1, there is no refractive effect, and the signal path is a straight line.
Under these conditions effective earth bulge will be equal to physical (or true) earth
bulge.
2. When K is less than 1, the refractive signal path arc is inverted (opposite)
relative to physical earth curvature, and effective earth bulge will be greater than physical
earth bulge.


K FACTOR
3. When K equals a number greater than 1, the refractive signal path is an arc in the same
direction as earth curvature, but may vary significantly from earth curvature, thereby
reducing effective earth bulge to something less than physical earth bulge.
4. When K = infinity, the refractive signal path arc follows earth curvature exactly, totally
canceling any earth bulge effect, making the earth appear flat. Since the propagated
signal arc follows earth curvature exactly regardless of path length, it can be stated that
the relationship between the two arcs remains constant for infinity.
5. When K = Negative, the refractive signal path is an arc that exceeds physical earth curvature
(beyond K = infinity), and effectively reverses the curvature of the earth with respect to
the signal path, making its surface appear like a bowl.
K FACTOR





Where:
h = Vertical distance from a horizontal reference line in feet
d1 = Distance from the data point to point A in miles
d2 = Distance from the data point to point B in miles
k = The K factor value representing atmospheric refraction
K FACTOR
RADIO RANGE


K FACTOR
FRESNEL ZONE EFFECT
- Augustin-Jean Fresnel (1788-1827)
- are a series of concentric ellipsoids that surround the path from the transmitter to the
receiver
- for clear line of sight Fresnel zone should be clear of obstacle
- it is depends on distance and frequency


FRESNEL ZONE EFFECT






FIRST FRESNEL ZONE
- the first Fresnel zone is the surface containing every point for which the sum of the distances
from the point to the two ends of the path is exactly one-half wavelength longer than the direct path

FRESNEL ZONE EFFECT
FRESNEL ZONE CLEARANCE
- May be used to analyze interference by obstacles near the path of a radio beam
- Again, maximum allowable obstruction is 40%, but recommended obstruction is 20%
calculating the Fresnel zone radius at any point P in between the endpoints of the link:
where:
Fn = The nth Fresnel Zone radius in meters
d1 = The distance of P from one end in meters
d2 = The distance of P from the other end in meters
= The wavelength of the transmitted signal in
meters
FRESNEL ZONE EFFECT
- This area must be clear or else signal strength will weaken
- If unobstructed, radio waves will travel in a straight line from the transmitter to the
receiver
- no more than 40% should be obstructed i.e. 60% clear, but it is recommended for
optimum performance it should be no more than 20% or less blocked

Fresnel zone radius can also be calculated using D and f :
Where: r = radius in metres
D = total distance in kilometres (D = d1+d2)
f = frequency transmitted in gigahertz ( =

)
FRESNEL ZONE EFFECT
EXAMPLE:
what is the maximum radius of the 1st Fresnel Zone of a 500m link operating at 5.5GHz .If
the antennas for the two devices were located 10m above ground (assuming that both locations were
the same height above sea level).
r= 8.657
0.5
5.5
= 2.61m
To calculate the 60% clear Fresnel Zone radius:
r= 8.657
0.6(0.5)
5.5
= 2.02m
The maximum obstruction height = 10 2.02m = 7.98m

FRESNEL ZONE EFFECT
Example: D= 783m
f = 7.5 GHz
antenna height = 12.6m
60% clear Fresnel zone radius
Find the radius of the Fresnel zone and maximum obstruction height
Solution:
r= 8.657
0.60( 0.783)
7.5
= 2.17m
The maximum obstruction height = 12.6 2.17m = 10.43m


RELIABILITY OBJECTIVES
UNAVAILABILITY STANDARDS
According to International Telecommunications Union (ITU), the period of unavailable time
begins when, in at least one direction of transmission, one or both of the following conditions occur
for 10 consecutive seconds:
Either the digital signal is interrupted (i.e. alignment or timing is lost); or
BER in each second is worse than 1 x 10 -3
Causes of Unavailability
Long interruptions can usually be considered in three categories:
Propagation
Equipment
Other
RELIABILITY OBJECTIVES
PROPAGATION
Outages related to propagation that last longer than 10 seconds are due primarily to three causes:
Diffraction Loss - The dominant atmospheric fading effect, which affects availability, is due to
diffraction of the radio signal
- occurs when a portion of the overall wave front is obstructed by an obstacle
- If this loss causes the receive signal to be attenuated to a level where the radio
can no longer demodulate the signal, an outage will occur
Ducting - a condition that can occur if the bending of the radio beam exceeds the curvature of the
Earth
- Under this condition, blackout fading of the signal occurs and may last several hours
- Where this condition exists, space diversity with large antenna spacing can be used to reduce
its effect
RELIABILITY OBJECTIVES
Rain - Water molecules absorb microwave energy by way of heating
- The greater the size of the water droplets, the greater the amount of absorption of
the microwave signal
- Rain attenuation causes flat fading by attenuating the receive signal

RELIABILITY OBJECTIVES
SYSTEM RELIABILITY ESTIMATES
Propagation Reliability
a.) Non-diversity Systems

Where: Undp = the path unavailability or fade probability


Where: d = path length (mi)
f = frequency (GHz)
FM = Fade margin (dB)
RELIABILITY OBJECTIVES
b.) Diversity Systems
-It suggest that there is more than one transmission path or method of transmission
available between a transmitter and a receiver
-Its purpose is to increase the reliability of the system by increasing its availability

RELIABILITY OBJECTIVES
EQUIPMENT
Equipment Reliability

Where: U = unavailability or probability of outage
Unavailability: Where: MTTR = Mean Time To Repair
(traveling time, actual time to repair fault,
and the availability of spares)
MTBF = Mean Time Before Failure
Availability: A=(MTBF/(MTBF+MTTR))100%
Even for equipment with an excellent MTBF and an MTTR of a few hours, the overall
availability is unacceptable for most critical networks unless route diversity or equipment
protection is employed.
RELIABILITY OBJECTIVES
OTHERS
This category includes such events as planned maintenance outages, failure in the
primary power supply, and catastrophic failure such as fire in an equipment room
or the tower falling down.
The only way to ensure that this type of failure does not lead to excessive outages
is to have some form of route diversity in the network.
MICROWAVE ANTENNA SYSTEM
ANTENNA CHARACTERISTIC
antenna efficiency - the effectiveness of an antenna depends upon its ability to couple or radiate
energy into the air. An efficient antenna is one which wastes very little
energy during the radiation process.
* power gain or power ratio - a ratio of the radiated power to that of the reference antenna
-- effectiveness of an entire transmitting/receiving system depends
largely on impedance matching between the elements of the system
--If a good impedance match is maintained between the system and the antenna
throughout the operating frequency band, power transfer to and from the
antenna is always maximum.
MICROWAVE ANTENNA SYSTEM
- The transmission line or waveguide used to transport energy to and from the antenna
should have a characteristic impedance equal to that of the antenna
- A proper impedance match allows all available power to be absorbed and radiated by
the antenna without reflections back down the line

* standing wave ratio (SWR)
is a measurement of the impedance mismatch between a
transmission line and its load and is an indicator of overall
system efficiency
-- when the swr approaches a value of 1, a transmission line or waveguide
approaches a perfectly matched condition

MICROWAVE ANTENNA SYSTEM
antenna directivity
* omnidirectional - antennas radiate and receive energy from all directions at once
* directional - antennas radiate energy in lobes or beams that extend outward from the
antenna in either one or two directions
- directivity: If the beam is NARROW in either the horizontal or vertical
plane, the antenna has a high degree of directivity in that plane
- power gain: increases as the degree of directivity increases because the power
is concentrated into a narrow beam and less power is
required to cover the same distance
reciprocity - is the ability of an antenna to both transmit and receive
electromagnetic energy.

MICROWAVE ANTENNA SYSTEM
REFLECTOR ANTENNAS
- focus the radiated energy
Parabolic reflector
- often used for high
directivity

MICROWAVE ANTENNA SYSTEM
* truncated paraboloid
a.) TRUNCATED (cut) so that
it is shortened vertically, the beam spreads out
vertically instead of being focused
- it will detect aircraft at different altitudes
without changing the tilt of the antenna.

b.) cut so that it is shortened
horizontally, the beam will spread out horizontally instead of being focused
- accurately determine elevation

MICROWAVE ANTENNA SYSTEM
*orange-peel paraboloid
- the reflector is narrow in the horizontal
plane and wide in the vertical plane
-produces a beam that is wide in the
horizontal plane and narrow in the
vertical plane.
*cylindrical paraboloid
- a parabolic cross section in just one
dimension which causes the reflector
to be directive in one plane only.


MICROWAVE ANTENNA SYSTEM
Corner reflector
- consists of two flat conducting sheets
that meet at an angle to form a corner
- The corner reflector is normally driven
by a half-wave radiator located on a line
which bisects the angle formed by the
sheet reflectors.


MICROWAVE ANTENNA SYSTEM
HORN RADIATORS
- obtain directive radiation at microwave frequencies
- horns have the advantage of being useful over a wide frequency band
- the larger the mouth of the horn, the more directive is the field pattern.
MICROWAVE ANTENNA SYSTEM
PARABOLIC ANTENNAS
- an antenna that uses a parabolic reflector, a curved surface
with the cross-sectional shape of a parabola, to direct
the radio waves
- main advantage of a parabolic antenna is that it has high
directivity
- can produce the narrowest beamwidths
- have some of the highest gains
MICROWAVE ANTENNA SYSTEM
PARABOLIC ANTENNA GAIN
- which is the ratio of the power received by the antenna from a source along its beam axis to the power
received by a hypothetical isotropic antenna.


where:
A is the area of the antenna aperture, that is, the mouth of the parabolic reflector
d is the diameter of the parabolic reflector, if it is circular
lambda is the wavelength of the radio waves.

is a dimensionless parameter between 0 and 1 called the aperture efficiency. The aperture efficiency
of typical parabolic antennas is 0.55 to 0.7

MICROWAVE ANTENNA SYSTEM
PARABOLIC ANTENNA FEED MECHANISM
FEED - typically a low-gain type
- connected to the associated radio-frequency (RF) transmitting or receiving equipment by means
of a coaxial cable transmission line or waveguide

Main types of parabolic antenna feeds:
Axial or front feed the feed antenna located in front of the dish at the
focus, on the beam axis, pointed back toward the dish.
A disadvantage of this type is that the feed and its supports block
some of the beam
MICROWAVE ANTENNA SYSTEM

Off-axis or offset feed - located to one side of the dish.
- The purpose of this design is to move the feed structure out of the
beam path, so it does not block the beam
- widely used in home satellite television dishes

Cassegrain - the feed is located on or behind the dish, and radiates forward,
illuminating a convex hyperboloidal secondary reflector at the
focus of the dish.
- The radio waves from the feed reflect back off the secondary
reflector to the dish, which forms the outgoing beam.
MICROWAVE ANTENNA SYSTEM
Gregorian similar to the Cassegrain design except that the
secondary reflector is concave, (ellipsoidal) in
shape.
THE END