At the end of this course the You will be able to:

Understand Communications Systems

Know the types of Transmission Media
Understand MW Communication
Know Radio Signal Propagations
Have an understanding of Microwave Antennas types
Realize Types of Modulations
Understand Microwave System Design Overview
Know Microwave Link Budget & System evaluation.
Understand link Planning & Frequency Management
Communications Systems

Channel

Modulated carrier

Voice Voice
Power Pre De-
Video Modulator
modulator Video
Amplifier Amplifier
Data Data

Carrier Local
generator oscillator
Communications Systems

Communication is the process of transfer information

across space or time.

Communication Systems consist of three main parts

Insertion of information (Transmitted signal)

Propagation of the signal (termed the Channel).
Extraction of information (termed the Received signal)
Communications Systems
Transmission Modes
Transmission Modes
Transmission Media
Transmission media classified into two types:
Guided (Wired)

Unguided (Wireless):
Guided transmission media

Twisted Pair

Coaxial Cable
Guided transmission media

Fiber Optics
Unguided Transmission (Wireless)
Unguided Transmission (Wireless)

Microwave transmission
MW Communication
MW Communication

Microwave Communication is the transmission of information

or energy by microwave radio waves.

The definition of the term Microwave is not strict and has

changed over time. Today it is commonly used for the
frequency range from 1 gigahertz and up to 100 gigahertz
MW Communication
Frequency Bands
The radio link frequency range of most interest and
which will be studied here is from approximately 4
gigahertz and up to 80 gigahertz.
Propagation properties will differ quite much over this
large range.
The choice to use frequencies from the lower or higher
part of the range is mainly based on the application.
By international regulations the range is subdivided
into individual frequency bands. Each band is covering a
certain frequency interval and is further subdivided into
a number of individual channels.
MW Communication

Advantage of Microwave communication

Quick roll-out
Short time to market
Low operational costs
Application independent
Easy to expand, modular
Software controlled functionality
MW Communication
Range and capacities

Frequency bands from 4GHz to 80GHz

Maximum hop length from some km up to approx. 150km
Transmit at one Frequency, TX, and receive at another, RX
Between TX and RX is the duplex frequency, set by a
international standard institute (ITU).
Frequency bands are divided into a lower band and an
upper band, each band is divided into channels with
different frequency bandwidth, Channel width
The frequency bandwidth is necessary to carry the
information
MW Communication
MW Communication

Why use Microwave Transmission?

Because It:
Support all types of traffic
Support All types of applications
Better availability compare to cable
Highly flexible alternative to cable connections
Standardization
Frequency regulation and equipment standards
Frequencies is natural resource available for radio
communication
Radio signals dont stop at national borders.

Agreements needed between international regulators,

or standardization bodies, and national authorities to
make standardization for radio Frequencies.
Frequencies management aims to prevent
interference between services and interference
between users within the same service.
Frequency assignments also have to ensure the
efficient use of the spectrum
Standardization
Standardization Bodies

There are more than standardization bodes

For spectrum harmonization we found the worldwide
organization ITU-R and the European organization ECC
For equipment standards we found the European
organization ETSI
The National Frequency Authority in each country has
the final decision on what details in international
recommendations and standards to apply.
Radio Signal Propagations
Frequency is the change of the two poles in an electric
circuit or the electrical field, in a radio wave change
polarity.

Frequency is measured in the unit Hertz

Hertz is the number of times per second which the one
oscillation curve is repeated
In MW communication high frequencies are used,
actually up to several tens of thousand million hertz.
Radio Signal Propagations

Frequency Bands
By international regulations the Frequency range is
subdivided into individual frequency bands. Each band
is covering a certain frequency interval and is further
subdivided into a number of individual channels.
Wavelength
The wave length is a measurement in meters for how
long distance the wave front will travel during one
oscillation.
Radio Signal Propagations

The Atmosphere
The atmosphere is most dense at sea level and then
gradually gets thinner with altitude up to the vacuum
of space.
This changing air density is impacting the propagation
speed so that radio waves at low altitudes are
travelling slower compared to those travelling at high
altitudes. The relative difference is small but has an
impact
Radio Signal Propagations
k Factor Values

The k factor for the standard atmosphere is 1.33. This

means the wave front is bent downwards and
somewhat follows the earth curvature.
This bending effect can help the radio wave to reach
beyond the horizon and to overcome obstacles
Radio Signal Propagations

Free Line of Sight

Microwave band do not have the ability to travel
around obstacles in the path.
Antennas must therefore be placed so that there is a
free line of sight.
The world is round so to obtain a free line of sight the
first thing to overcome is the earth curvature, the
earth bulge, which here is expressed as delta h.
Radio Signal Propagations
The First Fresnel Zone
To transport the radio signal from transmitter to receiver
without additional loss it is necessary to keep a certain
zone around the direct line sight free from obstacles.
This ellipsoid shaped zone is called the first Fresnel zone.
The basic rule for free line of sight operation is to keep the
zone 100% free from obstacles.
The definition of the First Fresnel zone says that a wave
which is reflected once at any place at the edge of the zone
has travelled half a wavelength longer path compared to
the direct signal. Depending on the frequency it has in
practice travelled an extra distance of between a few
millimeters and up to a few centimeters.
Radio Signal Propagations
Basic Free Space Loss
The distance related loss which a microwave link on the
earth is influenced by consists of two components; basic
free space loss and atmospheric gas absorption loss
When operating at the surface of the earth gases in the
atmosphere must be taken into consideration.
From a microwave point of view the atmosphere consists of
two gases, oxygen and water vapor.
The loss from oxygen and water vapor. Some peaks are of
special interest, the peak at around 20 gigahertz caused by
water vapor and the peak from oxygen at around 50 to 60
gigahertz.
The amount of oxygen is constant around the world so
frequency bands around 50 to 60 gigahertz are typically
assigned for use at very short distances, often for free use
in unlicensed band because of the very short range.
MW Path Planning
Path Planning

The main factor, and the bottom line to fulfill, is with

what reliability the network can transport the traffic. In
transmission this is called Quality and Availability
Path Planning

As microwave planning seldom is an exact science, the

planner must be an experienced engineer capable of
validating both input parameters for the planning as
well as the results from it.
He must also be capable of judging and weighting
different, often contradictory demands on the
planning..
Microwave planning is in the Office made with a
computerized planning tool. To get the planning as
correct as possible this has often to be completed with
a field survey.
Path Planning

Workflow
Path Planning

Select Frequency band

The workflow for the actual microwave planning can in
brief be described as in the picture.
The main tasks are to select frequency band, antenna
mounting height, how to fulfill the Q and A targets and
how to keep interference at a manageable level.
Each task will be studied in more detail and we start
with; Selecting frequency band.
Path Planning

Select Frequency band

Selecting frequency band is generally not a totally free
choice for the Planner. As we know frequency
allocation and licensing is controlled by local
Frequency regulating administrations and how to
apply for a channel or a certain frequency spectrum
differ between countries.
The planner will try to get frequencies in the lower part
of the microwave spectrum for long paths
Path Planning

Determine antenna mounting height

Path Planning
Path Planning

The first obvious step when setting antenna mounting

height is to find the Terrain profile along the path,
altitude of hills,
If the Planner has access to accurate and updated
map data this can be done quite simply in the
Planning tool or can be checked by a Path Survey
To correctly describe how the microwave ray will be
bent by the atmosphere, the k factor, and thereby
how this bending will influence the antenna mounting
height
The basic design objective is to mount the antennas at
such a height so that the first Fresnell zone is free
from obstacles at the selected k factor.
Path Planning

Calculate needed fade margin

Path Planning

Calculate needed fade margin

Path Planning

Calculate needed fade margin

Path Planning

Allocate channels
Path Planning

Allocate channels
The number of channels the Planner can choose from
is usually a limited resource. Both from the point of
view of available spectrum and from a frequency
license cost point of view. This means several, or even
all, hops in a network have to share the same channel
or channels.
The Planners task is to keep the interference level to
an acceptable level while still using a minimum of
channels.