9.

4 TRANSMISSION SYSTEMS
Modern long distance transmission systems can be placed under three broad categories:

1. Radio systems
2. Coaxial cable systems
3. Optical fibre systems.

Fibre optic transmission systems have been discussed in detail in Chapter 7. In this section, we
concentrate on radio and coaxial cable systems.
Radio communication deals with electronic radiation of electromagnetic energy from one
point to another through the atmosphere or free space. It is possible only in a certain portion of
the electromagnetic frequency spectrum. This portion includes frequencies from 9 kHz to 400
GHz. While there are international allocations for the radio spectrum up to 275 GHz, most of the
commercial uses take place between 100 kHz and 20 GHz.
Different layers of the atmosphere play a role in propagating radio waves. The atmosphere
consists of four layers as shown in Figure 9.11. Of the four layers, the ionosphere and
troposphere are useful for radio communication in certain frequency ranges. Certain other radio
frequencies pass straight through the atmosphere and can be beamed towards satellites placed in
the interplanetary space. Depending on the mechanism of propagation, long distance radio
communication can be placed under four categories:

1. Skywave or ionospheric communication

2. Line-of-sight (LOS) microwave communication limited by horizon
3. Tropospheric scatter communication
4. Satellite communication.

Figure 9.11 Layers of atmosphere.

9.4.1 Ionospheric Communication

Skywave or ionospheric communication deals with the frequency range 3−30 MHz, usually
classified as high frequency (HF) band. Ultraviolet radiation from the sun ionises the gas
molecules of the atmosphere producing positively charged ions and free electrons. A free
electron may recombine with an ion when it comes near it and the two form a neutral atom which
in turn may be ionised once again. Thus, a continuous process of ionisation and recombination
takes place in the atmosphere. The degree of ionisation is dependent upon the intensity of the
ultraviolet radiation and the density of the atmosphere. At high altitudes the intensity of the
ultraviolet radiation is low. The recombination rate is lower in the rarer atmosphere than in the
denser atmosphere. As a result, the ionospheric region is formed between 50−500 kilometres of
altitude. Within the ionosphere, there are regions of concentration of electrons, and these may be
considered as sublayers within the ionosphere. Four such layers are present in the day time as
shown in Figure 9.12. At night time, the absence of ultraviolet radiation and the high
recombination rate in the dense lower atmosphere make the D layer disappear. The heights of the
ionospheric layers are not constant but vary both daily and seasonally as the intensity of sun’s
radiation fluctuates. At sunset, the F1 layer rises, merging with the next higher F2 layer and
forming a common F layer. Thus, there are only two layers present in the night.

Figure 9.12 Layers of ionosphere and electron densities.

The layers of the ionosphere may be considered as mirrors or partial mirrors depending on the
amount of ionisation present. Thus, the transmitted waves striking an ionospheric layer may be
refracted back to the earth and received at a distance after one refraction. If this is the case, the
transmission is known as single hop transmission. Alternatively, the waves may be reflected
back from the earth to the ionosphere and the process of refraction and reflection repeated
several times before reaching the distant receiver. In this case, the transmission is known as
multihop transmission. The mode of propagation is known as skywave communication. Single
and multihop skywave transmissions are illustrated in Figure 9.13. As the frequency of
transmission increases, higher and more strongly ionised layers are required for refraction. Very
low frequencies (VLF) and low frequencies (LF) are refracted by the less dense D layer
whenever it is present. MF and HF are refracted by the F layer. As the frequency increases, at
some point, the wave is not refracted by the ionosphere and pierces through it. This frequency is
known as the critical frequency which varies with the time of day, season, geographical
position, etc. Skywave communication suffers from a blackout of signals to some part of the
earth known as skip zones. The skip zone extends from the outer limit of groundwave
communication to the inner limit of skywave communication as illustrated in Figure 9.14.

Figure 9.13 Skywave communication.

Figure 9.14 Skip zone in skywave transmission.

Perhaps the most important element in an ionospheric (HF) telecommuni-cation system is the
antenna. For point-to-point HF operation, two basic antenna types are available:

Rhombic
Log periodic.

For transmission distances greater than 4500 km, precision-designed rhombic antennas are
preferred. For shorter distances, both rhombic and log periodic antennas may be considered. A
rhombic antenna comprises several horizontal long wire radiators arranged in the form of a
rhombus as shown in Figure 9.15. For a transmitting antenna, one end of the rhombus is
connected to the transmitter via a transmission line and the other end is terminated in a
resistance. The antenna behaves like a slightly mismatched transmission line as the terminating
impedance is slightly greater than the characteristic impedance to compensate for the loss of
energy by radiation.
 Figure 9.15 Rhombic antenna structure.
A log periodic (LP) antenna is more compact and has a good performance over a wider
bandwidth than its rhombic counterpart. The basic arrangement of an LP antenna, shown in
Figure 9.16, has a number of radiating elements (dipoles) with 180° transpositions between
adjacent elements. The purpose of transposition is to enable the antenna to radiate from the
smaller end. The physical lengths of the dipoles vary from a half-wavelength of the lowest
frequency down to a half-wavelength of the highest frequency. The feed point for the antenna is
at the end with the smaller dipoles. The relationship between dipole lengths and spacings results
in a system in which for a given frequency three to four dipoles resonate and form a radiation
centre. This centre moves steadily along the antenna as the frequency changes. The radiation
pattern repeats periodically with the logarithm of the frequency and hence the name log periodic
antenna.

Figure 9.16 A log periodic antenna.

Transmitting antennas concentrate radiation in wanted directions. As a result, a gain factor is

achieved in the direction of radiation when compared to an isotropic source which radiates in all
directions. An isotropic radiator is a hypothetical antenna and does not exist physically but
represents a convenient reference for expressing the directive properties of practical antennas.
Gain of a physical antenna is defined as

(9.8)

where E1 and E2 are the field strengths given by the transmitting antenna and the isotropic
source respectively at a given distance and total radiated power. A high gain antenna usually has
subsidiary radiation lobes, known as side lobes in addition to the main lobe used for
communication. Side lobes result in a loss of antenna gain, thereby reducing the useful power
radiated. To take into account this loss, we define a parameter called radiation efficiency as

Antenna feed also introduces some loss. If the gain factor G is specified taking into account
the radiation and antenna feed loss, it is referred to as power gain. The power gain is usually
expressed in terms of effective isotropically radiated power (EIRP), where the gain of an
isotropic antenna is taken as 1 or 0 dB. To distinguish the gain factor specified by Eq. (9.8) from
power gain, this factor is called directive gain. It is important to note that power gain is more
relevant in the case of transmitting antenna and directive gain in the case of receiving antenna.
An antenna can be mounted either vertically or horizontally depending upon practical
convenience. Accordingly, a radiation pattern is said to be either vertically polarised or
horizontally polarised. Since in skywave communication, the signal reaches the receiver by one
or more reflections from the ionosphere, the angle of launch of signal into the ionosphere
assumes importance. The path length is determined by this launch angle which is known as the
take-off angle (TOA) and is defined as the angle between the vertical and the line of maximum
radiation. For a given path length and horizontally polarised antenna, the TOA decreases as the
height of the antenna increases and is given by
 (9.11)

where λ is the wavelength of radiation and h is the height of the antenna from the ground.
Skywave communication is prone to fading which is of two types: general fading, in which
the whole signal fades and selective fading in which only some of the frequency components of
the signal fade. General fading can usually be handled by automatic gain control (AGC)
mechanism of the receiver. Selective fading occurs when the skywaves reach the destination via
two or more paths. Different path lengths lead to phase distortion at the receiving end. Use of
single side band transmission or frequency modulation, or restriction of the propagation to only
one mode are the methods by which selective fading effects can be minimised. Selective fading
is also known as multipath fading.
EXAMPLE 9.4 An antenna has a directive gain of 12 dBi, a radiation efficiency of 90% and a
feeder loss of 3 dB. Determine its power gain. Spell out the significance of the power gain and
directive gain values.
Solution
Radiation loss = 10 log (0.9) = −0.5 dB
Therefore,
Power gain = 12 − 3 − (0.5) = 8.5 dBi
The power gain of this antenna gives an increase in field strength of 8.5 dB over isotropic
antenna and its directive gain yields an improvement of 12 dB in received (S/N) ratio.