Farhouds Thesis Kick off meeting

Preface
In This Presentation explores some papers to come up with an idea about what we can do as Farhouds Thesis. Four Papers are explored in the presentation and sorted out in a way to give us an idea about the topic we are talking about then the kind of work that can be done.

The First paper will give us an idea about the prediction models , types and Challenges . the importance of propagation models when designing new broadcast networks will be proposed as well . The paper details follow
Propagation Models and their Applications in Digital Television Broadcast Network Design and Implementation

1. What are we talking about here?

Armoogum V., Member IEEE, University of Technology, Mauritius Soyjaudah K.M.S., University of Mauritius, Mauritius Mohamudally N., University of Technology, Mauritius Fogarty T., London South Bank University

1.1 Problem Description

We will consider the Island of Mauritius as a case study. Mauritius has two climates. A humid and subtropical climate dominates http://countrystudies.us/mauritius/ warm weather is that cyclones are frequent. Cyclones, with strong winds and heavy rain, can occur between November and April and lasting two to three days. from May to October. During this period the weather is cool and dry. Rainfall ranges from 90 cm per year in the western lowlands to 500 cm in the central plateau with an average of 200 cm per year overall. Humidity is frequently high in Mauritius and is above 80% in the south and the central plateau. Hence, the effects of climate can be investigated to know the degree of signal degradation. In this work we constrain our attention on the DVB-T standard used in European countries and in Mauritius. Also, we constrain our attention to propagation models, coverage areas and

1.2 Problem Statement

our aim is to design a propagation model such that the signal despite suffering from maximum attenuation does not go below the threshold level for the decoder, as once the bit error rate crosses( ), a total loss of signal is obtained. The digital coverage, therefore, has to be studied to obtain good QoS.

1.3 Propagation Models types

1. Physical/ deterministic models Physical models of path loss make use of physical radio waves principles such as free space transmission, reflection or diffraction. 2. Empirical models

Empirical models use measurement data to model a path loss equation. Examples of empirical propagation models include the ITU-R and the Hata models. Empirical models use what are known as predictors or specifiers in general statistical modeling theory (Saunders 2005). To conceive these models, a correlation was found between the received signal strength and other parameters such as antenna heights, terrain profiles etc through the use of extensive measurement and statistical analysis.

1.4 The How

The question that is always asked is how to calculate the path loss with maximum accuracy. One solution is to use a propagation model. A reliable propagation model is one which calculates the path loss with small standard deviation. The accuracy of a particular model in a given environment depends on the fit between the parameters required by the model and those

1.5 Survey of various propagation models

1. 2. The Okumura-Hata model 3. 4. the Lee model (Lee 1985) 5. 6. the approximate model Extended COST 231-Hata (COST 231 Final Report 1999 cited in Rama Rao 2000)

1.6 Researchers
path loss have been carried out in the past by several researchers like Grosskopf (1987) in Germany, Rama Rao et al. (2000) and Prasad (2006) in India, The Perez-VegaZamanillo (2002) in Spain and Hosseinzadey (2003) in Iran among many others. The Perez-VegaZamanillo model is a simple propagation model for the VHF and UHF bands.

1.7 Common Disadvantages of the various models

Some has no classification of urban, suburban and open areas or correction factors which are very important for a model. do not incorporate terrain roughness factors and do not treat obstructing terrain features such mountains and gorges. Some does not include loss due to reflection, climates and seasons. not provide information on issues such as fade margins, angles of arrival, or delay spread, which must be estimated by another way.

1.8.1 Factors to improve accuracy of models

Below are factors(multiplicative noise.) that can be considered to improve accuracy of propagation models:

1. Reflection is the result of digital TV signal hitting on obstructions with properties (thickness, length) much larger than the wavelength of the radio wave (e.g. smooth surface of walls and hills/mountains).

2. Diffraction occurs when radio waves strikes the edges or corners of obstacles. These act as secondary sources re-radiating into the shadow region. It is due to the diffraction effect that radio frequency energy travels in dense urban environments where there is no clear Line-of-Sight between two antennas (e.g. from edges such as building rooftops and mountaintops).

1.8.2 Cont,.
3. Scattering occurs when the properties of the object interacting with the radio wave is on the order of the colliding wavelength (e.g. from rough surfaces such as sea, rough ground and the leaves and branches of trees). 4. Absorption (e.g. by walls, foliage and by atmosphere) 5. Refraction (e.g. due to atmospheric layers or layered and graded materials) 6. The directional characteristics of both the transmitter and the receiver antennas.(Saunders 2005).

As you can see the Rain drops causes or at least being part of the above Multiplicative factors. This is why the DSD study is important in the wave propagation field. Some kind of the study approach is mentioned in Papers No 2&3.

1.8.3 Note
it is more conventional to subdivide the multiplicative noise factors as path loss, shadowing (slow fading) and fast fading (multipath fading). Shadowing (slow fading) Shadowing is the loss of field strength typically contributed to a diffracted wave emanating from an obstacle between transmitter antenna and receiver antenna (Saunders 2005). As passing through a shadow area requires considerable time, the name slow fading is commonly used. The shadow effect is modeled with a log-normal distribution of the mean signal. Fast Fading (Multipath Propagation) As radio waves are reflected or diffracted or scattered by trees, hills and mountains, buildings and other obstacles, they establish various transmission paths from the transmitter to the receiver antennas. Many reflections are produced in an urban environment and few reflections in rural areas. The multipath creates the most difficult problem in the digital broadcast environment.

1.9 The Technical Background of Propagation models The guys in this work are interested in predicting

the coverage of the proposed model. Saunders(2005) which is their main source in their work said that in order to improve reception in a particular situation the following factors can be considered: 1. Use a more directional receiving antenna with a higher gain 2. Find a better position for the receiver-antenna 3. Use of a low-noise antenna amplifier (as in the case of fixed antenna reception).

1.9.1 Free Space Propagation Model

T h e fre e sp a ce p o w e r re ce i d b y a re ce i r a n te n n a ve ve b y Fi 1 9 4 6 ss Pa th Lo ss a s p e r I U R e p o rt 1 9 9 8 T W i a si p l M a th th m e

1.9.2 Okumura-Hata path loss model

regarded as a standard against which researchers can benchmark new approaches. The model for urban areas has been standardized in 1997 for international use as Rec ITU-R P.529 model. It is, basically, a set of equations based on measurements and extrapolations from the curves derived by Okumura. Okumura takes urban areas as a reference and applies correction factors for conversion to the classification of terrain. valid only for frequency between 150 MHz and 1500 MHz with base antenna height between 30 m to 200 m and receiving antenna between 1 m and 10 m Only four parameters are required, Hence a very short time in the computation. Very important notice that it assumes that both Tx and Rx are Located on hills, Which means LOS is achieved. If the LOS is not there, The prediction using this model would be too Optimistic. Cant be used as it Is in any city around the globe because of The difference in characteristics of Tokyo city The place of the study than the other Cities.

Hata Cont,

To o b ta i th e p a th l ss i a su b u rb a n a re a n o n

rra i ca te g o ry su ch a s th e n o rth o f M a u ri u s, th e a n te n n a co rre cti n fa cto r i g i n ti o s v

1.10 A Case Study

Measurements of the signal have been recorded at different Locations. Once the received signal has been captured the field strength, the BER value, the minimum Carrier to Noise (C/N) and CSI are recorded for digital TV signal. Measurements were taken at different antenna heights. The guys idea is to compare the North with the south. As per the models both locations should report the same QoS. Using the recorded information they will define the best Prediction model and Propose some new ideas Improving the chosen Model or even developing a new one. The measured path loss is compared with models. The aim is find out which of the model(s) gives/give better agreement with the measured path loss. Also they can say which Model is not suitable to be used from the very beginning.

A Case Study, Cont,.

The Guys then came up with the fact that The first problem with the empirical models is the classification of environment in which the system is operating. Once the real classification through the analysis parts is known, better results are obtained if the appropriate category of terrain is reviewed. The categories must be numerous so that the properties of different locations classed within the same category are not too variable. The new models may thus be developed as means of improving accuracy using two approaches: deterministic empirical-physical approach or empirical-statistical approach using some statistical parameters. The Empirical-Statistical is much better.

2. Second Paper
Raindrop Size Distribution Using Method of Moments for Terrestrial and Satellite Communication Applications in Singapore. K. Isaiah Timothy, Member, IEEE, Jin Teong Ong, and Emily B. L. Choo

The aim is to optimize the values of DSD parameters, with distrometer measurements supplemented by the S-band radar data Although natural DSDs are highly variable, it is known that the three-parameter models, such as the gamma and the lognormal distributions, can model them reasonably well. The measured DSD can be fitted directly to three-parameter models through several methods of which maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) and method of moments (MoM) are the most notable. The lognormal model is more advantageous in the sense that each of its parameters has a clear physical significance. Moreover, the parameters are linearly related to the moments of DSD. Therefore, we consider the lognormal model for describing the DSD. The Guys proposed a model that gives maximum(close to unity) APR and minimum RMS error when compared to any other set of DSD parameters.

manufactured by Distromet (model RD-69) was used for measuring the size of raindrops. The distrometer was installed on the rooftop of the school of Civil and Structural Engineering (CSE) of NTU (1 21 N, 103 41 E). The JossWaldvogel (JW) distrometer is an impact distrometer that produces an electrical pulse when a drop strikes the surface of its 50-cm styrofoam cone. The amplitude of the pulse is proportional to the momentum and has a dynamic range of 90 dB for raindrop diameters from 0.1 to 5 mm. The 90-dB range is compressed to about 36 dB by the processor. The processor also has a function to reduce the acoustic noise. The processor output is related tothe drop diameter, in millimeters, by . The output of the processor is sent to the signal analyzer where the signal is classified into 20 diameter channels. It is assumed that the momentum is entirely due to the terminal fall velocity of spherical raindrops in still air. A dead-time correction using the software provided by the Distromet was applied while recording the data. The dead-time correction is intended to correct for loss of sensitivity of the acoustical

2.1 How The Distrometer is working?Waldvogel and The distrometer developed by Joss and

2.2 Method Of Modeling

Although a variety of combination of moments can be used to estimate the DSD parameters, we use third, fourth, and sixth moments for estimating the DSC Parameters

By solving the three simultaneous equations that are obtained by substituting i=3,4,6 respectively.

The basic reason in choosing third, fourth, and sixth moments is that the rain rate and attenuation are found to be proportional to third and fourth moments of the DSD, and the sixth moment of DSD is directly proportional to the radar reflectivity factor.

2.3 Parameters Of Lognormal DSD Model

T h e A b o ve g i s th e i p re ssi n th a t m o d e l n g th e se p a ra m e te rs a s ve m o i fu n cti n s o f R a i R a te ( R ) a l n e w o u l n o t b e a d e q u a te , b e ca u se th e y ta ke o n o d d i re n t va l e s e ve n a t th e sa m e ra i ra te . I o th e r w o rd s, D S D ffe u n n p a ra m e te rs a re n o t o n l fu n cti n s o f( R ) b u t a l o f so m e o th e r co n tro l i g y o so ln

2.4 rainfall categories

In the field of communication, the rainfall is usually categorized into three groupsnamely, drizzle, showers, and thunderstorms. However, in radar meteorology, rainfall is usually classified into two groups: stratiform and convective, according to the major physical process such as vertical air velocity.

2.5 Data Collection

2.6 Notes on the previous Table

The upper and lower limits of the DSD parameters are studied in the two types of rainfall. In convective rain, events are always positive varying form 0 to 0.5, whereas in stratiformcases, takes both positive and negative values between 1.5 and 1.5.No marked boundaries In and are noticed in either type of rainfall. However, The Standard Deviation is almost independent of rain rate above 100 mm/hr.

2.7 . DSD MODEL AND COMPARISON WITH MODELS

1 . T h e ra i ra te ( i m i l m e te rs p e r h o u r) i m e a su re d n n li s w i th e th di stro m e te r u si g th e fo rm u l n a

2. The Guys Work

2.8 DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION

The DSD model is used to compute the specific attenuation (dB/km) at Ku- (11/14 GHz) and Ka -(20/30 GHz) frequency bands. The Guys used their model mentioned in the previous slide shows in comparison with those estimated from the distrometer data at Ku-band frequencies. Then They approved that their model has produced less RMS error and close to unity APR values in estimated attenuation at both Ku and Ka-bands when compared to any other set of DSD parameters. The proposed model was also found to be a better choice even in estimating the radar reflectivity factor. There have been argument regarding the sensitivity degradation of the JW distrometer for measuring smaller drop distrometers <1mm due to the dead time of the transducer during the impact of a large drop and due ti the increase of the transducer surface fiction by the wetness, Especially in heavy rain conditions, The guys proposed a dead time correction usinf=g DOS software provided by the distrrometer Inc. And the Correction =+10% The guys Suggested to install the distormeter on 50-m height to decrease the where the environment noise is minimum. Also Proved that averaging the JW distrometer data over 3 minutes

3. Third Paper

Truncated Gamma Drop Size Distribution Models for Rain Attenuation in Singapore Lakshmi Sutha Kumar, Yee Hui Lee, Member, IEEE, and Jin Teong Ong, Member, IEEE Here is another kind of the work that can be done in this area. The work here is mainly about the Small Drop diamtersand the effect of ignoring them in the total rain attenuation. A model that is less sensitive to errors in the extreme small and large drop diameters, the gamma model with central moments (3, 4 and 6), is proposed to model the rain drop size distribution of Singapore. This is because, the rain rate estimated using measured drop size distribution shows that the contributions of lower drop diameters are small as compared to the central drop diameters. This is expected since the sensitivity of the Joss distrometer degrades for small drop diameters. The lower drop diameters are therefore removed from the drop size data and the gamma model is redesigned for its moments. The effects of the removal of a particular rain drop size diameter on the specific rain attenuation (in dB) and the slant-path rain attenuation calculations with forward scattering coefficients for vertical polarization are

3.1 Conclusion

The Guys proved that the sensitivity of the Joss distrometer although affects the rain rate estimation at low rain rates, does not affect the slant path rain attenuation on microwave links. Therefore, the small drop diameters can be ignored completely for slant path rain attenuation calculations in the tropical region of Singapore.

4. Fourth Paper

Mobile Radio Propagation Path Loss Studies at VHF/UHF Bands in Southern India T. Rama Rao, Student Member, IEEE, S. Vijaya Bhaskara Rao, M.V.S.N. Prasad, Mangal Sain, A. Iqbal, and D. R. Lakshmi

T h e W o rk i th i p a p e r i ve ry si i a r w i w h a t h a s b e e n d o n e n s s m l th in the First Paper. But in a different band, and Different conclusions. The Propose Correction factors as well. Field strength measurements at 200, 400 and 450 MHz (VHF/UHF band) were conducted with the field strength meter placed on board of a vehicle in Southern India. Observed field strength values were converted into path losses and are compared with different path loss prediction methods like Hata, Egli, BlomquistLadell, COST 231 WalfischIkegami, Walfisch Bertoni and ITU-R. These path loss studies are carried out in urban, suburban and open areas in this region. The results showed that Hatas method gave better agreement with observed values in urban, suburban and open regions. COST 231 Walfisch Ikegami model is also in good agreement with the observed values in urban and suburban regions. Egli and BlomquistLadell methods showed moderate agreement in open region only. The agreement of WalfischBertoni and ITU-R methods with observed

4.1 The EXPERIMENTAL

The signals were monitored continuously at a sampling rate of every second, averaged to one minute using a field strength meter (FSM). The instrument was mounted on a jeep and the field strength measurements were taken during the motion of the vehicle. The FSM antenna is kept at a height of 3 m above the ground. The FSM has a facility for data storage and transfer to a PC for further analysis. In the present work a digital terrain data base is not used, but city topographic sheets have been used.

4.2 COMPARISON WITH PREDICTION METHODS

The effects of multiple reflections of the transmitted signal arriving at the receiver, the irregular distribution of man-made structures, scatterers and vegetation within the area, the effects of movement of the mobile unit and the irregular distribution of terrain characteristics and their random nature suggest that a deterministic approach to propagation prediction in a land mobile radio environment may prove intractable. For this reason, many practical mobile radio propagation prediction models have been developed using empirical/ statistical methods. In the present study, the experimentally observed path losses are compared with different prediction methods in order to identify a suitable prediction method. The prediction methods employed are 1) Hata , 2) Egli , 3) BlomquistLadell , 4) COST231 WalfischIkegami , 5)WalfischBertoni and 6) ITU-R . Then the guys to list why the previous work cant be adopted to Tirupati City. Based on measurements taken they started define the areas to urban suburban , quasi open and open areas. Then Compared the observed path losses with those predicted by

4.3 Results

The standard deviation of errors (error observed path losscalculated path loss) of some of the famous prediction models are predicted below

A comparison of different prediction methods with observed path losses showed that Hatas prediction method gave better

4.4 Results, Cont,.

A comparison of different prediction methods with observed path losses showed that Hatas prediction method gave better agreement in all cases The advantage of this method lies in its adaptability to different environments by incorporating correction factors for various environments. COST 231 Walfisch Ikegami method is in agreement in urban and suburban

5. Conclusion
propagation models, and the coverage areas and failures can be carried out in many methods. The main resource in the research is taking a measurements, then analyze them and come up with conclusions and results. Which was expected based on Dr. Amr comments in the last meeting. The Results and some times a correction factors can hugely increaser the performance and QoS of the communication system under the study in a specific city or a country. Study the DSD will not add much, as Egypts weather is not considered a rainy one.

6. Next Step
A. Deciding the Communication system that will be studied. Is it a broadcasting system, Satellite, Microwave, Mobile System etc? B. The prediction methods that will be employed, should be studied, understood and digested by farhoud.This includes

c.

1. M. Hata, Empirical formula for propagation loss in land mobile radio services, IEEE Trans. Veh. Technol., vol. 29, pp. 317 325, 1980. 2. J. J. Egli, Radio propagation above 40 Mc over irregular terrain, Proc. IRE, vol. 45, pp. 13831391, 1957. 3. A. Blomquist and L. Ladell, Prediction and calculation of transmission loss in different types of terrain,, FOA report, 1974. 4. J. Doble, Introduction to Radio Propagation for Fixed and Mobile Communications:Artech House, 1996. 5. J.Walfisch and H. L. Bertoni, A theoretical model of UHF propagation in urban environments, IEEE Trans. Ant. Prop., vol. 36, no. 12, pp. 17881796, 1988. 6. ITU-R recommendation P.529-2, , Prediction methods for the terrestrial land mobile service in VHF and UHF bands,, 1995. 7. Farhoud should find out away to rent a field strength meter (FSM) of