NAB Uplink Operator SeminarR9

October,2006
By:NormanWeinhouse
and
SidneySkjei,P.E.
Skjei Telecom, Inc.

7777 Leesburg Pike, Suite 315N
Falls Church, Virginia 22043

Phone: 703-917-9167
Email: Sidney@skjeitelecom.com
www.skjeitelecom.com

NAB SATELLITE UPLINK OPERATORS TRAINING COURSE

TEXT AND CLASSROOM NOTES

October, 2006

By: Norman Weinhouse
and
Sidney Skjei, P.E.

Skjei Telecom, Inc.

Phone: 703-917-9167
Email: Sidney@skjeitelecom.com
www.skjeitelecom.com

NAB SATELLITE UPLINK OPERATORS TRAINING
COURSE

TEXT AND CLASSROOM NOTES

COPYRIGHT 2006

Skjei Telecom, Inc.
703-917-9167

All rights reserved. No part of this text may be reproduced or utilized in any form
or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by
information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from Skjei
Telecom, Inc.
Copyright 2006 ii All rights reserved
TABLE OF REVISIONS
Revision
No.
Purpose/changes Author Date
R0.1 Initial Release Norman
Weinhouse
and Sidney
Skjei
May 5,
2006
R9 Update Sidney Skjei Sept,
2006

Copyright 2006 iii All rights reserved
Table of Contents
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1
BRIEF HISTORY OF COMMUNICATION SATELLITES IN U.S. 2
INTERNATIONAL SERVICE 7
CHAPTER 2: BASIC CONCEPTS 9
DECIBEL NOTATION 9
DIRECTIONAL ANTENNAS 10
ANTENNA GAIN 10
RADIATION PATTERN 11
GEOSTATIONARY ORBIT 12
SATELLITE LAUNCH SEQUENCE 13
SATELLITE VISIBILITY FROM EARTH 14
SUN OUTAGES 17
ANGULAR DISTANCE BETWEEN SATELLITES 19
FREQUENCY/POLARIZATION PLAN U.S. DOMESTIC 19
TRANSPONDERS AND FREQUENCIES 19
POLARIZATION 20
C BAND 22
KU BAND 23
THE COMMUNICATION SATELLITE 24
SPACECRAFT BUS 25
Stabilization and Station Keeping 25
Power 27
Propulsion 28
Telemetry and Control 30
THE COMMUNICATIONS PAYLOAD 30
Wideband Receiver 31
Channelization 33
Antenna Subsystem 36
SATELLITE CHARACTERISTICS (FOOTPRINTS) 38
SATURATION FLUX DENSITY (SFD, AND G/T) 38
EFFECTIVE ISOTROPIC RADIATED POWER (EIRP) 42
NOISE 43
THERMAL NOISE 43
ANTENNA NOISE 45
RECEIVER NOISE TEMPERATURE (CLEAR WEATHER) 46
POWER ADDITION OF NOISE 48
SATELLITE ACCESS METHODS 48
LINKS AND NETWORKING 51
ONE WAY (BROADCAST) LINKS 51
TWO WAY (BIDIRECTIONAL) LINKS 52
Point to Point Links 52
Networks 52
Copyright 2006 iv All rights reserved
Mesh Networks 53
Star Networks 54
Factors in Choosing a Network Type 55
THE EARTH SATELLITE LINK 55
POWER CONSIDERATIONS IN THE UPLINK 55
UPLINK THERMAL CARRIER TO NOISE RATIO 56
INTERFERENCE IN THE UPLINK 57
Antenna Sidelobe Discrimination 57
Uplink Carrier to Interference Ratio 58
THE SATELLITEEARTH LINK (DOWNLINK) 63
DOWNLINK THERMAL CARRIER TO NOISE RATIO 63
DOWNLINK CARRIER TO-INTERFERENCE RATIO 66
CARRIER-TO-INTERMODULATION RATIO 67
INTERFERENCE LOCATION SYSTEMS 69
AGGREGATION OF INTERFERENCE EFFECTS 71
PROPAGATION ANOMALIES 72
WEATHER RELATED FACTORS IN SATELLITE LINKS 72
Effects of Rain 73
Rain Attenuation 73
Noise Temperature Effects 73
Depolarization 75
Uplink and Downlink Effects and Countermeasures 75
Uplink Effects and Countermeasures...................................................................76
Downlink Effects and Countermeasures..............................................................76
Scattering 76
Effects of Snow 76
OTHER PROPAGATION ANOMALIES 77
OVERALL PREDETECTION CARRIER-TO-NOISE RATIO 77
CHARACTERISTICS OF C, KU AND KA BAND SATELLITE COMMUNICATIONS 78
C-BAND SATELLITES 78
KU-BAND SATELLITES 78
KA-BAND SATELLITES 79
COMPARISON OF C, KU AND KA BAND SYSTEMS 81
COMMONLY USED MODULATION TECHNIQUES 83
FREQUENCY MODULATION 83
TelevisionFM/TV 83
Frequency Division Multiplex, FDM/FM 84
Single Channel Per CarrierSCPC/FM 84
DIGITAL MODULATION 84
SPREAD SPECTRUM 85
OVERMODULATION 85
SIGNAL-TO-NOISE RATIO-ANALOG SYSTEMS 86
FM TELEVISION 86
Video-Signal-to-Noise Ratio 86
Audio-Signal-to-Noise Ratio 89
FM Subcarriers 89
Sound in Synch Digital Audio 91
FMSCPC 92
FDM/FM FM SUBCARRIERS 92
Copyright 2006 v All rights reserved
FDM/FM SINGLE SIDEBAND SUBCARRIERS 93
DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES 93
SOURCE CODING (BASEBAND PROCESSING) 94
Pulse Code Modulation (PCM) 94
Predictive Techniques 94
Forward Error Correction 95
DIGITAL MODULATION TECHNIQUES 95
Amplitude, Phase and Symbols 95
Biphase Modulation (BPSK) 97
Quaternary Phase Modulation (QPSK) 99
SIGNAL-TO-NOISE RATIO AND EB/NO 102
8PSK AND 16 QAM MODULATION 104
COFDM MODULATION 106
FORWARD ERROR CORRECTION CODING 107
Block Coding 107
LDPC 108
Convolutional Coding 110
System Impairments 113
Eye Patterns 114
COMPRESSED DIGITAL TELEVISION AND TRANSMISSION 114
INTRODUCTION- ANALOG TELEVISION 114
TYPES OF VIDEO 116
INTRODUCTION TO DIGITAL VIDEO 117
WHY DIGITAL TELEVISION? 117
WHY COMPRESSION? 118
DIGITAL TELEVISIONBASICS 118
The A-D ProcessSampling, Quantizing and PCM Coding 119
Sampling 119
Quantizing 120
Encoding 121
Serial or Parallel Transmission 123
COMPRESSION 123
Compression Techniques 126
Pre-Processing and Redundancy Removal 126
Prediction and Motion Compensation 126
TransformationFrequency Decomposition 127
Quantization 127
Entropy Reduction 128
ALGORITHMS 128
DECOMPRESSION DECODING 131
COMPLETE SYSTEM EXAMPLE 133
STANDARDIZATION 133
CURRENT STANDARDS FOR SATELLITE TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL TELEVISION 134
DIGITAL TELEVISION STANDARD (DVB) 135
DVB-S and DVB-S2 136
EMERGING ENCODING METHODS: MPEG 4 AND JPEG 2000 137
MPEG 4 Part 10 and SMPTE VC-9 137
JPEG 2000 138
HIGH DEFINITION TELEVISION 140
Copyright 2006 vi All rights reserved
ADVANCED TELEVISION STANDARDS COMMITTEE (ATSC) 140
SATELLITE TRANSMISSION OF COMPRESSED TELEVISION 142
HIGH DEFINITION (HD) TRANSMISSION OVER SATELLITE 145
DIRECT BROADCAST SATELLITE SYSTEMS 145
CHAPTER 3: GROUND EQUIPMENT 147
UPLINK GROUND COMMUNICATIONS EQUIPMENT 149
Television Exciters/Uplink Video Equipment 149
Analog Exciter 149
Baseband Circuits 149
Modulation and Upconversion 150
Transmitter Identification 151
Digital Exciter 152
SCPC Uplinks 152
POWER AMPLIFIERS 154
MULTIPLEXERS AND SWITCHES 156
Switches 156
Multiplexers 156
Satellite SimulatorNon Radiation Tests 159
DOWNLINK EQUIPMENT 160
LOW NOISE AMPLIFIERS/CONVERTERS 160
POWER DIVIDERS 163
DOWNCONVERTER/DEMODULATOR 164
INTEGRATED DIGITAL RECEIVER-DECODER 164
ANTENNAS, DUPLEXER AND IFL 164
DUPLEXER 165
ANTENNASRADIATING ELEMENTS 166
Gain and Sidelobe Performance Verification 166
Antenna GeometryFeed Systems 166
Mechanical Features 168
Dimensional Tolerances 169
Foundations, Mounts and Motor Drives 169
RECEIVE ONLY EARTH STATION 170
INTERFACILITY LINK (IFL) 170
POWER SYSTEMS 171
MAINTENANCE PROGRAMS 171
EARTH STATION LICENSING 172
FREQUENCY COORDINATION 174
CHAPTER 4: UPLINK OPERATION 175
OPERATING RESPONSIBILITIES 175
OPERATOR CONTROLS 176
TEST EQUIPMENT AND CALIBRATION 176
ACCESS PROCEDURES 177
ESTABLISH CONTACT WITH SATELLITE OPERATORS 177
LOCATE AND VERIFY IDENTITY OF PROPER SATELLITE 177
Copyright 2006 vii All rights reserved
ANTENNA OPTIMIZATION AND PRE-TRANSMISSION ADJUSTMENTS 178
TRANSMISSION 178
SATELLITE NEWS VEHICLES(SNG) 178
EVOLUTION OF SNG VEHICLES 179
PERTINENT DOT REGULATIONS 180
ANALOG OR DIGITAL 180
VOICE COMMUNICATIONS 181
SNG PRIORITIES 182
SAFETY 182
MICROWAVE RADIATION HAZARDS 182
POWER AMPLIFIER AND POWER SUPPLY 183
EQUIPMENT LAYOUT AND HOUSEKEEPING 183
INTERFERENCE MANAGEMENT 183
REVIEW OF COMMON OPERATOR ERRORS 184
REVIEW OF CRITICAL EQUIPMENT ITEMS 184
REFERENCES 185
APPENDICES 186

Copyright 2006 viii All rights reserved
Table of Figures
FIGURE 1-1 WORLDWIDE SATELLITE COORDINATION.................................................................... 3
FIGURE 1-2: U.S. DOMESTIC SERVICE................................................................................................... 5
FIGURE 1-3: FREQUENCY BAND NOMENCLATURE........................................................................... 6
FIGURE 1-4: ATMOSPHERIC ATTENUATION AT DIFFERENT FREQUENCY BANDS.................... 7

FIGURE 2-0 QUICK REFERENCE LIST OF DECIBELS........................................................................... 9
FIGURE 2.1 ILLUMINATION OF A PARABOLIC REFLECTOR.......................................................... 12
FIGURE 2-2 GEOSTATIONARY SATELLITES....................................................................................... 13
FIGURE 2-3: SATELLITE LAUNCH SEQUENCE.................................................................................. 14
FIGURE 2-4: NORTH AMERICAN MAGNETIC DECLINATION ......................................................... 15
FIGURE 2-5 GROUND ANTENNA ELEVATION AND AZIMUTH FOR STATIONARY SATELLITES
............................................................................................................................................................. 16
FIGURE 2-6: GEOMETRY OF SUN OUTAGE......................................................................................... 18
FIGURE 2-7: LINEAR POLARIZATION OF RADIATION FROM VERTICALLY AND
HORIZONTALLY POLARIZED FEED HORNS.............................................................................. 20
FIGURE 2-8: POLARIZATION AND ELEVATION ANGLE VERSUS LATITUDE AND LONGITUDE
............................................................................................................................................................. 21
FIGURE 2-9: C BAND FREQUENCY/POLARIZATION PLAN.............................................................. 22
FIGURE 2-10 -U.S. DOMESTIC C-BAND GEOSYNCHRONOUS SATELLITES ................................. 23
FIGURE 2-11: - U.S. DOMESTIC KU BAND SATELLITESAND LOCATION ................................... 24
FIGURE 2-12 GENERAL ARRANGEMENT OF THE DUAL SPIN SPACECRAFT.............................. 26
FIGURE 2-13 SPACECRAFT ORBITAL ASSIGNMENT BOX ........................................................... 27
FIGURE 2-14: THREE AXIS OR BODY STABILIZED SPACECRAFT ................................................. 28
FIGURE 2-15: GEOMETRY OF ORBITAL INCLINATION.................................................................... 29
FIGURE 2-16: REPRESENTATIVE DAILY SATELLITE PATH OF AN INCLINED ORBIT
SATELLITE........................................................................................................................................ 30
FIGURE 2-17: SIMPLIFIED BLOCK DIAGRAM OF COMMUNICATIONS PAYLOAD..................... 31
FIGURE 2-18 TYPICAL WIDEBAND SATELLITE COMMUNICATIONS RECEIVER....................... 32
FIGURE 2-19 INTERMODULATION EFFECTS. ..................................................................................... 33
FIGURE 2-20: INTERMODULATION EFFECTS FROM MULTIPLE CARRIERS................................ 34
FIGURE 2-21 TYPICAL INPUT/OUTPUT AMPLIFIER CHARACTERISTIC....................................... 35
FIGURE 2-22 GENERATION OF A SHAPED BEAM ANTENNA PATTERN USING MULTIPLE
FEED HORNS AND AN ASSOCIATED FEED NETWORK. .......................................................... 37
FIGURE 2-23 SPACECRAFT ANTENNA BEAM SHAPING COVERAGE OF MEXICO..................... 37
FIGURE 2-24 POWER FLUX DENSITY. .................................................................................................. 39
FIGURE 2-25 GALAXY IV TRANSPONDER 23 G/T (DBK). ................................................................. 40
FIGURE 2-26 EIRP FOOTPRINT............................................................................................................... 43
FIGURE 2-27 MAJOR CONTRIBUTORS TO ANTENNA NOISE IN THE SATELLITE RECEIVER. . 46
FIGURE 2-28: BLOCK DIAGRAM SHOWING SATELLITE RECEIVER NOISE CONTRIBUTIONS.
............................................................................................................................................................. 47
FIGURE 2-29: CHARACTERISTICS OF DIFFERENT METHODS OF SATELLITE ACCESS ............ 49
FIGURE 2-30: TYPICAL FDM TRANSPONDER ACCESS..................................................................... 49
FIGURE 2-31: SPREADING A SIGNAL TO PERMIT CDMA OPERATION......................................... 50
FIGURE 2-32: SPECTRUM OF A SIGNAL BEFORE AND AFTER SPREADING FOR CDMA .......... 51
FIGURE 2-33: ONE WAY, POINT TO MULTIPOINT LINKS................................................................. 52
FIGURE 2-34: MESH NETWORK............................................................................................................. 53
FIGURE 2-35: STAR NETWORK TOPOLOGY........................................................................................ 54
FIGURE 2-36 POWER LEVEL DIAGRAM- UPLINK.............................................................................. 56
FIGURE 2-37: ANTENNA SIDELOBE DISCRIMINATION.................................................................... 58
FIGURE 2-38 UPLINK INTERFERENCE. ................................................................................................ 59
FIGURE 2-41: PATH LOSS BETWEEN SYNCHRONOUS ORBIT AND SUB-SATELLITE POINT. .. 65
FIGURE 2-42 FREE SPACE LOSS VERSUS GROUND STATION ELEVATION ANGLE. ................. 66
FIGURE 2-43 DOWNLINK INTERFERENCE. ......................................................................................... 67
Copyright 2006 ix All rights reserved
FIGURE 2-44 AMPLIFIER INPUT OUTPUT CHARACTERISTIC SHOWING THEORETICAL THIRD
ORDER DISTORTION AND 2 TONES. ........................................................................................... 68
FIGURE 2-46: EXAMPLE OF ACCURACY FROM TWO LINES OF POSITION.................................. 70
FIGURE 2-47: TYPICAL TDOA MEASUREMENT SETUP.................................................................... 71
FIGURE 2-48 CAUSE-EFFECT DIAGRAM SHOWING VARIOUS INTERFERENCE SOURCES...... 72
FIGURE 2-49 RAIN ATTENUATION VS. NOISE TEMPERATURE...................................................... 74
FIGURE 2-50: RAIN ZONE MAPS IN THE US (CRANE MODEL)........................................................ 75
FIGURE 2-51: SPOT BEAM CONFIGURATIONS................................................................................... 80
FIGURE 2-52: TECHNICAL DIFFERENCES BETWEEN C, KU AND KA BAND SATCOM.............. 81
FIGURE 2-53 MERITS OF C, KU - AND KA-BAND FOR SATELLITE COMMUNICATIONS........... 82
FIGURE 2-54 EFFECT OF MODULATION INDEX ON FREQUENCY MODULATION SPECTRUM88
FIGURE 2-55: RELATIONSHIP OF C/N TO SNR IN AN FM CARRIER............................................... 88
FIGURE 2-56: NTSC FM MODULATED CARRIER AND SIGNAL TO NOISE RATIO....................... 89
FIGURE 2-57: PHASE RELATIONSHIPS IN SIGNALS.......................................................................... 96
FIGURE 2-59: SIMPLIFIED BLOCK DIAGRAM, TIME DOMAIN OF BIPHASE MODULATOR. ..... 98
FIGURE 2-60 SIMPLIFIED BLOCK DIAGRAM, BIPHASE DEMODULATOR. .................................. 99
FIGURE 2-61 SIMPLIFIED BLOCK DIAGRAM, QPSK MODULATOR SHOWING (GRAY CODED)
PHASE STATES. .............................................................................................................................. 100
FIGURE 2-62 MODULATOR DATA STREAMS FOR QPSK AND OKQPSK. .................................... 101
FIGURE 2-63 RF ENVELOPE FOR QPSK AND OKQPSK SIGNALS................................................. 102
FIGURE 2-64 PLOT OF THEORETICAL EB/NO VS. BER. .................................................................. 104
FIGURE 2-65: 8 PSK CHARACTERISTICS............................................................................................ 104
FIGURE 2-66: 16-QAM CONSTELLATIONS......................................................................................... 105
FIGURE 2-67: ERROR RATES OF PSK MODULATION SYSTEM. .................................................... 106
FIGURE 2-68: COHERENT ORTHOGONAL FREQUENCY DIVISION MULTIPLEX MODULATION
........................................................................................................................................................... 107
FIGURE 2-69: BLOCK ENCODER.......................................................................................................... 108
FIGURE 2-70: BLOCK DECODER.......................................................................................................... 108
FIGURE 2-71: LDPC PERFORMANCE COMPARISON........................................................................ 109
FIGURE 2-72 COMPUTATIONAL BASIS OF LDPC............................................................................. 109
FIGURE 2-73: CONVOLUTIONAL ENCODER..................................................................................... 110
FIGURE 2-74: VITERBI DECODING OF CONVOLUTIONAL CODING............................................ 110
FIGURE 2-75: MODEM PERFORMANCE WITH AND WITHOUT FEC............................................. 111
FIGURE 2-76: CONCATENATED CODING........................................................................................... 112
FIGURE 2-77: CONCEPT OF INTERLEAVING..................................................................................... 112
FIGURE 2-78: DISPERSAL OF ERRORS IN AN INTERLEAVER....................................................... 113
FIGURE 2-79 NTSC COUNTRIES........................................................................................................... 114
FIGURE 2-80: SECAM COUNTRIES ...................................................................................................... 115
FIGURE 2-81 NTSC SIGNAL................................................................................................................... 115
FIGURE 2-82: NTSC WAVEFORM......................................................................................................... 116
FIGURE 2-83: TYPES OF VIDEO............................................................................................................ 117
FIGURE 2-84 OVERVIEW OF THE A TO D CONVERSION PROCESS ............................................. 119
FIGURE 2-85: VIDEO SAMPLING FREQUENCIES AND BIT RATES............................................... 120
FIGURE 2-86 SAMPLING POINTS (F
S
= 4F
SC
) ..................................................................................... 120
FIGURE 2-86: COMPOSITE QUANTIZING LEVELS ........................................................................... 121
FIGURE 2-87: 8 BIT BINARY CODES.................................................................................................... 122
123
FIGURE 2-88 BINARY WORDS FOR BURST SAMPLES .................................................................... 123
FIGURE 2-89: UNCOMPRESSED VIDEO DATA RATES .................................................................... 124
FIGURE 2-90: MOTION COMPENSATION IN MPEG 2....................................................................... 125
FIGURE 2-91 ENCODING PROCESS SIMPLIFIED .............................................................................. 126
FIGURE 2-92: BASIC ELEMENTS IN MPEG 2 ENCODER.................................................................. 129
FIGURE 2-93 MPEG TRANSPORT PACKET STREAM........................................................................ 130
FIGURE 2-94 MPEG TRANSPORT STREAM PACKET........................................................................ 130
Copyright 2006 x All rights reserved
FIGURE 2-95 MPEG TRANSPORT STREAM PACKET MULTIPLEXING......................................... 131
FIGURE 2-96 PACKET DEMULTIPLEXING......................................................................................... 132
FIGURE 2-97 BASIC ELEMENTS OF THE MPEG-2 DECODER......................................................... 132
FIGURE 2-98: COMPLETE DIGITAL SYSTEM.................................................................................... 133
FIGURE 2-99 MPEG-2 LEVELS AND PROFILES ................................................................................. 135
FIGURE 2-100 MPEG 4-10 ENCODING PROCESS............................................................................... 138
FIGURE 2-101: JPEG 2000 PROCESS..................................................................................................... 139
FIGURE 2-102 HDTV STANDARDS AND IMPLEMENTATION........................................................ 140
FIGURE 2-103 : ATSC DIGITAL TELEVISION LAYERS .................................................................... 141
FIGURE 2-104: FOUR CURRENTLY DEFINED ATSC HDTV FORMATS......................................... 142
FIGURE 2-105 COMPRESSED VIDEO LINK BUDGET (OUTPUTS IN ITALICS) ............................ 144
FIGURE 2-106: DIFFERENCE BETWEEN KU FSS AND BSS............................................................. 145
FIGURE 2-107 COMPARISON OF DBS SYSTEMS............................................................................... 145
FIGURE 2-108 REPRESENTATIVE DIRECTV SPOT BEAM COVERAGE........................................ 146

FIGURE 3-1 COMPOSITE SATELLITE EARTH STATION.................................................................. 147
FIGURE 3-2 LARGE KU BAND EARTH STATION.............................................................................. 148
FIGURE 3-3 BASIC ELEMENTS OF AN ANALOG TV EXCITER...................................................... 150
FIGURE 3-4 DUAL CONVERSION PROCESS ................................................................................... 151
FIGURE 3-5 SUBCARRIER ATIS-BLOCK DIAGRAM......................................................................... 152
FIGURE 3-6 DIGITAL EXCITER ............................................................................................................ 153
FIGURE 3-7 SIMPLIFIED BLOCK DIAGRAM OF DIGITAL SCPC UPLINK..................................... 153
FIGURE 3-8 TWO OR MORE SCPC CHANNELS FEEDING A COMMON UPCONVERTER .......... 154
FIGURE 3-9 CHARACTERISTICS OF DIFFERENT POWER AMPLIFIERS....................................... 155
FIGURE 3-10 SHARING AN UPLINK WITH MORE THAN ONE ANTENNA. .................................. 157
FIGURE 3-11 SIX CHANNEL FILTER DIPLEXER MULTIPLEXER................................................... 158
FIGURE 3-12 SIX CHANNEL HYBRID MULTIPLEXER..................................................................... 158
FIGURE 3-13 TWELVE CHANNEL MULTIPLEXER USES FILTERS AND HYBRID...................... 159
FIGURE 3-14 MONITOR AND NON RADIATION TEST APPARATUS............................................ 160
FIGURE 3-15 GENERAL CONFIGURATION OF LNAS, LNBS AND LNCS.................................. 161
FIGURE 3-16: L BAND TO C AND KU CONVERSION CHART......................................................... 162
FIGURE 3-17 EXAMPLE WHERE POST AMPLIFIER IS REQUIRED TO BOOST LEVELS AND
DECREASE NOISE.......................................................................................................................... 163
FIGURE 3-18: INTEGRATED RECEIVER-DECODER.......................................................................... 164
FIGURE 3-19 PRIME FOCUS AND DUAL REFLECTOR GEOMETRY.............................................. 147
FIGURE 3-20 OFFSET FED ANTENNA GEOMETRY.......................................................................... 167
FIGURE 3-21: VIDEO RECEIVE ONLY EARTH STATION................................................................. 170

FIGURE 4.1 CAUSES OF INTERFERENCE (SOURCE: SUIRG).......................................................... 175

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
This document is intended primarily as a textbook for the training of earth station
operators who have responsibility for accessing satellites (uplinks). The primary thrust
is directed toward operations with U.S. Domestic satellites. However, the operator must
be constantly aware of the fact that he (or she) is a part of a worldwide
telecommunications infrastructure. Improper operation of an uplink earth station can
adversely affect: 1) the network of which the earth station is a part, 2) other networks in
the same satellite, 3) other U.S. domestic satellites, 4) other foreign or regional satellites
and 5) international telecommunications traffic.

There can be severe economic consequences due to improper earth station operations.
The importance to the network in which the earth station is a part will vary with the
circumstances. Each operator should be aware of this and act in accordance with the
interests of his (or her) employer or client. Furthermore, interference to other systems
can result in criminal prosecution with both fines and/or jail sentences depending on
the circumstances. Repeated cases of unintentional or negligent interference can result
in fines and/or loss of the FCC license for the earth station.

This text includes a short history of communication satellites in the U.S. and a discussion
of the regulatory aspects of U.S. domestic and other satellite systems in this section.
Section 2 deals with BASIC CONCEPTS including: a) satellite specifics (orbit/orbit
control, communication subsystem, frequency/polarization plans and important
parameters), b) directional antennas, c) noise and d) link budgets for various commonly
used modulation techniques. Section 3 deals with GROUND EQUIPMENT, and section
4 covers UPLINK OPERATIONS.
Copyright 2006 2 All rights reserved

BRIEF HISTORY OF COMMUNICATION SATELLITES IN U.S.
The U.S. department of Defense and NASA initiated a number of projects in the late
1950s and early 1960s directed toward satellite communications. The first operational
commercial communications satellite was Early Bird launched in 1965 for Intelsat
followed by Intelsat II in 1966. In 1970, the U.S. government announced an open skies
policy whereby an entity with the legal, technical and financial capabilities could launch
and operate satellites serving the U.S. domestically. The first U.S. domestic satellite to
be launched was Westar I (1974).
The orbital arc is administered on a global basis by the International
Telecommunications Union (ITU), which is an agency of the United Nations (UN). The
FCC administers and regulates the Geostationary Orbit for commercial use in the U.S.
Domestic Satellite Service. The FCC has authorized satellites to operate in the
Geostationary Orbital Arc between 62 west longitude to 146 west longitude for U.S.
Domestic Service.

Copyright 2006 3 All Rights Reserved

Figure 1-1 Worldwide Satellite Coordination
UNITED NATIONS
INTERNATIONAL
TELECOMMUNICATIONS UNION
REGION 1
EASTERN
EUROPE
REGION 1
WESTERN
EUROPE
REGION 1
AFRICA
REGION 3
ASIA/AUSTRALIA

REGION 2
THE AMERICAS

NORTH/CENTRAL
AMERICA

SOUTH
AMERICA
UNITED
STATES
CANADA
MEXICO
UNITED
STATES
ORBITAL ARC
DEGREES,
WEST 143 121 105 62


As shown in Figure 1-1, Coordination of all satellites is done by a branch of the
International Telecommunications Union (ITU), which in turn is a part of the United
Nations (UN). The U.S. Department of State is the official U.S. member of ITU, and the
FCC provides support. An application for a space station must be submitted to the FCC
in accordance with the FCC rules. The FCC then forwards the pertinent information to
the ITU, which then coordinates with other entities for any potential conflict or
interference potential.
Three classes of satellite services have been established in the U.S. They are: a) Fixed
Satellite Service (FSS), b) Broadcast Satellite Service (BSS) and c) Mobile Satellite Service
(MSS). All three classes are administered by the International Bureau of the FCC, as
shown in Figure 1-2. In South and Central America rules are established by CITEL, the
Inter-American Telecommunications Commission.

This course of study will emphasize the FSS. The rules dealing with the FSS are given in
the "Code of Federal Regulations 47 Part 25". An uplink operator should be familiar with
these rules and maintain the latest published version at the earth station. For uplink
stations that operate in the Broadcast Satellite Service (BSS), the rules are given in Code
of Federal Regulations 47, Part 100.


Figure 1-2: U.S. Domestic Service

FCC

INTERNATIONAL
BUREAU

MOBILE
SATELLITE
SERVICE

FIXED
SATELLITE
SERVICE

BROADCAST
SATELLITE
SERVICE
-2 degree spacing
-linear
polarization,
-C, Ku, Ka Band
-assignments by
orbital arc location
-9 degree spacing
- circular
polarization
--Ku, Ka Band
-assignments by
channel or
frequency
-4 degree spacing
- circular polarization
--L, S, C and Ku Band
-assignments by
channel or frequency


There are three frequency bands currently used in the FSS in the United States. They are
C Band (5925 to 6425 MHz up, 3700 to 4200 MHz downcommonly called 6/4 GHz), Ku
band (14000 to 14500 MHz up, 11700 to 12200 MHz downcommonly called 14/12 GHz
and Ka Band, (28,350 to 28600 and 29,250 to 30,000 uplink and 18300 to 18,800 and 19,700
to 20.200 downlink) commonly called 20/30 GHz. Full details are given later in this text.
A chart of all frequency bands is given in Figure 1-3.

During classroom sessions, the various characteristics, advantages and disadvantages of
the various frequency bands will be discussed. Differentiators include beam sizes
available, sharing of the band with other services, and antenna sizes required, as well as
the relative amount of atmospheric attenuation that affects the signal as it passes
through the earths atmosphere. As shown in Figure 1-4, this attenuation differs
significantly for the three FSS frequency bands of interest.

FREQUENCY (MHz)
DESIGNATION
Ref. Data for Radio
Engineers
US Navy RSGB
I 100 - 150
G 150 - 225
P 225 - 390 225 - 390
L 390 - 1,550 390 - 1,550 1,000 - 2,000
S 1,550 - 5,200 1,550 - 3,900 2,000 - 4,000
C 3,900 - 6,200 3,900 - 6,200 4,000 - 8,000
X 5,200 - 10,900 6,200 - 10,900 8,000 - 12,000

K
u

15,350 -
17,250
15,250 -
17,250
12,000 -
18,000

K
K
a

10,900 -
36,000
33,000 -
36,000
10,900 -
36,000
33,000 -
36,000
18,000 -
26,500
26,500 -
40,000
Q 36,000 - 46,000 36,000 - 46,000 33,000 - 50,000
U 40,000 - 60,000
V 46,000 - 56,000 46,000 - 56,000
W 56,000 - 100,000 56,000 - 100,000

Figure 1-3: Frequency Band Nomenclature

Different authors use different nomenclature for frequency bands. The chart above
shows three- a standard engineering text, the US Navy and the Radio Society of Great
Britain.

International Service
There are satellites other than U.S. domestic ones within the field of view of earth
stations located in the U.S. These include satellites serving other countries in North and
South America, as well as international satellites located above the Atlantic and Pacific
Oceans. Of particular concern are satellites serving the northern hemisphere. They are
mentioned here because faulty operation of earth stations in the U.S. domestic service
can cause interference to these satellites.

The U.S. has formal arrangements with Canada and Mexico regarding assignments of
satellites. South American satellites will be interspersed with North American satellites.
Future discussion in this text dealing with the geostationary orbital arc and directional
antennas will indicate why reasonably large antennas are required in uplinking. The
South American Satellites are, or will be, located as little as one degree or less from U.S.
Domestic satellites.

Figure 1-4: Atmospheric Attenuation at Different Frequency Bands
0.004
0.01
0.1
1
3 10 60
A
T
T
E
N
U
A
T
I
O
N

(
d
B
/
k
m
)
H
2
O
O
2
0.02
0.05
0.2
0.5
C-BAND
Ku-BAND
Ka-BAND
FREQUENCY (GHz)
30 20

CHAPTER 2: BASIC CONCEPTS
In order to properly operate a satellite uplink earth station, an understanding of the
overall infrastructure in which the station is a part is necessary. There are no mysteries
here. A satellite is sometimes referred to as a bent pipe in space, and the popular
press almost always refers to a satellite transmission as a signal bounced off of a
satellite 22,300 miles away. In fact, most, but not all present day satellites can be called
Microwave Heterodyne Repeaters and a satellite link can usually be characterized as a
two-hop microwave system. Of course, the paths are rather long as compared to
terrestrial links and the repeater tower is rather tall.

Decibel Notation

Decibel notation is used extensively in this course and in satellite communications,
normally when dealing with power and bandwidth. Decibels were invented by
engineers as a tool to easily multiply large and small numbers without the need for
calculators, computers and slide rules. A tutorial on decibels is given in Appendix B of
this text. However, decibels are easy to use when certain principals are understood and
a few reference numbers are able to be referred to. Figure 2-0 provides a quick reference
list of decibels and their corresponding linear (normal) power or bandwidth values.

Linear- (Multiply) dB- (Add)
1 0 dB
1.26 1 dB
2 3.0 dB
3 4.8 dB
4 6.0 dB
5 7.0 dB
7 8.5 dB
10 10 dB
20 13 dB
30 14.8 dB
40 16 dB
50 17 dB
70 18.5 dB
100 20 dB
200 23 dB
1000 30 dB
10,000 40 dB
Figure 2-0 Quick Reference list of Decibels
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Directional Antennas

Before proceeding with specifics of satellites and satellite links, an initial discussion of
directional antennas is warranted, since orderly use of satellites is dependent on antenna
characteristics. Antennas will discussed further in other sections of the text, but at this
point a few basics should be understood.
Antenna Gain
The question most frequently asked about antennas is, How can a passive device, like
an antenna, have gain? The answer is that antenna gain is a measure of how well the
antenna concentrates its radiated power in a given direction. Gain is the ratio of the
power radiated in a given direction to the power radiated in the same direction by a
standard antenna (usually an isotropic radiator). An isotropic radiator is one where the
radiated power is the same in all directions (point source).

The gain of an antenna can be related to the effective area (Ar) of its aperture by the
formula:
G =
2
4
r
A

Where: is wavelength, and
A
r =
Where: is the efficiency, and

A is the actual area of the aperture.

In most satellite earth station applications, a paraboloidal surface is used as the main
reflecting surface. Typical values of efficiency in the direction of maximum radiation are
50 to 70 percent, depending on design.

It is instantly obvious that the larger the antenna the higher the (on-axis) gain, assuming
that the efficiency is the same. Antenna gain specifications from manufacturers imply
maximum (on-axis) radiation relative to an isotropic radiator.
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Problem: What is the on-axis gain of a 10 meter diameter antenna operating at
6.0 GHz, whose efficiency is 65%?

Solution: meters
x
x
05 . 0
10 0 . 6
10 3
9
8
= =

4
2
2
D
r

= =

G =
( )
( )
5
2
2
2
10 . 5661 . 2
05 . 4
10 65 . 0 4
=
x
x x

Gain (in decibels) = 54.1 dB

Radiation Pattern

In a practical antenna, not all of the available power is radiated in (or received) from just
one direction. Energy is lost in: 1) feed losses, 2) spillover from feed to reflector(s), 3)
forming the main beam, and 4) sidelobes. A typical radiation pattern is shown in Figure
2-1. The shape of the main beam and sidelobe levels is a function of the intrinsic design
and mechanical imperfections in the reflecting surface(s).

Figure 2-1 shows what is commonly called the co-pol or co-polarization pattern. The
cross polarization pattern is also important and will be discussed later.

Further discussion on antennas is contained in Chapter 3. In that section, practical
consideration of antenna performance and maintenance are considered.
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Figure 2.1 Illumination of a Parabolic Reflector
Geostationary Orbit

The earth rotates about its N-S axis at the rate of one revolution per day (24 hours). The
moon, which is an earth satellite, rotates about that axis at a rate of about one revolution
per month. Low altitude earth satellites such as an orbiting space shuttle operating at an
altitude of 150 miles, has a rotational rate of about 90 minutes. An object placed on a
line 22,300 statute miles above the earths equator will have a rotational rate that is
exactly the same as the earths rotational rate. This is the well known Geostationary
Orbit, and has the unique property of being fixed in space relative to all points on the
earth. Figure 2-2 shows this unique orbit.

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Figure 2-2 Geostationary Satellites

The advantage of this orbit is obvious. Expensive earth station antenna tracking is not
required as long as the satellite is kept within the beam of the earth station antenna.
Domestic satellites are required to maintain their assigned orbital position within 0.05.
This puts a practical limit at C Band of about 35 feet diameter (for 0.5 dB loss) on earth
station dish size for no tracking function.

Satellite Launch Sequence
As shown in Figure 2-3 below, a satellite launched into geosynchronous orbit is first
launched into a circular orbit (a) which circles the earth. It then is placed into an
elliptical transfer orbit (b) by firing a rocket or expending fuel at the transfer orbits
perigee.
After several rotations of the earth in the transfer orbit, an apogee kick motor or other
propellant is fired at the apogee, and the satellite is placed into geosynchronous orbit.

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Figure 2-3: Satellite Launch Sequence

Satellite Visibility from Earth

As indicated above, the FCC has authorized U.S. Domestic satellites in the orbital arc
from 62 to 146 west longitude. Assuming there are no local obstacles (buildings,
mountains, etc.) line of sight can be maintained from all points in the contiguous 48
states, continental U.S. (CONUS), with greater than 5 elevation angle of the earth
station antenna. Less than 5 is generally undesirable at C Band and less than 10
elevation angle is not desirable at K
u
Band.

Formulas for calculating the pointing angles of earth station antennas in the northern
hemisphere to satellites in the geostationary arc are as follows:
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True Azimuth, AZ = 180 + arc tan

sin
tan

Where: is the earth station latitude, and is the relative longitude of the
earth station with respect to the satellite longitude. (Satellite longitude minus the
earth station longitude).

True Elevation (with respect to earth),
EL = - arc tan

AZ
D R
sin / sin
/ cos cos

where: R is radius of earth (3,957 miles), and
D is radius of the satellite orbit (26,244 miles).
It should be noted that when attempting to point the antenna, if a compass is used
for azimuth, magnetic declination must be taken into account. Figure 2-4 refers.

Figure 2-4: North American Magnetic Declination
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Figure 2-5 is a plot of the azimuth and elevation formulas on the previous page.

Figure 2-5 Ground Antenna Elevation and Azimuth for Stationary Satellites

Example: Earth Station location: Los Angeles

34 03 30 N. Latitude
118 07 40 W. Longitude
Satellite: SPACENET II @ 69 W. Longitude

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Solution: Station Latitude = a = 34.06

Station Longitude = 118.13
= 69 118.13 = -49.13

tan = - 1.155
sin a = 0.560
cos = 0.654
sin = -0.756
cos a = 0.828

R/D = 0.15077

13 . 64 180
560 . 0
155 . 1
tan 180 =
+ = arc AZ

AZ = 115.86

sin AZ = 0.8998

8998 . 0 / 756 . 0
15077 . 828 . 0 654 . 0
arctan

=
x
EL

EL = - arc tan (-.465)

EL = 24.94

Sun Outages

As indicated above, geostationary satellites are in an orbital arc above the equator,
which means they are in the equatorial plane. During the spring (vernal) and fall
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(autumnal) Equinox, the sun also passes through the equatorial plane (definition of
Equinox).

As seen from the ground, the sun seems to pass behind a satellite once a day. During
the time when both the satellite and sun are in the earth station antenna field of view,
the RF energy from the sun can overpower the signal from the satellite. It is this loss or
degradation of signal that is referred to as Sun Outage.

Figure 2-6: Geometry of Sun Outage.

The severity and duration of a sun outage depends on many factors, and will not be
dealt with here. However, the date and time of maximum effect is predictable. For
practical antennas and for practical satellite signal strengths, an outage will usually
occur for 3 or 4 days in each Equinox for a period of 1 to 5 minutes. Satellite operators
can assist any user with specific information.

There are commercially available programs that can also provide predictions.

A simplified formula for the outage angle shown in Figure 2-6 is:

Outage angle = 3 dB Beamwidth + apparent radius of sun = 11/F/D + 2.5

Where: F is downlink frequency in GHz
D is diameter of antenna in meters.

For a 5 meter antenna at 4 GHz, the outage angle is approximately 3.

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Angular Distance Between Satellites

It should be noted that in the FSS service, orbital slots whether assigned or not call for a
uniform 2 spacing between K
u
band satellites (12/14 GHz), and C Band satellites (4/6
GHz). This 2 spacing policy has been in effect since 1983.

From an uplink standpoint, it is obvious that to preclude interference to adjacent
satellites, a large antenna (narrow beam) and low sidelobes are required.

In future sections of this text, interference considerations are quantified. However,
paramount to an uplink operator should be the understanding that his (or her)
antenna should be pointed accurately and should meet the FCC standard for
sidelobes.

Frequency/Polarization Plan U.S. Domestic
Details of the satellite communications subsystem (payload) are given in section 2.4
below. However, before describing the spacecraft subsystems, it is worthwhile to
discuss the channels of communications of which the satellites are a part.
Transponders and Frequencies
In the context of this section, a channel of communication and the term, transponder
are used interchangeably. In spacecraft terms, as we shall see later, a transponder is a
channel of communication. A transponder is characterized as having: 1) a center
frequency, 2) a usable bandwidth, 3) certain uplink sensitivity and saturation
characteristics, 4) certain power output characteristics and 5) coverage (footprint) for
characteristics 3 and 4. We will also see in later sections, that a transponder can support
more than one channel of communication because of its relatively wide bandwidth. In
some cases, multiple channels are modulated on a single carrier. In other cases, a single
channel is modulated on a carrier, and a multiplicity of carriers is transmitted through a
transponder.

The FCC has set aside 500 MHz of bandwidth for uplinking and downlinking to both
the C band and K
u
band for the U.S. Domestic FSS Service. The rules do not dictate how
this bandwidth is to be utilized. The uplink frequency range at C Band is 5,925 to 6,425
MHz, and the C Band downlink is 3,700 to 4,200 MHz. Elsewhere in the world,
extended C Band is starting to be used, but it has not been assigned in the US at this
time. At K
u
Band, the uplink frequency range is 14,000 to 14,500 MHz, and the downlink
is 11,700 to 12, 200 MHz. Similarly, elsewhere in the world, extended Ku band has been
assigned but it has not been assigned by the FCC for US use.
The FCC has also set aside assignments for Ka band as discussed in section 1 and these
satellites are just now starting to be placed into service.
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Polarization
Electromagnetic waves and antennas are always polarized in some manner. The
polarization may be linear or (approximately) circular. Linear polarizations and circular
polarizations are aligned in space as shown in Figure 2-7. Most domestic FSS satellites
are linearly polarized. A linearly polarized antenna receives maximum power from an
incident linearly polarized wave if the tilt angles of the wave and the antenna
polarizations are aligned similarly in space). The wave is then said to be co-polarized. As
the tilt angle of the wave or antenna rotates from co-polarization, the received power
decreases. When the tilt angles are 90 apart as shown in Figure 2-7, the antenna is cross
polarized to the wave and receives no power from it. The antenna and the wave then
have orthogonal polarizations. A given satellite can employ two orthogonal polarizations
that exist simultaneously and carry different information without interference. This
principle, frequency reuse, is used to increase the information capacity of satellites and
of the geosynchronous orbit.
Early satellites (Westar 1, 2, 3, and SBS 1, 2, 3, 4) utilized a single polarization for
transmission. Modern satellites utilize orthogonal linear polarization, and therefore are
capable of more channels of communication through frequency reuse. One of the most
common errors made in uplink transmission is to transmit on the wrong polarization.
Even more common is to have a slightly misadjusted antenna polarization or a defective
antenna with poor polarization isolation. Erroneous polarization or poor polarization
isolation in the uplink antenna can cause harmful interference to adjacent channels on
opposite polarization, or to adjacent satellites on the same channel but opposite
polarization.

Figure 2-7: Linear Polarization of Radiation from Vertically and Horizontally
Polarized Feed Horns

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The terms vertical and horizontal polarizations apply to linear orthogonal polarizations
of the satellite antenna at the sub-satellite longitude. The polarization angle of an
antenna transmitting to or receiving from a satellite will depend on the earth station
location. Figure 2-8 shows polarization angle and elevation angle for latitude and
longitude of the earth station. This figure should be used as an approximation only.
Final adjustment should be made by coordination with the satellite operator.

Figure 2-8: Polarization and Elevation angle Versus Latitude and Longitude

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For completeness, some satellites not in the domestic FSS arc also used a type of
polarization known as circular polarization. Intelsat uses this at C band for historical
reasons and MSS and BSS (Broadcast Satellites) use this at Ku band to simplify antenna
installation for DBS dishes. In circular polarization, the antenna polarity does not need
to be specifically aligned relative to the satellite.

C Band
A de-facto standard frequency plan has evolved at C band. The FCC places U.S.
domestic satellites so that adjacent satellites are of opposite polarization. Figure 2-9
below is a frequency polarization plan that reflects the current situation at C band.
CENTER
FREQUENCY
POLARIZATION
PLAN A
POLARIZATION
PLAN B
UPLINK DOWNLINK NO. UP DN NO. UP DN
5945 3720 1 H V 1 V H
5965 3740 2 V H 2 H V
5985 3760 3 H V 3 V H
6005 3780 4 V H 4 H V
6025 3800 5 H V 5 V H
6045 3820 6 V H 6 H V
6065 3840 7 H V 7 V H
6085 3860 8 V H 8 H V
6105 3880 9 H V 9 V H
6125 3900 10 V H 10 H V
6145 3920 11 H V 11 V H
6165 3940 12 V H 12 H V
6185 3960 13 H V 13 V H
6205 3980 14 V H 14 H V
6225 4000 15 H V 15 V H
6245 4020 16 V H 16 H V
6265 4040 17 H V 17 V H
6285 4060 18 V H 18 H V
6305 4080 19 H V 19 V H
6325 4100 20 V H 20 H V
6345 4120 21 H V 21 V H
6365 4140 22 V H 22 H V
6385 4160 23 H V 23 V H
6405 4180 24 V H 24 H V
Figure 2-9: C Band Frequency/Polarization Plan

Figure 2-10 below shows current active C band satellites, their orbital location and the
transponder/polarization plan.

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Satellite West Longitude Polarization Plan
AMC 8 139 A
AMC 7 137 B
AMC 10 135 A
GALAXY 1R 133 B
AMC 11 131 A
INTELSAT AMERICA 7 129 B
GALAXY 13/HORIZONS
1 127 A
GALAXY 12 125 B
GALAXY 10R 123 A
INTELSAT AMERICA 13 121 B
ANIK E2 119 A
SATMEX 5 117 B
SOLIDARIDAD 2 113
ANIK F1 107 B
AMC-2 105 A
AMC 1 103 B
AMC 4 101 A
GALAXY 4R 99 B
INTELSAT AMERICA 5 97 A
GALAXY 3C 95 B
INTELSAT AMERICA 6 93 A
GALAXY 11 91 B
AMC 3 87 B
AMC 9 85 A
AMC 6 72 A
Figure 2-10 -U.S. Domestic C-Band Geosynchronous Satellites
Ku Band
At Ku Band there is no current standard (de-facto or mandated) for the operational
satellites frequency and polarization plans. A trend appears to be forming similar to the
De-Facto C Band plan whereby most modern satellites have 24, 36 MHz transponders
with 40 MHz spacing of center frequency on each polarization. The net effect of this
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non-standardization is that unless careful coordination is done, polarization isolation
cannot be counted on in any link involving interference to or from other satellites in the
orbital arc. The co-polarized sidelobe response of the ground antenna is the only tool
available to the transmitting or receiving earth station to avoid interference.
Satellite West Longitude
INTELSAT AMERICA 7 129
GALAXY 13/HORIZONS I 127
GALAXY 10R 123
ANIK E2 118
SATMEX 5 117
SOLIDARIDAD 2 113
ANIK F2 111
ANIK F1 107
AMC 2 105
AMC 1 103
AMC 4 101
GALAXY 4R 99
GALAXY 3C 95
GALAXY 11 91
AMC 3 87
AMC 9 85
AMC 5 79
SBS 6 74
AMC 6 72
ESTRELA DO SUL 63
Figure 2-11: - U.S. Domestic Ku Band Satellitesand Location

The Communication Satellite
There are two main hardware sections that comprise a communications satellite. They
are the communications payload containing the actual radio communications equipment
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for receiving and transmitting signals, and the spacecraft bus which provides the
supporting vehicle to house and operate the payload. Each major section consists of
subsystems, which contribute to the efficient functioning of the satellite. Only the
fundamentals are given here and mainly as they apply to the necessary skill and
knowledge of an uplink operator. For a more complete description, the interested
student is urged to read references 1 and 2. Reference 1 is an excellent treatment
without mathematical encumbrance. Reference 2 delves more deeply into the
mathematics and physics involved in orbital dynamics, and is directed to the
engineering professional in the field.

Spacecraft Bus
A satellite has a directive antenna on board as part of the communications payload. The
satellite antenna pointing and/or attitude control systems affect earth stations accessing
it. It is worthwhile therefore, to know and understand some of the imperfections in that
orbit.

The treatment here is general in nature; therefore, the operator is urged to obtain specific
information on the satellite he (or she) is working with. This information can generally
be obtained from the satellite operator/owner.

Stabilization and Station Keeping
There are two types of stabilization in present day satellites. They are: 1) spin
stabilization and 2) body (three axis) stabilization. Modern satellites are body stabilized
to support a more powerful satellite.

Figure 2-12 depicts the elements of a simple spinner. The simple spinner produces a
very stable and reliable design. However, it has limited communications capability.
The spinner is unconditionally stable, meaning that the spacecraft will stay erect and
even correct itself if disturbed by an external force. In the design and construction of the
simple spinner, the body and major components are arranged to provide maximum
rotational inertia about the spin axis. This produces a drum shape more akin to that of a
tuna can than to that of a pencil.

Geosynchronous satellites are assigned specific longitudinal positions above the
equator. To reduce adjacent satellite interference, satellite stations or "boxes" are defined
at these positions in the east-west and north-south directions, as shown in Figure 2-13.

A satellites box size is assigned based upon its operational frequency band and is
defined as assigned longitude +0.05 and 0 latitude + 0.05 (box size of 0.10 in the E-
W/N-S directions); approximately 45 miles on a side.

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Figure 2-12 General Arrangement of the Dual Spin Spacecraft.

It is normal for satellites to move within their box due to gravitational and other effects
associated with the Earth, sun, and moon. Normally, the satellite operator will allow the
spacecraft to drift from one end of the box to the far end before utilizing the
spacecrafts onboard stationkeeping (normally hydrazine) fuel to position it at the
opposite end of the box. For this reason, it is important that ground station antennas be
aligned when the satellite is passing through box center for peak performance,
particularly for large, non-tracking antennas. This information can usually be obtained
from the spacecraft operator, normally on his web site.

It should be noted that the entire communications payload is despun. This allows great
flexibility in the antenna beam forming through a multiplicity of antenna feeds. It also
allows a larger payload. Dynamic stability is much more complex in the dual spinner
and the interested student can gain insight in references 1 and 2. Antenna pointing in
spinning satellites is usually provided by use of a ground beacon and tracking system.
Earth and sun sensors can augment the ground beacon.

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Figure 2-13 Spacecraft Orbital Assignment Box

Body stabilized satellites utilize high speed gyroscopes or momentum wheels to provide
stiffness in three directions and act as an inertial reference. Figure 2-14 shows the
general arrangement. Antennas are usually mounted on the earth facing side, and
antenna pointing is augmented by sun and earth sensors.
Power
Power to operate a communications satellite is derived from solar cells and a storage
battery, which is necessary during periods when the satellite is in eclipse (the period in
which the solar cells are not able to provide power because the satellite is in the earths
shadow). Modern satellites have sufficient battery capacity to withstand these eclipses
and provide full time power to all on-board electronics. The battery is an important
factor in the life of a satellite and careful conditioning must be exercised by ground
control to ensure that the batteries

.1
0
Box

(Nominal Assigned
Orbital Position)
.1
0
Box
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Figure 2-14: Three Axis or Body Stabilized Spacecraft

Propulsion
The process by which a satellite is launched and placed in orbit is beyond the scope of
this training course. However, the uplink operator should be aware that a satellite has a
propulsion system. An Apogee Kick Motor (AKM) is on board and is used as a retro-
rocket to slow the satellite at its proper apogee (22,300 miles above earth) as it crosses
the equatorial plane (see Figure 2-15). That is the only function of the AKM.

A system of small thrusters with a supply of hydrazine fuel is also on board. These
thrusters can be used to make corrections to a slight error of the main booster system or
AKM firing. Should such a need exist for these thrusters, valuable fuel would be
consumed and detract from the available fuel for its main function of station keeping
and attitude control.

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There are several factors in space to force a satellite out of a geostationary orbit. The
most important ones are: 1) gravity from objects other than earth in our solar system, 2)
solar winds, and 3) thermal gradient in the satellite. Imperfections in the stability
system necessitate occasional correction in attitude control.

As indicated earlier the FCC mandates a maximum excursion of a satellite to 0.05 in
both north-south and east-west station keeping (the box). To maintain the satellite in
the box, fuel is used. A great deal more fuel is used to maintain the vertical (north-
south) position in the box than is used to maintain the horizontal position (east-west),

Sometimes, when a satellite runs low on fuel, the satellite operator will cease north-
south stationkeeping. The satellite will gradually trace what appears from earth to be a
figure 8 trajectory within the assigned box. This figure 8 will increase by 0.9 degree
per year. Satellites in such an orbit are called inclined orbit satellites. Figure 2-15
depicts the geometry of orbital inclination and Figure 2-16 shows the daily track of such
a satellite as seen from one earth location.

Figure 2-15: Geometry of Orbital inclination
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Figure 2-16: Representative daily satellite path of an inclined orbit satellite
Telemetry and Control
A telemetry system of sensors and a transmitter monitors the health and conditions of
various elements in the spacecraft. A command receiver and the actuators to control
various elements in the spacecraft are also included. The telemetry transmitters and
command receiver are connected to an omnidirectional antenna so that communication
with the TT and C ground station can be maintained during launch and in emergencies.
It is worthwhile to note that several commands can affect an uplink station. In most
satellites, ground controlled attenuators can affect the amount of power required from
the uplink station. In extreme circumstances, if an uplink station is causing harmful
interference, transponders can be turned off thereby cutting the desired channel of
communication.
The Communications Payload
The term bent pipe, used in the introduction of this chapter, was a greatly exaggerated
simplification of a communication satellite. It is analogous to a microwave repeater of
the heterodyne type, in which, the microwave carrier is merely displaced in frequency
and retransmitted without demodulation or further processing. Most current satellites
are of this type, although some specialized satellites have been implemented in Europe
where on-board processing can increase the communications capacity, by utilizing the
maximum available power.

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Figure 2-17 is a greatly simplified block diagram of a satellite repeater. It should be
noted that there are three main subsystems. They are: 1) wideband receiver that is
common to all channels, 2) antenna subsystem also common to all channels, and 3) a
means for channelization of the signals. For frequency reuse, by polarization isolation,
items 1 and 3 are replicated. The antenna is common to both polarizations. The term
transponder is a contraction of the words transmitter and responder. The owner or
lessee of a transponder of a 24 channel satellite is therefore an owner or lessee of 1/24 of
the common equipment, and one of the active transmitters.

Figure 2-17: Simplified Block Diagram of Communications Payload
Wideband Receiver
The concept of using a single wideband receiver to accommodate the full frequency
range of input signals of a communications system is unique to satellite design.
Figure 2-18 depicts the elements contained in this subsystem. Usually, this
subsystem is redundant on a 1:1 basis, which means that a frequency reuse system
contains four such subsystems.

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Figure 2-18 Typical Wideband Satellite Communications Receiver.

A highly stable oscillator consisting of a quartz crystal oscillator and multiplier produce
a (low side) local oscillator where:

F
LO
= F
UP
F
DOWN

This maintains an upright downlink signal. The stability is such that the most critical of
narrowband transmissions and transmissions with critical phase noise requirements are
not materially affected. Sufficient gain elements are included to drive the channelized
transmitters to saturation.

The uplink operator should be aware of the fact that the design is such that tolerable
intermodulation is maintained with the nominal levels to obtain saturation of the
channelized transmitters. It is therefore important that the uplink station operate at
nominal power dictated by the satellite operator. Too much power could cause harmful
interference to other users on the same polarization through intermodulation distortion
in this wideband portion of the satellite. Figure 2-19 shows how two signals create an
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X
interference signal due to intermodulation, and how the intermodulation components
are affected if one of the signals level increases. Figure 2-20 shows the effects from
more than two signals.

Figure 2-19 Intermodulation Effects.
Channelization
The concept of channelization was introduced earlier in this chapter (2.3). Reference to
figure 2-17, will show in a general way how channelization is accomplished in a satellite.
The series of circulators and filters to the left of the amplifier constitutes what is known
as an input multiplexer. The function of the input multiplexer is to: 1) efficiently
transfer all signals to the separate amplifiers (circulator function), and 2) pass the
desired signal and reject the unwanted signals to the separate amplifiers (filter function).
The uplink operator at this point must realize the importance of the fact that the output
of his (or her) station should be contained in the channel which has been assigned to that
station. The uplink signal should be at the proper frequency, and be relatively free
from spurious outputs or overmodulation (splatter), which can get into other satellite
channels.
(a)

f
4
f
1
f
2
f
3

f
3
and f
4
are intermodulation products produced by third order distortion due to equal level
input signals f
1
and f
2

(b)

f
4
f
1
f
2
f
3

If one of the input signals of condition (a) above is increased by X dB, the intermodulation
products are affected as shown.

f
3
=2f
2
-f
1

f
4
=2f
1
-f
2

X dB increase
X dB increase
2 X dB increase
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Figure 2-20: Intermodulation Effects from Multiple Carriers

The amplifier in the block diagram constitutes the active transmitter in the
repeater chain. It is usually a traveling wave tube amplifier (TWTA), although in
some satellites, solid-state power amplifiers (SSPA) are used. The need for
reliability in this transmitter is obvious. Redundancy is included in modern
satellites. Normal protection is 5:4 or 3:2 meaning that one spare is available for
4 or 2 operating amplifiers, respectively. Ground controlled attenuators are
included in the channels.
Transponder Amplifiers typically consist of two amplifier stages and a common
electric power conditioner (EPC):
1 The first stage is the Driver Amplifier (DA)
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Typically, the DA is a high gain, low power, broadband, solid
state amplifier
The DA provides the commandable gain control for the
transponder
Some DA units also have an automatic level control circuit that
maintains the output signal level constant as the input signal level
varies over a large range
2. The second stage is the Power Amplifier (PA)
Typically, the PA is a high gain, high power, broadband amplifier
The PA provides the RF power required for the downlink EIRP
Some PA units also have a linearizer that functions to optimize the
phase & amplitude and which permit the transponder to operate
at reduced backoff for the same level of intermodulation products.
The amplifiers have an input/output characteristic generally common to all amplifiers.
A typical input/output curve is shown in figure 2-21. Of special interest to uplink
operators is the fact that SSPAs will have a slightly different saturation characteristic.
The TWTA type has a soft saturation whereas the SSPA has a harder saturation. The net
effect is that the SSPA will have a slightly greater linear range than the TWTA, and the
output will droop less with input drive beyond saturation. From the uplink operation
standpoint, he (or she) should realize:

Figure 2-21 Typical Input/Output Amplifier Characteristic.

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1. For a single carrier in the amplifier, increasing the uplink power will not increase
the output power beyond saturation. Beyond saturation, the output power will
probably decrease.

2. For multiple carriers in the amplifier, the satellite operator will operate the
amplifier with less than maximum total output power (back off) in order to control
intermodulation in the amplifier. The actual back off power is at the discretion of the
satellite operator and normally varies from 2.5 to 4 dB. The satellite operator in this case
will normally assign the amount of power taken from the satellite by each carrier. This
is controlled by the users uplink power.

In any case, the uplink station should operate with the assigned power output and not
exceed assigned levels, because to do so would drive the amplifier into saturation, and
intermodulation interference would be generated which would degrade or disrupt
service to all users in the transponders.

Again referring to figure 2-17, the filters on the output of the amplifier are used to
efficiently transfer energy from the amplifiers to the antenna. This complement of parts
is known as the output multiplexer.

Antenna Subsystem
From synchronous altitude, the earth subtends a solid angle of about 19. To transmit
and receive signals to and from earth would require an antenna with this beamwidth.
This could be accomplished with a simple flared waveguide horn. Indeed this kind of
simple horn antenna is used in international satellites for global coverage. For domestic
(U.S. or foreign) systems, such an antenna would not only be wasteful of power, it
would seriously hamper the number of satellites which can be used for domestic service,
or place an unreasonable burden on earth stations accessing those satellites. In the case
of the Continental United States (CONUS), a beam with about 3 (North-South) and 8
(East-West) is required.

Figure 2-22 shows in a general way how shaped beams can be formed using a single
parabolic reflector and a multiplicity of feed horns. Figures 2-23 shows how a
domestic land mass (Mexico) can be efficiently covered by use of beam shaping and
demonstrating that a Shaped Beam is More Efficient than an Elliptical Beam.
.
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Figure 2-22 Generation of a Shaped Beam Antenna Pattern Using Multiple
Feed Horns and an Associated Feed Network.

Figure 2-23 Spacecraft Antenna Beam Shaping Coverage of Mexico

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In the case of U.S. domestic satellites, some satellites have antennas that have coverage
that is more favorable to densely populated areas. Other satellites have east and west
spot beams. Still other proposed satellites have time zone beams. Almost all have very
narrow spot beams covering Hawaii or Puerto Rico. Some proposed systems utilizing
time zone beams, can use the spatial or geographic isolation in the beams to re-use the
same frequencies in addition to re-use though polarization isolation.

It should be apparent that as the beamwidth of a satellite antenna system is narrowed by
beam shaping or by use of large antennas, there is a concomitant requirement for
stability in antenna pointing and/or attitude control. A shaped beam antenna will have
a steep drop off at edges of coverage as compared to a simple beam. The operator of a
fixed earth station should be in contact with the satellite operator to know what the
variation in coverage might be. For satellites with ground beacon pointing, the
variations will be minimal. For satellites with earth and sun sensors, the variations
could be substantial at the edge of coverage.

Satellite Characteristics (Footprints)
So far in our study of the basic concepts, we have generalized about directional
antennas, and satellite specific items such as orbit and orbital control, and the various
spacecraft subsystems as to how they relate to the uplink operator. In this section, we
will be more specific about the important satellite characteristics that are sometimes
called footprints. These characteristics are important in determining the ultimate
performance of a satellite link. For the uplink, the important characteristics are the Gain
to Temperature Ratio (G/T) and the Saturation Flux Density (SFD). The two are related,
and a single footprint can characterize both. On the downlink, the single important
characteristic is Effective Isotropic Radiated Power (EIRP).
Saturation Flux Density (SFD, and G/T)
In any radio link, the amount of transmitted power required for a certain desired
performance, is dependent on the losses in the link and the sensitivity of the receiver
(absent external interference). In a satellite uplink, the amount of power required is
dependent on the location of the station relative to the satellite because: 1) the slant
range to the satellite is different (although slight) and, 2) there is a directive antenna on
the satellite, whose gain will vary depending on the direction of the earth station with
respect to the direction of maximum gain.

The concept of flux density can be explained by reference to figure 2-24. From the
satellite, the earth station antenna, for all practical purposes, looks like a point source
with an effective isotropic radiated power in the direction of the satellite. This power
must traverse a distance d. From the inverse square law, the power at the satellite is
reduced by, 1/( )
2
4 d . The power flux density at the satellite is therefore:
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EIRP

Point Source p (Power flux density)
Radiator

( ) law square inverse from
d
EIRP
p
2
4
=

Figure 2-24 Power Flux Density.

( ) [ ]

2
2
2
4 log 10
m
dBW
d dBW EIRP
m
dBW
p

where: d is synchronous altitude in meters = 3.59 x 10
7
meters

p = ( ) [ ]
2
09 . 162
m
dBW
dBW EIRP

The term 1/( )
2
4 d represents isotropic loss in the link and is independent of frequency.
It is a convenient number, as we shall see in the link analysis that follows.

Fortunately, satellite operators simplify the problem by publishing footprints of the SFD
and/or the G/T. Figure 2-25 is a footprint of G/T for transponder 23, a 36 MHz C band
transponder on Galaxy 4 (no longer in operation).

NOTE: A user of a satellite transponder (owner or lessee) or an entity in serious
negotiation for purchase or lease is entitled to obtain Transponder Specific Footprints.

Distance d
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Figure 2-25 Galaxy IV Transponder 23 G/T (dBK).

As examples of how a G/T footprint can be used by an uplink operation consider:

1. An earth station in Seattle wishes to access Galaxy IVtransponder 23 to
transmit a wideband television transmission (saturated carrier). It has an
antenna with a 10 meter diameter whose gain is 53 dB, and there is a 3 dB
loss between the HPA and the antenna. What HPA power output is
required? The spacecraft has a 6 dB attenuator in the transponder used.

Solution:

From figure 2-25;

(a) The G/T in Seattle is:

+2 dB/K

(b) Therefore,

SFD = - (+2 + 89) + 6 (Pad) = - 85 dBW/m
2

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(c) Now:

SFD = (EIRP 162.1) dBW
m
2

and

EIRP = (P
A
+ G
A
) dBW

PA = (P
T
3) dBW

(d) Therefore P
T
= (SFD + 162.1 G
A
+ 3) dBW

= - 85 + 162.1 53 + 3
= 27.1 dBW
= 513 watts

2. An earth station in Honolulu is accessing Galaxy 4 transponder 23, 36 MHz
transponder with a radio (audio) signal utilizing 5% of the available power in
the satellite. In this (partial transponder) service, Galaxy 4 operates this
transponder with a total output power back off of 5 dB which corresponds to
an input power back off of 9 dB. The earth station antenna gain is 53 dB and
the transmission line loss is 3 dB. What transmitter power is required? The
spacecraft has a 3 dB attenuator installed in this channel.

Solution:

From Figure 2-25

(a) The G/T in Honolulu is 5 dB/K
(b) Therefore,

SFD = - (-5 + 89) + 3
= - 81 dBW/m
2

(c) But, input signal is reduced by the input back off (from saturation), plus the
power division loss.

FD = SFD BOI PD

(d) Since the carrier takes only 5% of the total available power,

PD = 10 log .05 = -13dB

(e) Flux density at the satellite is:

FD = 81 13 9
= 103 dBW/m
2

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(f) The power from the transmitter is:

P
T
= 103 + 162.1 53 + 3
= 9.1 dBW
= 8.1 Watts

It should be noted that the G/T footprint of Figure 2-25 represents a specific transponder
on Galaxy 4. Most operators have in their data bank actual footprints for a particular
transponder. In some cases, data resides in computer memory and specific SFD or G/T
information can be obtained based on the geographic coordinates of the uplink station.

Another factor that should be noted is that in the calculation of isotropic loss,

2
4
1
log 10
d

The distance used was the synchronous altitude of a satellite, not the slant range from
earth station to satellite.

Effective Isotropic Radiated Power (EIRP)
By definition, EIRP is the product of power into an antenna and the gain of the antenna
referenced to an isotropic radiator. Up to now in this course of study, we have used the
term EIRP, but we have only considered the maximum or on-axis gain of directional
antennas. We have also discussed the nature of directional antennas where a beam is
formed along with unavoidable sidelobes. In the section on satellite antennas, we
discussed beam shaping techniques. In an ideal situation, the spacecraft antenna
designed would like to shape the beam for uniform gain over the coverage area with
low loss. We live in an imperfect world and coverage is not uniform. EIRP should
properly be expressed as:

EIRP = P
A
G
A
( )
Where is the angle off boresight and G
A
() is antenna gain at angle .

This concept is important in the future discussion on earth station antennas and their
potential for interference to other systems.

Satellite operators publish EIRP footprints. Figure 2-26 is such a footprint for
transponder 23 on Galaxy 4. EIRP footprints apply to the saturated EIRP from the
satellite. If an uplink station does not drive the transponder to saturation, or if it
overdrives the transponder, the EIRP will be reduced in accordance with Figure 2-21.

Satellite EIRP applies to the downlink signal, and therefore represents an important
parameter in the design of a receiving earth station.
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Figure 2-26 EIRP Footprint.
Noise
Noise in the context of this course of training is defined as any undesired signal in a
communication circuit. The discussion deals with two basic categories of undesired
signals. They are: 1) thermal noise, and 2) interference noise. In our treatment of
thermal noise, we will include a category called antenna noise because in satellite
technology it is intrinsic and has the same characteristics as thermal noise. Interference
will be treated in more detail in later sections dealing with the overall satellite link.
Thermal Noise
Thermal noise is a result of random electron motion. It is characterized by a uniform
energy distribution over a given frequency bandwidth, and a normal or Gaussian
distribution of levels. In our treatment of thermal noise, we will use the temperature
scale normally used in scientific work dealing with the MKS system of measures. This is
known as the absolute or Kelvin scale. There is a one-for-one correspondence with the
Celsius scale. The relation is:

Kelvins = C + 273.18

At absolute zero degrees (0 K or 273.18 C), there is no molecular motion. No
molecular motion means no thermal noise.

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Thermal noise power is proportional to bandwidth and absolute temperature. The
connecting relationship is Boltzmanns constant and is mathematically expressed as:

N (noise power) = kTB

where: k is Boltzmanns constant 1.38 x 10
23
Joules/K, T is temperature in
Kelvins, and B is effective noise bandwidth in Hz.

Noise factor is a measure of the noise produced by a practical network compared to an
ideal network (i.e. one that is noiseless). Another way of defining the term is the amount
of excess noise on the output of a device over the amount of noise that would be present
if the device were ideal.

Expressing this in a formula

Noise Factor = NF =
ideal
practical
N
N

An ideal (noiseless) receiver would have on its output a noise power of:

N
ideal
= GkT
0
B

Where T
0
is ambient temperature, G is gain of the receiver, k is Boltzmanns constant,
and B is the effective noise bandwidth in Hz.

A practical receiver would have an equivalent input noise temperature T
e
and the
output noise due to its internal noise would be:

N
int
= GkT
e
B

The output of the practical receiver therefore is:

N
pract
= N
ideal
+ N
int
= Gk (T
0
+ T
e
) B

Noise Factor =
( )
B GkT
B T T Gk
e
0
0 +

=
0
0
T
T T
e +

=
0
1
T
T
e
+

or alternatively, the equivalent noise temperature:
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T
e
= T
0
(NF 1)

Noise figure is the noise factor expressed in decibels:

F
dB
= 10 log
10
NF

Example: A receiver has a noise figure of 1.5 dB. What is its equivalent noise
temperature?

NF = alog 4125 . 1 10
10
5 . 1
15 .
= =
Te = 290( ) K = 120 1 4125 . 1

Antenna Noise
One of the least understood aspects of satellite technology by practitioners is the concept
of antenna noise. The question arising most frequently is, How can a passive device
create noise? The answer lies in the fact that the environment in which the antenna is
placed is not free from noise and therefore in addition to picking up the desired signal,
the antenna also picks up this noise. In most terrestrial microwave applications this
noise is small compared to the receiver noise and for all practical purposes, it can be
ignored. However, in a satellite application it represents a substantial part of the total
system noise.

As indicated above, the environment is polluted by a variety of radio frequency energy.
Most of these pollutants meet the test of the definition for thermal noise given above.
That is, it has a uniform frequency spectrum and has a Gaussian level distribution.
Some noise is man-made as a result of electric motors, neon signs, power lines, ignition
systems and a plethora of industrial, scientific and medical instrumentation.
Fortunately, virtually all of this type of pollution is at low frequency and is not a factor
in satellite communication. Broadcast applications and HF communications (2 to 30
MHz) are plagued with man-made noise and it is even extended into the VHF and UHF
frequencies in some urban areas. In satellite microwave systems however, the noise in
the environment comes from natural sources.

Under normal conditions, there are three major contributors to antenna noise in a
satellite receiving system. They are: 1) galactic noise, 2) reflections from a hot earth and
3) moisture absorption in the atmosphere.

In an earlier section, we discussed the abnormal situation called sun outage, where the
radiation from the sun can completely overwhelm the satellite signal.

Galactic noise arises from a universe that has an almost infinite number of stars in
various stages. At 4 GHz the range of galactic noise is 8 to 12 K for practical antennas.

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The earth temperature varies by a small amount around 17 C (290 K). This energy
arrives at the antenna output terminals through the sidelobes of the antenna and is
reduced by the sidelobes. The amount depends on sidelobe levels and the elevation
angle. It may be of some interest to note that the antenna on board a domestic satellite
has a minimum noise temperature of 290 K since it points at the earth.

Moisture in the atmosphere contributes a significant amount of noise, particularly at
certain frequency bands, as discussed previously. The amount of noise contributed also
depends on elevation angle in that the length of the path through the moisture laden
atmosphere decreases as elevation angle increases. Figure 2-27 graphically shows he
major contributors to antenna noise in the satellite receiver. For high elevation angles
(more than 20 degrees), noise is fairly constant between 20 and 30 degrees Kelvin.

Figure 2-27 Major Contributors To Antenna Noise In The Satellite Receiver.
Receiver Noise Temperature (Clear Weather)
The block diagram of Figure 2-28 shows a receiver consisting of: 1) antenna and
feed, 2) losses (L
1
) between antenna and LNA, 3) LNA 4) losses (L
2
) between LNA
and receiver/demodulator and 5) receiver/demodulator. Loss factor L
1
consists of
resistive feed and waveguide loss and mismatch loss that arises from imperfect
impedance match between antenna and LNA.
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Figure 2-28: Block Diagram Showing Satellite Receiver Noise Contributions.

Loss factor L
2
consists of cable and/or power divider losses between LNA and the
receiver/demodulator.

Referenced to the input of the LNA, the effective noise temperature of the system is
calculated as follows, using the equation in figure 2-28.
Where To is ambient temperature in Kelvins (290 K)
L
1
is loss (power ratio)
T
a
is antenna noise temperature
T
p
is LNA noise temperature
L
2
is loss (power ratio)
G
p
is gain of LNA
T
r
is receiver noise temperature

Practical values for these factors are:

T
a
= 30 K (elevation angle greater than 20)
L
1
= 0.2 dB = 1.047
L
2
= 10 dB = 10
T
p
= 120 K
G
p
= 50 dB = 100,000
T
r
= (noise figure of 15 dB = 290 (31.6 1) = 8880

( ) ( ) ( )( )
000 , 100
8880 10
000 , 100
290 1 10
120
047 . 1
290 1 047 . 1
047 . 1
39
+
+ +
+ =
eff
T

T
eff
= 28.6 + 13 + 120 + 0.026 + 0.888

= 162.5 k

If the losses L1 and L2 are 0 dB (1.0), the expression reduces to:
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R
R
p a eff
G
T
T T T + + =

= 30 + 120 + 0.09 = 150.09 K

Power Addition of Noise

Since noise is random in nature, addition of two or more noise signals is done on a
power (incoherent) basis. Thus,

N
t
= N
1
+ N
2
- - - - +N
n

Example: N
1
= -30 dB
m

N
2
= -40 dB
m

( )
4 3
10 10 log 10

+ =
G
N

= 0011 . log 10

= -29.586 dB
m

Satellite Access Methods
The term satellite access is used to describe the method employed to permit multiple
users to utilize a satellite transponder. In general, three different methods of satellite
access are in use today: Frequency Division Multiple Access, or FDMA, Time Division
Multiple Access, or TDMA and Code Division Multiple Access, or CDMA. Figure 2-29
below describes the characteristics of these methods.
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FDMA (SCPC) TDM/TDMA CDMA
Advantages Simple, low cost
equipment
Flexibility of BW
reallocation.
Efficiency
Simple
Disadvantages Not flexible on short
term basis. Inefficient
use of transponder
power
Cost, requires control
station
Requires power
control
Usage today Very Common Common for VSATs Not common but
increasing
Other Can allow greater
bandwidth per
transponder
Licensing issues,
plus and minus
Figure 2-29: Characteristics of Different Methods of Satellite Access
FDMA, sometimes called SCPC or Single Channel per Carrier, involves assignment of
each satellite access, or user, to a unique and different frequency range. No two users
occupy the same bandwidth at any time. This requires that the satellite transponder be
backed off to prevent intermodulation products and thus results in inefficient use of the
satellite power. Figure 2-30 shows an example of such access.

Figure 2-30: Typical FDM Transponder Access

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This inefficiency can be avoided if TDMA or TDM access is used. If only one carrier
accesses the transponder, it can be operated at Saturation. In this type of access, users
are separated not in frequency but in time, with each user instantaneously occupying the
full signal bandwidth, but only for a short time, typically called a time slot (if TDM) or a
burst (if TDMA). This method is sometimes also called MCPC or Multiple Channel per
Carrier. It should be noted, however, that while TDMA, TDM and MCPC type carriers
can enjoy the efficiency of full transponder power, they can also be operated in
transponder backed off mode if the full transponder bandwidth is not used.

A third but uncommonly used technique, code division multiple access (CDMA) or
spread spectrum, shares the transponders by allowing coded signals to overlap in time
and frequency, essentially to be layered in the transponder. CDMA involves users
sharing the same bandwidth at the same time but using different codes such that each
users signal can be accurately recovered if the correct code is known. Figure 2-31 shows
how the signal is spread using CDMA and Figure 2-32 shows the signal before and after
spreading.

Figure 2-31: Spreading a Signal to Permit CDMA Operation

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Figure 2-32: Spectrum of a Signal Before and after Spreading for CDMA

Links and Networking
Satellite links can be divided into one way and bi-directional (two way) links. These
will be discussed briefly below.
One Way (Broadcast) Links
One of, if the most important, aspect of satellite communications is its point to
multipoint capability, as shown in Figure 2-33 below. The capability of
connectivity is exploited by these links, wherein all receivers within the coverage
area are able to simultaneously receive a given transmission. These links are
typically characterized by larger transmitting antennas and small, low cost receive
antennas. The disadvantage of these links is that if a given receiver fails to receive
the signal, it is unable to request a retransmission unless a separate path is available.
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Figure 2-33: One Way, Point to Multipoint Links

Two Way (Bidirectional) Links
Two way satellite links can be characterized as either point-to-point or networked
links.
Point to Point Links
Point to point satellite links are normally only employed where a mobile platform is
involved or where terrestrial transmission methods are not present or are
prohibitively expensive, for example a link from Hawaii to Antarctica. The
exception to this would be a disaster recovery backup link put in place to provide
communications in the event of terrestrial link failure.
Networks
Satellite networks are very popular for a variety of purposes: internet
communications, mobile platform communications, rural communications, etc. Two
basic types of networks exist, although many variants of these two types are in
existence: mesh networks and star networks.
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Mesh Networks
The primary characteristics of mesh networks is that any site can communicate with
any other site using only one satellite hop or connection. This is shown in Figure
2-34 below. This type network minimizes satellite delay time (latency) and also
utilizes less bandwidth than other types of network, because each connection
requires only one uplink and one downlink per simplex channel. Also, mesh
networks can be the simplest networks, and the most reliable, because they do not
rely on a central control station or hub. As shown in the figure, each station
transmits, or is cable of transmitting, a link to the other stations (in this case 3 other
stations) and is similarly capable of receiving from 3 other stations.
In the past, this type network was prohibitively expensive, requiring expensive
terminals and placing severe demands on satellite power and bandwidth. This is no
longer the case, and mesh networks are today both cost effective from a terminal and
a satellite bandwidth standpoint. They can be used for either circuit switched or
packet switched data. They can employ Demand Assigned Multiple Access, or
DAMA controllers to further minimize the satellite bandwidth required. Good
applications for mesh networks include all types of voice connectivity in which both
parties utilize satellite terminals, disaster recovery (terrestrial network replication),
videoconferencing, satellite newsgathering, and any other application in which
transmission delay or latency is important.

Figure 2-34: Mesh Network

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Star Networks
Star topology networks, also called wheel and spoke networks, are shown in
Figure 2-35 below.

Figure 2-35: Star Network Topology

In a star network, remote terminals can only talk to the central hub, which controls
the network and allocates satellite bandwidth to the remotes based on their requests
or according to a fixed schedule. This type of network has the advantage that the
remote terminal cost is minimized as is satellite bandwidth for networks with
varying bandwidth demands per terminal. The hub cost, however, is typically high
because the hub is a larger antenna, has sophisticated control and monitoring
equipment and requires a high degree of redundancy because a hub outage results
in a total network outage. Typical applications for star networks include interactive
data networks ( e.g. point of sale credit card approval) utilizing store and forward
data transmission, internet access, sub-meter VSAT terminals such as mobile
terminals, and voice networks in which one party is connected terrestrially to the
hub.
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Factors in Choosing a Network Type
Many factors are involved in selecting the type of network for a particular
application. Some of the most important are:
Permanently mounted or transportable/deployable terminals
Network topology: star versus mesh
Reliability (susceptibility to single point failure)
Fixed or demand assignment of satellite resources
Type of communications: voice, data, video
Bandwidth required and flexibility in expansion of bandwidth
Capital and operating cost
User needs
Security requirements

The Earth Satellite Link
Power Considerations in the Uplink
In any radio link regardless of the form of modulation used, the performance depends
on the ratio of the carrier power-to-noise power (C/N) or the ratio of the carrier power
to the noise power density (C/No). The latter expression is most often used with digital
links for reasons that are provided later in the text. At this point, however, this
discussion will center on the derivation of the C/N ratio, however, as it is more readily
understood.

Consider the power level diagram of Figure 2.36 below. An uplink transmitter has
power output P
T
. Some loss of power is taken on the way to an antenna (L
T
). The
antenna provides gain (G
A
) relative to an isotropic antenna, and a loss of power is taken
in the path to the satellite (L
S
). An antenna on board the satellite provides gain (G
as
) and
power is delivered to the satellite receiver (P
R
).

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Figure 2-36 Power Level Diagram- Uplink
Uplink Thermal Carrier to Noise Ratio
The expression for received satellite power (P
R
) represents the carrier power at the
satellite. Subtracting the thermal noise (N) in decibels yields an expression for the
carrier to noise ratio (C/N)
UP
:

( ) N G L G L P N P N C
AS S AT T T R UP
+ + = = /
But, N = (K + T + B) dB

And, P
T
L + G
AT
= EIRP
UP

Therefore:

(C/N)
UP
= EIRP
UP
L
S
+ G
AS
k T B

A more general expression can be derived by performing some manipulations based on
the following:

(a) (G -T) in dB = G/T
(b) Flux Density at the satellite, FD = EIRP
UP
L
i
where L
i
is isotropic loss.
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(c) Space attenuation, LS = L
i
G
i
where GI is isotropic gain =
4
2

Where is wavelength

(d) The flux density at the satellite is related to saturation flux density by:
Flux Density (FD) = Saturation Flux Density Input
Backoff Power Division Loss

FD = SFD BOI PD

Combining (b), (c) and (d),

EIRP
UP
L
S
= SFD BOI- PD + L
i
(L
i
-G
i
)
=SFD BOI PD + G
i

Substituting produces the general expression for (C/N)
UP
:

(C/N)
UP
= [SFD BOI PD + G
i
+ (G/T)
SAT
k B] dB.

For a transponder operating at saturation, BOI and PD are 0 dB, and the expression
reduces to:

(C/N)
UP
(Saturated) = [SFD + G
i
+ (G/T)
SAT
k B] dB.

Interference in the Uplink
In this treatment of interference in the uplink, consideration is given to how an earth
station can cause interference into other systems, and how interference from other
systems can affect operations of a system to which an earth station is a part.

Antenna Sidelobe Discrimination
In a previous section, we discussed EIRP as it applies to the downlink signal, and
referred to the fact that EIRP at angles off-boresight of uplink antennas is important.
Consider figure 2-37. It is obvious that if a satellite is located at
1
, only slight
discrimination is given to this satellite. If the satellite is located at
2
, it is afforded
discrimination from interference by the sidelobe characteristics of the antenna, which is
specifed by the FCC.
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Figure 2-37: Antenna Sidelobe Discrimination
Uplink Carrier to Interference Ratio
Now, consider figure 2-38. It shows several earth stations accessing several satellites
that are spaced degrees apart. The power flux density at satellite A consists of power
flux density from earth station A (desired signal C), and the sum of all flux density
from the other earth stations accessing other satellites (interference I).

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Figure 2-38 Uplink Interference.

Expressed as an equation:

( )

=
N
i
i A UP
FD FD I C
1
/
where denotes power summation.

But flux density is proportional to EIRP.
Therefore:

( ) ( ) [ ]
=
N
i
oi i i A UP
G G EIRP EIRP I C
1
/

where G
i
is the (on-axis gain of an interfering earth station antenna, and G
oi
is the gain of
that earth station antenna in the direction of the satellite which is being interfered with.

The interference power can enter one of several transponders. See figure 2-39
In this example the interference signal is at the same frequency and occupies the same
bandwidth as transponder number 5 of the interfered with satellite. Depending on its
polarization, it can affect transponders 5 and 6 as well as transponder 5. It should also
be obvious that even if the signal labeled interfering earth station signal is the desired
signal to transponder 5, if its polarization is not co-polarized with transponder 5,
interference into transponder 4 and 6 will occur. The equation for C/I given above must
therefore be modified to account for polarization effects and frequency effects. These

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effects are actually improvement factors. Each interference component is therefore
reduced by the fact that there may be a cross polarization component (polarization
improvement) or that the entire spectral power of the interference may not enter the
interfered with channel (frequency improvement).

The complete expression for (C/I)
UP
is:

( ) ( ) [ ]
=
+ + =
N
i
i i oi i i A UP
P F G G EIRP EIRP I C
1
/

Where, F
i
is frequency improvement factor
P
i
is polarization improvement factor.
To illustrate how satellite communications can be affected by uplink interference let us
take a few examples:

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Figure 2-39 Example: Frequency and Polarization Effects in Uplink
Interference.
Adjacent Satellite Interference
Galaxy 3 at 95 W
Intelsat Americas 5 at 97 W
Galaxy 4R at 99W
AMC 4 at 101
AMC-1 at 103
August 9, 2004
2
2
2
2
2
4
4
4
4
4
6
6
6
6
6
8
8
8
8
8
10
10
10
10
10
1
1
1
1
1
3
3
3
3 5
5
5
5 7
7
7
7
7 5 3
9
9
9
9
9 11
11
11
11
11
Legend: A= Analog Video
O = Occasional Use
M= Digital Full Transponder
S= Digital SCPC
O O O
O O
O
O
O
O O
A
A
A
A
A
A A
A A
A
A
A A
A A
A A A
M
M
M
M
S
S
S S S
S
S
S
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Example A. Assume that the desired channel of communication is an FM/TV signal
which saturates the transponder it is contained in. Assume further, that it is a C Band
transmission, and that all of the C band satellites in the orbital arc are identical
(homogeneous space segment) and are uniformly 2 apart. Also assume that all other
transponders on the same, and adjacent frequencies are also carrying saturating FM/TV
signals. Furthermore, assume that adjacent satellites are cross polarized on the uplink.
Under these conditions the (on axis) EIRP from every uplink station would be the same,
and the interference power from each station would depend entirely on its antenna
discrimination or the difference between maximum gain and off axis gain.

Assume all ground antennas are 10 meters in diameter (Gain = 53 dB).

1. Interference from earth stations accessing satellites 2 from the
desired satellite:

(a) Co-channel, cross polarized (F
i
= 0dB)

( ) [ ] ( ) stations earth I C
U
2 3 2 log 25 19 53 /
1
=
=53 11.5 3 = 38.5dB.

(b) Adjacent channel, co-polarized (F
i
= -6.5dB)*

( ) [ ] ( ) erferers N C
U
int 4 6 5 . 6 2 log 25 29 53 /
2
+ =
= 53 21.5 + 6.5-6
= 32dB

Note: F
i
= 6.5 dB denotes a yellow mask spectrum for the TV signal, and is used in
international satellite coordination.

This is considered a rather conservative criteria representing worst case. A more
commonly used mask is used by the FCC in domestic satellite analyses where F
i
= 15
dB for FM/TV into FM/TV on adjacent channels that are co-polarized.

2. Interference from earth stations accessing satellites 4 apart.

(a) Co-channel (co-polarized) (F
i
= 0)

( ) [ ] 3 4 log 25 29 53 /
3
=
U
I C
= 53 13.9 3 = 36 dB

(b) Adjacent channel, cross polarized) (F
i
= -6.5)

( ) [ ] 6 5 . 6 4 log 25 19 53 /
4
+ =
U
I C
= 53 3.9 + 6.5-6
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= 49.6 dB

Power addition yields:

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) =
4 3 1
/ / / / /
U U Us U UP
I C I C I C I C I C
= 38.5 32 36 49.6
= 29.8 dB
This example is highly idealized, and does not represent the real world, because 1) not
all adjacent satellites are cross polarized on the uplink, 2) not all satellites have the same
saturation flux density (SFD), 3) not all earth stations are identical, etc. It is presented as
an example only.

Example B: Suppose just one of the adjacent (2) satellites is not cross polarized with the
satellite being interfered with. Further assume that the earth station accessing that
adjacent satellite is a 5 meter transportable.

The single entry interference from the transportable would be C/I = 25.5 dB into the co-
channel. This level of single entry interference is considered unacceptable for broadcast
television transmission. If the transportable in this example were not pointing properly
or if its sidelobes were not in accordance with the FCC standard, the interference from
this source would be worse.
The SatelliteEarth Link (Downlink)
Analysis of the downlink performance is treated in a similar manner to the previous
analysis for the uplink. Thermal noise and interference noise are treated separately.

Downlink Thermal Carrier to Noise Ratio
The link power levels are shown in Figure 2-40. Expressed as an equation:
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Figure 2-40 Power Levels in Downlink.

Carrier Power (P
R
) = EIRP
SAT
L
P
+ G
R
(dB)

To determine C/N, add N to both sides of the equation.

( ) ( ) dB B T k G L EIRP N C
AR P SAT D
L + + + = /

Where,
P
L is clear weather space loss = 36.6 + 20logf + 20 log r
f in MHz
r in statute miles.

EIRP
SAT
is the Effective Isotropic Radiated Power from the satellite and was
discussed in section 2.5.2 above.
(G
AR
/T) is the earth station gain to temperature ratio and was discussed in
section 2.6.3 above.
( ) dB B k
T
G
L EIRP N C
AR
P SAT D
L
+ = /

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k is Boltzmanns constant = -228.6dBW/K/H
z

B is predetection bandwidth.

Figures 2-41 and 2-42 are given here to assist in the determination of LP.

Figure 2-41: Path Loss Between Synchronous Orbit and Sub-satellite Point.

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Figure 2-42 Free Space Loss versus Ground Station Elevation Angle.
Downlink Carrier to-Interference Ratio
Consider the situation of figure 2-43. An earth station is receiving a desired signal from
just one satellite, but is subject to interference from a multiplicity of satellites in the
orbital arc. If all of the satellites are serving the same geographic area, the only defense
against interference from these other satellites is the earth stations antenna
discrimination, and whatever frequency and polarization improvements that may exist.

Expressed as an equation, the downlink C/I is:

( ) ( )
i i i ES i
N
i
ES SAT D
P F G EIRP G EIRP I C + + + + =

=1
/
where,
ES
G is the maximum (on axis) gain of the receiving antenna.

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( )
i ES
G is the gain of the receiving antenna in the direction of an interfering
satellite (co-polarization).
EIRP
i
is the EIRP of an interfering satellite
F
i
and P
i
are frequency and polarization improvement factors.

Figure 2-43 Downlink Interference.

Carrier-to-Intermodulation Ratio
IM in the satellite was discussed in section 2.4.2.1 above in a qualitative manner. In this
section we will quantify this parameter in a general way, and show how a signal from an
earth station can cause harmful interference into other users of the same satellite (or
transponder) if it is higher in level than its normal or assigned level.

The output voltage of an amplifier can be expressed as a power series
L
5
5
4
4
3
3
2
2 1 i i i i i o
e k e k e k e k e k e + + + + =

If the input signal consists of two sinusoids:
o
e = t B t A
2 1
cos cos + , expansion of the
series is quite complex and not pertinent here. What is pertinent is that if this expanded
series is passed through an appropriate bandpass filter, containing the fundamental
frequencies, only the components due to odd orders ( ) etc e e e e
i i i i
, , , ,
7 5 3
will pass. These
components are:

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Fundamentals:
1
,
2

3
rd
order:(2
1

2
), (2
2

1
)
5
th
order: (3
1
2
2
), (3
2
2
1
)
7
th
order: (4
1
3
2
), (4
2
3
1
)

At saturation with two equal amplitude signals, assuming a perfect limiter, the
amplitudes of the distortion components relative to the fundamentals is:

3
rd
order 9.54 dB
5
th
order 13.98 dB
7
th
order 16.9 dB

When the input levels are backed off from saturation: 1) the third order component
amplitudes drop off at a 2:1 ratio (dB), 2) fifth order at 4:1 slope, and 3) seventh order at
a 6:1 slope. The important distortion component is therefore third order when
attempting to minimize distortion. Figure 2-44 shows an amplifier input output
characteristic similar to Figure 2-21, but showing third order distortion.

Figure 2-44 Amplifier Input Output Characteristic Showing Theoretical Third
Order Distortion and 2 Tones.

If (as in the case in satellite transmission) three or more carriers pass through an
amplifier the situation becomes far more complex giving rise to components which fall
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on the fundamental frequencies (triple beat). If the carriers are modulated, analysis is
enormously complicated, and usually takes a great deal of computer power with very
sophisticated programs. In this case, distortion is treated as a power sum. If for
example a satellite has 12 equal amplitude (noncoherent) carriers on one polarization,
the power sharing load is 10.8 dB. In order to maintain a 30 dB carrier to
intermodulation ratio, the final wideband amplifier would have to be operated at an
input backoff of at least 16 dB relative to saturation.

Now supposed two careless uplink operators increase their power by a factor of two (3
dB). There would be at least two other wideband systems in the same satellite with a
C/IM of 24 dB which is unacceptable. Consider further that one of the transponders is
carrying narrowband traffic (radio stations or data) where several carriers share the
transponder and each carrier is operating far below saturation. The increase in
intermodulation noise could produce harmful interference.

Interference Location Systems
A number of resources exist to isolate interference problems when they occur. These
are normally coordinated by the satellite operator- who is in the best position to
know the activity of other carriers on the same and adjacent satellite.
If an obvious interfering carrier is seen or known to exist, and if the satellite
operator is not able to resolve an interference situation using obvious methods
(noting changes in other carriers, reading ATIS codes, etc) they may utilize an
interference location system which uses Time Difference of Arrival (TDOA) and or
interferometry methods to locate the interfering uplink. Such systems or services are
provided by companies such as Transmitter Location Systems (TLS) or Qinetiq. An
example of a single line of position obtained from such a system is shown in Figure
2-45. Normally, two such lines of position can be obtained and their intersection will
locate the carrier within a certain accuracy, as shown in Figure 2-46. The method of
accomplishing this is shown in Figure 2-47.
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Figure 2-45 Example of TDOA Single Line of Position

Figure 2-46: Example of Accuracy from Two Lines of Position

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Figure 2-47: Typical TDOA Measurement Setup

Aggregation of Interference Effects
Figure 2-48 presents a cause and effect diagram used for troubleshooting link
anomalies. Each branch of the fishbone presents a separate source of degradation to
the link. As can be seen, in troubleshooting a satellite link, a wide varied of interference
effects must be considered, spanning several satellites.
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Figure 2-48 Cause-Effect Diagram Showing Various Interference Sources

Propagation Anomalies
Weather Related Factors in Satellite Links
In general, satellite links need not provide for the same level of protection from fading as
terrestrial links, since only a small portion of the path passes through the atmosphere.
However, the space link is not entirely free from atmospheric effects and the attendant
degradations to radio wave propagation, as was noted in Chapter 1 where a comparison
of the various frequency band effects were presented.

Satellite link propagation has been the subject of intense study and a firm database has
been established from experiment and theoretical studies. There are many degrading
factors such as clouds, fog, turbulence, adiabatic effects, and precipitation. The effects of
Loss of
lock or
excess
BER
Same Satellite
Interference
Equipment
Design
Adjacent Satellite
Interference
Site Specific
Problems
Transponder Operating
Conditions
Intermodulation
Interference
AFC loop
Carrier
Recovery
Loop
Clock Recovery
Loop
Revision 2,
16 September, 2004
Cross Pol
Inerference
Interference Cause and Effect Diagram
Insufficient
Transponder
Backoff
Interference from
Carrier Uplink
Interfernce
from another
xpor uplink
Uplink
Interference
Downlink
Interference
Input level
range
IF or IFL
Pickup
Transponder
Pad
mismatch
Mispointed
Uplink
Antenna
Downlink
crosspol
adjustment
Uplink
crosspol
adjustment
Downlink
Antenna
Pointing
Downlink
Antenna
Sidelobes,
Crosspol
Downlink
Antenna
Crosspol
Adjustment
High Spectral
Density
Interference
Uplink
Antenna
Crosspol
Adjustment
EIRP
footprint
mismatch
Bad
Uplink
Sidelobe
Pattern
Uplink
Pattern
Mismatch
HPA
Intermods
Connector/.IFL
Problems
Low Ant. Gain due to
poor installation
Terrestrial or airborne/
military interference
Electrical power
flucturations
Clock interface/ timing
problems
Error Reporting
Inaccuracies
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these factors are attenuation, depolarization and sky noise increase. Secondary effects
are scintillation (multipath), antenna gain degradation, and bandwidth coherence
reduction due to variations of these effects with frequency.

At C band, it has been demonstrated that in the contiguous 48 states, a 2 dB margin is all
that is required for all atmospheric effects for more than 99.99 percent propagation
reliability. Above 10 GHz, however, the effects change dramatically, especially
degradations due to precipitation.
Effects of Rain
Rain Attenuation
Several models exist to predict attenuation of microwave links due to rain. These
models are based on rain rate data taken over a number of years over the entire earth.
Details are beyond the scope of this training seminar. There are two models that are
currently used by practitioners of satellite engineering. They are the Crane models
(Reference 4) and the ITU model (Reference 6).

Noise Temperature Effects
Not only does rain affect the path attenuation but it also affects the system noise
temperature. The increase in system noise temperature is dependent on the clear
weather noise temperature and the amount of rain attenuation. Figure 2-49 is a plot of
the noise temperature degradation versus rain attenuation for some common values of
clear weather noise temperature
The expression for this increase in noise is:

dB
T
L
T T
T
R
R
o R
E
+
=
1
1
log 10
where, T
R
is clear weather system noise temperature.
T
0
is ambient temperature of rain = 260 K
L
R
is rain attenuation as a numeric.
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Figure 2-49 Rain Attenuation vs. Noise Temperature

For example, if the rain model predicts rain attenuation of 5 dB, and the clear
weather system noise temperature is 200 K, the degradation of system noise is:

+
=
200
24 . 3
1 24 . 3
260 200
log 10
E
T
= 2.8 dB.

The total fade in the link is LR +
E
T . In this example with the conditions imposed,
a margin of (5 + 2.8) = 7.3 dB must exist in the link to a C/N threshold.

At Ku Band and Ka band, rain attenuation becomes more of a factor due to increased
attenuation at those frequencies. Figure 2-50 provides a map of the different Crane
model rain zones in the US. Rain zone E, the Gulf Coast Region, provides the most
rain attenuation, followed by zones D3, D2 and D1 in decreasing severity.

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F
C
E
D1
D2
D3
E
B
B

Figure 2-50: Rain Zone Maps in the US (Crane Model)

Depolarization
In frequency reuse systems, satellite channels are staggered in frequency and adjacent
channels are crosspolarized. Rain induced depolarization in the path will cause received
signal attenuation by changing the signals polarization. Once thought to be a major
problem, this effect has turned out to be less severe than originally believed, but it can
still cause a problem when severe rain attenuation exists.

Uplink and Downlink Effects and Countermeasures
Both uplink and downlinks can be affected by rain, although normally this occurs at
different time because the downlink is located in a different geographical area from
the uplink.
Both uplink and downlink effects vary inversely with the antenna elevation angle:
they are more severe at low elevation angle because the path through the rain cell is
generally longer.
Several countermeasures exist which can reduce both uplink and downlink effects:
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1. Use of adaptive coding and modulation such as described in the DVB-S2
standard.
2. Use of store and forward information distribution instead of streaming
signal distribution, where possible. During rain events, the signal could be
delayed and retransmitted at a later date, or only those portions affected by
rain could be retransmitted.
3. In conjunction with item 2 above, use of Erasure Codes, similar to striping
on a RAID disk, can be effective, as demonstrated by the Kencast FAZZT
system.
Uplink Effects and Countermeasures
Uplink effects are generally more important in broadcasting than are downlink effects
because the entire network (all downlinks) are affected if the uplink fades, whereas only
one or perhaps two downlinks are affected during downlink fading.
Some satellites have an AGC or automatic gain control in their transponders so that in a
wideband (full transponder) operation, the transponder is always at saturated EIRP.
Fortunately, several countermeasures exist to reduce the severity of this fading,
including:
1. Uplink power control
2. Use of a diversity uplink site
3. Use of a hard limiter or AGC circuit in the satellite, where possible
4. Cross banding (e.g. use of C Band uplink and Ku band downlink) where
available
Downlink Effects and Countermeasures
Downlink effects can also be mitigated by use of a diversity site and by use of a
larger antenna in some cases

Scattering
If an earth station antenna beam intersects the beam of a terrestrial microwave system in
a rain cell, there is a possibility of reflection from the signal of either beam being sent in
the direction of the receivers in the other system. At K
u
band, the problem does not exist
because there is no shared service. At C band, coordination requires a listing of beam
intersections. C band uplink operators should be sensitive to the possibility of
interference from their transmissions to terrestrial facilities in a local heavy rainstorm.

Effects of Snow
From a propagation standpoint, (path attenuation) snow has very little effect, although
as a signal passes through a dense cloud producing snow, ice particles can cause modest
fading. The greatest effect of snow is in its effect on the ground antenna performance.
This is especially true when the inevitable thaw occurs and the ground antenna is filled
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with high water content of slush. Serious beam deflection (pointing error), gain
reduction and sidelobe degradation can occur. For uplink stations operating in snow
areas, snow avoidance and/or removal equipment is necessary. Both reflector and feed
must be kept free of snow and ice.

Other Propagation Anomalies
Signals propagating between the earth and geostationary satellites are subject to certain
propagation anomalies even in clear weather. These effects are generally of little
significance in current FSS commercial service and are generally not included in link
analysis. They are, however, worth mention in the overall context of satellite
communications. The severity of these effects is dependent on the length of the path
through the atmosphere, troposphere and ionosphere (elevation angle of the earth
station antenna). These effects are:
A. Refraction Bending of the radio wave beam due to varying density of
atmosphere and troposphere.
B. Diffraction Bending of the radio wave beam around a local physical object
such as a building or mountain. Can be avoided by appropriate line of sight clearance.
C. Multipath In a satellite transmission, multipath scintillation can occur by dual
refraction in the atmosphere and the ionosphere, or in low look angle applications.
Diversity sites can be used as a countermeasure in some cases.
D. Faraday Rotation In addition to refraction in the ionosphere, the radio wave
(normally C band) can experience a polarization rotation due to the highly charged ions
in this region; this typically affects larger antennas..
E. Ionospheric Scintillation: The C or X Band signal can be affected by variations in the
ion level in the ionosphere, causing varying signal levels. This is normally only a
problem at the magnetic equator..

Overall Predetection Carrier-To-Noise Ratio
The overall satellite system (C/N)s is given by the power sum of the previously derived
expressions for C/N, C/I and C/IM.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) [ ]dB IM C I C I C N C N C N C
DOWN UP DOWN UP s
/ / / / / / =
The method of calculation of (C/N)s is to convert dB values of (C/N)
up
, (C/N)
down
, (C/I)
up
,
(C/I)
down
and (C/IM) to numerical values and use the formula:

( )
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) IM C I C I C N C N C
N C
D U D U
s
/
1
/
1
/
1
/
1
/
1
1
/
+ + + +
=

This gives the system (C/N) as a numeric. To convert to dB value:

(C/N)
s
= 10 log (C/N)
s
(numeric)

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Example:

(C/N)
U
= 30 dB = 1000 (numeric)
(C/N)
D
= 15 dB = 31.6 (numeric)
(C/I)
U
= 26 dB = 398 (numeric)
(C/I)
D
= 26 dB = 398 (numeric)
(C/IM) = 30 dB = 1000 (numeric)

( )
0386 .
1
001 . 0025 . 0025 . 0316 . 001 .
1
/ =
+ + + +
=
x
N C

= 25.9 (numeric)
= 10 log 25.9 = 14.1 dB

The previously derived clear weather expressions for (C/N) should be modified to
include the effects of anomalous propagation. As previously stated, at C band all of
these effects can be accommodated by including a 2 dB margin in the link. At K
u
band,
the effects of precipitation should be included as a separate factor depending on the
percentage of reliability required.

Absent from the entire discussion above on C/N is the effect of terrestrial interference
on the overall system performance. From an uplink operator standpoint, interference
from terrestrial sources into the satellite system is of no consequence. However, it
should be kept in mind that at C band, interference to satellite receivers from 4 GHz
terrestrial sources can be a factor. There is also the possibility (although very slight),
that a 6 GHz terrestrial transmitter might cause interference directly into a satellite. FCC
rules, and properly conducted frequency coordination procedures, generally precludes
interference between satellite and terrestrial systems.
Characteristics of C, Ku and Ka Band Satellite Communications
Now that some of the basic concepts have been discussed, it is possible to develop a
more in-depth discussion of the relative characteristics of satellite communications
systems employing the three primary frequency bands, C, Ku and Ka.
C-Band Satellites
C-band was initially favored for communications satellites because of the favorable
propagation characteristics at these frequencies.
Ku-Band Satellites
The higher propagation loss characteristics at these frequencies require higher spacecraft
equivalent isotropic radiated power (EIRP) to achieve the same transmission
performance as C-band frequencies and this is obtained from a variety of methods,
including the use of greater spacecraft antenna gains, readily achievable at the higher
frequencies. Since the Ku-band frequencies are not shared with terrestrial systems (as is
the case of C-band) the power flux density (PFD) limitation is much less stringent and
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there is no requirement for coordination with terrestrial microwave systems;
consequently, Ku Band satellites employ higher power satellite amplifiers than do C
Band satellites, as much as an order of magnitude higher. The high powers permit the
use of very small earth station antennas at or near the user's premises. This results in
important economic advantage for many services and makes the use of this frequency
band very attractive. Even so, a good part of the higher satellite power achievable is
necessary to offset the additional attenuation that is experienced at these frequencies
during heavy rain conditions.

There is no mandated frequency plan for transponders in this frequency band, although
typical transponder bandwidths today are 36 MHz. Since the bandwidth is the same as
at C band, it is possible to have a similar 24 transponder, 36 MHz frequency plan with 40
MHz channel spacing when frequency reuse is utilized.

Ka-Band Satellites
The commercial application of Ka-band satellites is only in its infancy. The NASA ACTS
experimental satellite has allowed successful demonstration of the use of the 17.5 GHz to
22.5 GHz downlink and 29.5 GHZ to 34.5 GHz bands for various services and use of this
band for DBS video and internet service has begun. It is inevitable that these bands will
be increasingly used for video applications, with considerable interest in narrow casting
and point to point applications.
Due to the higher frequency range, Ka band satellites generally include many small spot
beams in lieu of one large CONUS or geographically large beam. This is shown in
Figure 2-51 below.

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Legend:
Frequency Group 1
Frequency Group 2
Frequency Group 3
70 beams

Figure 2-51: Spot Beam Configurations

This significantly improves frequency re-use and overall satellite capacity, but at the
expense of connectivity (ability of an uplink to simultaneously broadcast to many
geographically dispersed downlinks).

Ka-band signals suffer from greater attenuation due to the presence of rain and
atmospheric oxygen, than do C-band and Ku-band services. This was discussed
previously in Chapter 1. This attenuation problem has historically made Ka-band rather
unattractive for satellite communications, but scarcity of spectrum in other bands,
desirability of small spot beams for some applications, as well as advances in satellite
communications technology have mitigated this somewhat. A comparison of the
technical characteristics of Ka Band and Ku band is shown in Figure 2-52.
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C Band Ku Band Ka Band
Downlink
Frequency
(GHz)
3.7-4.2 11.7-12.2 18.3 to 18.8, 19.7 to 20.2
Primary
Connectivity
One uplink transmits to all of
United States
One uplink transmits to
a spot beam
Total Satellite
Bandwidth
1 GHz 5-10 GHz
Rain Margin
Needed (this
will vary)
Less than 2 dB Greater than C
Band
Greater than Ku Band
Two way
Antenna Size
3.8 meter 1.2 meter 0.67 meter
Figure 2-52: Technical Differences between C, Ku and Ka Band SATCOM

Today, the primary application areas of Ka Band are Direct-to-home video and Internet
access. At the time of writing, DirecTV is using Ka band on the SPACEWAY 1 satellite
for providing DBS video service. Although this satellite was originally designed for on-
board switching, it is being used in a bent pipe configuration for local-into-local video,
including HDTV
Another current use of Ka band, home and small office internet service, is being
implemented by the Wild Blue satellite system. At the time of writing, little or no Ka
band trunking or backhaul is taking place, but this type of point to point application
would seem a natural application of Ka Band systems, particularly in dryer regions of
the country.

Comparison of C, Ku and Ka Band Systems
Two of the more important differences between C, Ku and Ka -band are the following:
C-band FSS share frequencies with terrestrial microwave systems. This places
constraints on the location of C-band earth stations and it limits the permissible
downlink power density. Prior to licensing a C Band transmit antenna, a frequency
coordination must be performed (such frequency coordination is not required at Ku
Band)
Ku-band signals and to a greater degree, Ka Band systems, are subject to
significant attenuation in heavy rainfall
The advantages and disadvantages of C-band, Ku-band and Ka Band, which
result from these and other differences, are summarized in Figure 2-53 below:
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_
C-band Advantages
Usually most reliable due to less susceptibility to rain outages.
C band space segment is normally less expensive than Ku Band space segment

C-band Disadvantages
Frequency band is congested because it is shared with terrestrial microwave, making
frequency coordination a requirement.
Requires relatively large antennas because of low satellite EIRP levels and the necessity
of narrow half-power beamwidth to allow two degree spaced satellites.
Avoiding terrestrial interference can make site selection a difficult process.
The use of artificial shielding to block interference can increase total system cost.
Faraday rotation of polarization can affect system performance.

Ku-band Advantages
Frequency band is only used for satellite communication.
Smaller antennas may be used because of higher gain and higher satellite EIRP.
Easier site selection because of smaller antenna and reduced terrestrial interference.
Suitable for direct-to-home application.
Flexibility in channelization plan.
Not affected by Faraday rotation.

Ku-band Disadvantages
Affected by rain attenuation and depolarization.
Waveguide and coaxial transmission line losses are quite high.
Interference can occur from radar detectors located in passing automobiles. Site
surveys should assess.

Ka Band Advantages
Space segment cost-per-bit-transmitted is lowest because satellites have much greater
capacity due to increased frequency re-use via spot beams.
Smaller antennas (than Ku band) can be used in many areas where atmospheric
attenuation is low.
Higher frequency is more amenable to spot beam use and facilititates small dish
uplinking, point to point applications
Smaller downlink beams can be tailored to coverage area

Ka Band Disadvantages
Increased atmospheric attenuation requires greater link margin, can reduce reliability
All-spot beam operation results in significant disadvantage for broadcast (point to
multipoint) service
Figure 2-53 Merits of C, Ku - and Ka-band for Satellite Communications

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Commonly Used Modulation Techniques
Up to now, our discussion of satellite communications has dealt with power
considerations of the transmitted carrier and noise plus interference. Bandwidth has
only been discussed from a negative standpoint as containing thermal (intrinsic) noise
and as a receiver of interference. Carrier power by itself doesnt carry information
content. Only when the carrier is modulated does this carrier power become a useful
signal. In this section, a general description of the commonly used modulation
techniques is discussed.

Frequency Modulation
Frequency modulation is commonly used in satellite communications in both full and
partial transponder operations. FM is not spectrally efficient, but it utilizes the available
bandwidth to overcome the considerable path loss and limited available power from the
satellite.

TelevisionFM/TV
Television transmission is the major user of satellite facilities. A plethora of broadcast
TV, cable TV and private networks use full baseband bandwidth (4.2 MHz)
transmission, to exploit the natural point to multipoint nature of satellite operation.

There are two basic baseband formats currently in use. They are: 1) NTSC and 2) MAC.
There are a few variations on these basic formats depending on the scrambling
technology used (if any).

The NTSC format when transmitted in the clear is usually the same as the terrestrial
broadcast standard signal for video which television sets are designed to receive.
Program audio is usually transmitted on a subcarrier above the video. This format
probably needs no further description. In scrambled transmission, the baseband video
and audio are fed to a scrambler and a variety of baseband signals emerge. The audio is
usually digitally modulated as a burst transmission in the horizontal blanking interval.
The video usually remains in an analog form of varying complexity but still retaining
the basic NTSC form of simultaneous transmission of luminance and chrominance
information.

MAC transmission stands for Multiplexed Analog Component, and is unique to satellite
transmission utilizing FM. There are many forms of MAC worldwide. In the U.S.,
BMAC is currently utilized in several private networks. In MAC, the luminance and
chrominance components are separated, and time multiplexed on each horizontal
scanning line, along with program audio. The components are time compressed with
chrominance occupying about 1/3 and luminance about 2/3 of the active line time. In
B-MAC, 4 high quality audio signals are transmitted in a burst mode during the
horizontal blanking interval. The time compression of the luminance component creates
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a higher baseband frequency so that the luminance noise is slightly higher than in NTSC
transmission. However, cross color artifacts are eliminated, and if the received signal is
fed to an RGB monitor, a higher quality color signal is perceived by the viewer.

Frequency Division Multiplex, FDM/FM
The baseband of a satellite carrier, can be frequency multiplexed with a multiplicity of
subcarriers and the aggregate can be frequency modulated on a carrier. Modulation of
the subcarriers can be single sideband AM (SSB-AM), FM, or even digital.

With SSB subcarriers, a very large number of voice channels (3kHz) can be
accommodated. With FM subcarriers, a reasonably large number of high quality audio
signals can be accommodated with inexpensive receiving terminals. Today, however,
digital modulation techniques have replaced analog FM or SSB techniques within the
domestic United States.

Single Channel Per CarrierSCPC/FM
There are still a few radio networks currently using satellite facilities for distribution
utilizing this form of modulation, but they are mostly or all international and not within
the US. It is very similar in nature to terrestrial broadcast service. In fact, some
networks use the same modulation parameters as terrestrial broadcast. Most networks
operating this way use sophisticated companding techniques to enhance performance
and to conserve bandwidth and/or power.

Digital Modulation
Digital modulation is commonly used in satellite transmission, especially when the
information to be transmitted is digital in nature (data). A wide variety of services, data
rates and levels of modulation are used. In general, digital modulation is more robust
than analog and is less sensitive to noise and interference under strong signal
conditions. For systems operating close to threshold, errors in transmission can be
reduced by a variety of coding schemes (at the expense of higher data rates and
concomitant bandwidth).

Radio networks are in place that use both multiple channels (Time Division) and single
channels on a satellite carrier. Compressed video networks for business teleconference
and education/training is increasing in use as the cost of CODECs (coder-decoders) and
earth station hardware comes down with new technology and volume production.
Private business networks using VSAT (Very Small Aperture Terminals) networks are
becoming a significant user of satellite facilities. These VSAT networks are usually
characterized by a Hub earth station with a large antenna controlling a large number of
earth stations with a small antenna. The signals inbound to the hub are single channel
transmissions from a VSAT, and the outbound carrier is a time division multiplexed
carrier to the community of VSATs.

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Digital technology has reached the point where entertainment television can be
economically transmitted by satellite. Compression techniques have advanced such that
NTSC Broadcast Quality can be achieved with data rates of about 6 Mb/s. Half-inch
VTR quality can be achieved with data rates of about 2 to 3 Mb/s and High Definition
Television (HDTV) can be achieved with data rates in the range of 15 to 20 Mb/s. HDTV
is loosely defined as having the same subjective quality as 35 mm film, or about twice
the resolution of NTSC video. Current practice with available satellites can provide at
lease four broadcast quality NTSC television signals with Compact Disc quality audio
over a single satellite transponder to relatively small receiving earth stations.

Another common use of compression technology using satellites for distribution is
networks providing multichannel audio services. Usually these services Time Division
Multiplex many channels of audio into a single data stream of up to 20 Mb/s, and
transmit the data stream in a single transponder. Current state-of-the-art can allow a
stereo pair of CD quality audio in 192 kb/s data rate. Five channels (Surround Sound
can be reduced to a bit rate of about 300 kbps.

Spread Spectrum
This special form of signal processing or coding is currently in use in some VSAT
networks. In this particular commercial application, the digital data stream is made
considerably tolerant to interference by mixing it with a sequence of essentially random
bits at a much higher rate than the data stream. This amounts to expanding the
baseband bandwidth by a considerable amount. The added random bits cause the
modulated carrier to be spread over a wide band corresponding to the chip rate. At
the receiving end, a synchronous code generator subtracts the high rate signal.

Overmodulation
Regardless of the form of modulation used, an uplink operator should be constantly
aware of the possibility for overmodulation. The station license contains an emission
designator for each carrier transmitted by the station. Contained in that designator is
the necessary bandwidth occupied by that transmission. Emission Designation is
defined in FCC rules #2.201 and 2.202. Under the latest rules (December 1984),
necessary bandwidth is given by three numerals and a letter where the letter occupies
the decimal point. A bandwidth of 36 MHz is given as 36 MO. Under the old rules, this
would be given at 36,000.
Exceeding the allowed bandwidth constitutes an illegal use of the earth station, and
places the license in jeopardy. In addition, harmful interference to other systems is
highly probable with overmodulation.

Extreme care should be exercised when adjusting depth of modulation. A good idea is
to have the satellite operator monitor the adjustments to assure that the local monitor is
accurate. Furthermore, the operator should be familiar with failure mechanisms, which
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could cause overmodulation and routinely check to see that limiters (if any) are
operable.

Signal-To-Noise Ratio-Analog Systems
In an analog transmission, the ultimate performance in any communication channel is
the ratio of signal to noise delivered to the user at the receiving end. In a digital channel,
the measure of performance is the bit error rate which is dependent on the bit energy to
noise power density. Under strong signal conditions, S/N and Eb/No have a 1:1
relationship with the carrier to noise ratio (C/N) which was covered above.

FM Television
Video-Signal-to-Noise Ratio

In any FM transmission, the RMS Signal to RMS Noise ratio out of a receiver
when operating above threshold is:

( ) ( ) p N C m N S
i o
/ 3 /
2
=
Where: m is modulation index =
m
f
F

F is one side peak deviation of the carrier,

m
f is the highest modulation frequency,
(C/N)
i
is the input carrier to noise ratio, and
p is improvement factor due to de-emphasis, and/or other factors.

Since noise is proportional to bandwidth:

( ) ( )
PD
BB
PD
i
N C
BW
BW
N C /
2
/ =

Where: BW
PD
is the predetection bandwidth,
BW
BB
is the baseband bandwidth = Fm, and
(C/N)
PD
is the carrier-to-noise ratio in the predetection bandwidth.

For television transmission, the video signal-to-noise ratio is defined as the ratio of the
peak luminance signal to the RMS (weighted) noise.

Where peak luminance is blanking level to white level (100 IRE units).

The video signal-to-noise ratio of an NTSC (4.2 MHz bandwidth) transmission is
therefore:
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( ) ( ) ( ) pW N C
X
BW
X
F
RMS
Lum Peak
N S
PD
PD V
V
/
10 2 . 4 10 2 . 4
.
2
3
/
6
2
6
2
=

where the voltage ratio:
( ) 2 2 2
140
100 .
=
RMS
P P
P P
Lum
RMS
PeakLum
if synch is transmitted.

Note: Ratio of peak-to-peak voltage to RMS voltage is ( ) 82 . 2 2 2 for a sine wave
signal, and the ratio of luminance (100 IRE) to synch tip to white = 100/140.
and, pW is the combined pre-emphasis and weighting improvement factor using the
appropriate filter, and CCIR 405-2 pre-emphasis.

TV FM for dB pw 8 . 12 =
(note: When measuring (S/N)
v
, the weighting filter used in the measurement should be
known. Some modern instruments will use the Universal 5 MHz filter. In that case
the value for pW = 13.8dB.)

Therefore:

( ) ( )
fm
BW
fm
F
dB N S
PD u
V
log 10 log 10 2 log 20
2
3
log 10 /
2
+

+ + =

+ (C/N)
PD
+ 12.8 .dB

= 1.8+6 +12.8 +20 log F + 10 Log BW
PD

30 log(4.2x10
6
) + (C/N)
PD
. dB

= [(C/N)
PD
+ 20 log

F + 10 logBW
PD
178.1]dB.

A typical C band transmission might have one side deviation of 10.75 MHz, and a
predetection bandwidth of 34 MHz. Then:

( ) ( ) 1 . 178 10 34 log 10 10 75 . 10 log 20 / /
6 6
+ + = x x M C N S
PD v

= (C/M)
PD
+ 37.8. dB

The effect of varying the modulation index is shown in Figure 2-54 below.

Figure 2-55 shows the C/N versus Signal to Noise ratio for FM modulation\

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Figure 2-56 shows the baseband of the analog FM NTSC television carrier.

Figure 2-54 Effect of modulation index on Frequency Modulation spectrum

Figure 2-55: Relationship of C/N to SNR in an FM carrier
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Figure 2-56: NTSC FM modulated carrier and signal to noise ratio

Audio-Signal-to-Noise Ratio

FM Subcarriers
In satellite transmission of television, the TV associated sound is sometimes transmitted
by an FM subcarrier placed above the video in the main carrier baseband. The following
is a derivation of S/N out of the subcarrier demodulator:
The basic formula for unweighted S/N of an FM receiver operating above threshold is:
( ) ( )
iP o
N C m N S / 3 /
2
=
where: m is the modulation index =
a
SC
f
F

F
SC
is the one side peak deviation of the subcarrier by the audio

a
f is highest audio frequency, and
p is deemphasis improvement

For 15 kHz audio channel,
a
f = 15 kHz and deemphasis is usually 75 microseconds (p
= 13 dB)
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But:

( ) ( )
BWSC
BB
SC
i
N C
BW
BW
N C /
2
/ =

Therefore:
( ) ( ) ( ) p N C
f
F
N S
BWSC
a
SC
a
/
2
3
/

=

In a double FM transmission such as is the case here, the (C/N)
BWSC
can be expressed
as:

( ) ( )
PD
SC
PD
M
BWSC
N C
BW
BW
N C /
2
1
/
2
=

where: BW
PD
is the predetection bandwidth of the wideband receiver (assuming there
are no other bandwidth restrictions in the path),

(C/N)
PD
is the predetection carrier-to-noise ratio, and m
1
is the modulation index of the
main carrier due to subcarrier and is:

sc
c
f
F
m

=
1

where:
c
F is the one side peak deviation of the main carrier by the
subcarrier, and

f
sc
is the center frequency of the subcarrier.

Combining all terms and substitution gives:

( ) ( ) ( ) p N C
f
BW
f
F
f
F
N S
PD
a
PD
sc
C
a
SC
a
/ 4 / 3 /
2 2

=

Typical values for C band satellite transmission are:
. 13
34
8 . 6
2
15
237
dB p
Hz M BW
Hz M f
Hz M F
Hz k fa
Hz k F
PD
sc
c
SC
=
=
=
=
=
=

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Substituting gives typical value of:

( ) ( ) . 7 . 58 / / dB N C N S
PD a
L + =
Some satellite TV transmissions utilize a multiplicity of FM subcarriers for a variety of
reasons (multilingual, radio networks, data transmission, etc.). In this case, spectrally
efficient subcarriers are generally used. These subcarrier receivers utilize threshold
extension, and powerful signal processing (companding). The net result is high S/N
with lower deviation (less power taken from the satellite) and narrower occupied
bandwidth.

The formula for S/N is the same as given above for standard subcarriers, but the
parameters are different. Typical parameters are:
dB p
Hz M BW
f
F
Hz k f
Hz k F
PD
SC
c
a
SC
30
34
18 . 0
15
75
=
=
=
=
=

Substituting gives typical values of: ( ) ( ) [ ] . 3 . 61 / / dB N C N S
PD a
L + =

NOTE: Uplink operators should be aware that if the TV transmission utilizes the
Videocypher II scrambling system that a limit of about 2 standard subcarriers or about 6
spectrally efficient subcarriers can be accommodated. Having more FM subcarriers can
seriously affect the performance of the Videocypher II scrambling system.

Sound in Synch Digital Audio
As mentioned in Section 2.12.1.1 above, two commonly used satellite FM/TV
transmissions utilize a digital burst mode during the horizontal blanking interval for
program sound. The Videocypher II scrambling system delivers either a Left and
Right stereo signal or two monaural channels. These signals are encrypted for security.
The BMAC system provides 4 monaural channels for 2 stereo pairs. Videocypher II
employs a Pulse Code Modulation (PCM) method as source coding. BMAC employs
Adaptive Delta Modulation.

Essentially error free detection is obtained with sound-in-synch of these two
implementations with a predetection carrier-to-noise ratio (C/N)
PD
of 10 dB or less. The
dynamic range (peak signal level to noticeable noise ratio) is about 70 dB which
represents an extremely high quality signal. This dynamic range is maintained so long
as the (C/N)
PD
remains above the threshold. As in virtually all digital transmission
systems, the performance drops drastically below the threshold C/N.
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FMSCPC

As indicated above in 2.12.1.3, some radio networks use this form of modulation for
distribution. Derivation of the S/N for this service follows the above derivation for
subcarrier before consideration of double FM.

That is:

( ) ( ) ( ) p N C
f
BW
f
F
N S
PD
a
PD
a
a
/ 2 / 3 /
2

=

In this case p is generally a combined improvement factor due to deemphasis and
companding which provides a large subjective improvement factor. Typical values are:

dB p
Hz k BW
Hz k fa
Hz k F
PD
30
250
15
75
=
=
=
=

Substituting gives typical value of:

( ) ( ) dB N C N S
PD a
L 58 / / + =

FDM/FM FM Subcarriers
As indicated above, an aggregation of FM subcarriers on a single baseband signal is
currently being used by various providers of one-way audio and data services. This
mode of operation has the distinct advantage of utilizing inexpensive receivers (similar
to satellite television receivers).

The formula for the signal-to-noise ratio for this operation is the same as was derived
above for the TV associated audio. That is:
( ) ( ) ( ) p N C
fa
BW
f
F
fa
F
N S
PD
PD
SC
C SC
a
/ 4 / 3 /
2 2

=

In this case spectrum efficient subcarriers are used, and the deviation of the main carrier
(
C
F ) is adjusted for constant mod index for different f
SC
. In addition, companding is
included to give a subjective improvement. Typical values are:

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dB p
Hz M BW
f
F
Hz k f
Hz k F
PD
sc
C
a
SC
30
15
18 . 0
15
75
=
=
=
=
=

Substituting gives typical values of:
( ) ( ) [ ] . 9 . 57 / / dB N C N S
PD a
L + =

FDM/FM Single Sideband Subcarriers
FDM/FM using SSB subcarriers is a method of multiplexing many voice grade (3.1 kHz)
audio channels on to one FM carrier. This is accomplished by converting each channel
to an assigned frequency as a SBSC signal in the baseband frequency range. The total
baseband then modulates an FM carrier. Demodulation and de-multiplexing are
accomplished in the reverse order at the receive station.

FDM/FM performance is measured in terms of picowatts of noise per FDM channel.
The noise-per-channel is related to the total S/N ratio in the total baseband with a test
tone signal. This, in turn, may be related back to C/N ratio in the receive system IF.

The relationship between C/N in the IF and S/N in the baseband is:
W P
Bch
B
fch
F
N C N S
IF TT
+ +
+ = log 10 log 20 / /
Where:
TT
F = rms test tone deviation
fch = highest voice channel frequency
B
ch
= voice channel bandwidth
P = top channel emphasis improvement factor
W = psophometric weighting improvement factor 2.5 dB.

Once the test tone S/N ratio has been determined, the noise per channel in picowatts
may be determined from:

( )
pWpO
N S
noise

=

10
/ 90
log
1

Digital Technologies
In this section we discuss certain digital technologies currently popular in satellite
transmission and are expected to be more popular in the future. Baseband processing
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which includes source coding and forward error correction coding (FEC) are covered. In
addition, certain currently used modulation techniques in satellite transmission are
described.

Discussion of these items is limited to generic methods rather than specific applications.
Furthermore, the underlying theory is considered to be beyond the scope of this book.
Instead, these items are treated from a user standpoint rather than a designer
standpoint.

Advances in digital transmission technology have been closely tied to advances in
semiconductor technology. There is a never ending quest for coding and modulation
schemes to reduce the required bandwidth for faithful reproduction after transmission.

Source Coding (Baseband Processing)
Aural and Visual information is analog in nature and must be coded in some manner to
be transmitted digitally. The best method of coding depends on the transmission
medium, and the state-of-the-art for practical implementation. An in-depth discussion is
beyond the scope of this text. But a basic knowledge of the various methods currently in
use can be helpful to a satellite uplink operator.

The basic Sampling Theorem states that only two samples of the highest frequency in
a complex waveform contains all the information of the original message. For example,
a voice signal limited to 3.4 kHz is reproduced with a sampling rate of 8 kHz. Compact
Disc quality audio (20 kHz) can be sampled at a 44 kHz sample rate, and NTSC video
(band limited to 4.2 MHz) can be sampled at about 10M samples per second. These
samples then must be coded in a manner appropriate for transmission.

Pulse Code Modulation (PCM)
PCM is a popular technique used to process digital signals for transmission. In PCM,
several pulses are used as a code group to describe the quantized amplitude of a single
sample. A code group of n on-off pulses (binary code) can represent 2n discrete levels
including zero. A highly refined PCM system is used in telephony. Each voice channel
is sampled at 8k samples/s. Each sample is quantized to 2
8
or 256 levels, or 8 bits of
information per quantized sample. To reduce quantization noise, a non-uniform
spacing of levels is used to provide smaller steps for weaker signals and larger steps for
larger signals. This process is called companding. PCM is used in many other
applications such as high quality digital audio and video systems, with higher
quantization levels.

Predictive Techniques
Delta Modulation is a form of predictive coding to reduce the transmission rate.
Predictive coding is used to exploit the correlation between neighboring samples to
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reduce statistical redundancy. In PCM, differential techniques (DPCM) and adaptive
quantizers are used (ADPCM) to greatly reduce the transmission rate and improve the
S/N. Adaptive techniques are also used in Delta Modulation (ADM). These predictive
techniques have become commonplace in telephony and high fidelity audio systems
because of standardization and the availability of very large scale integrated circuit
(VLSI) semiconductor chips.

A new class of predictive techniques has recently emerged which makes transmission of
video practical and desirable. Digital Signal Processing (DSP) chips have given rise to
powerful COMPRESSION techniques to greatly reduce the number of bits per sample.
The equipment to perform this compression must have intelligence in the form of a
computer and an algorithm to control it. An algorithm is a method of calculation. In
this case, the algorithm contains a predictor or a multiplicity of predictors.

Forward Error Correction
To control errors due to noise in a communication link there are techniques for
preparing the data stream prior to modulation and transmission. The data can be coded
with parity bits to expand the number of bits (requiring a concomitant increase in
bandwidth) and a decoder at the receiver end used to correct errors. This is a concept
difficult to explain without resorting to the mathematics of statistical communication
and information theory. The concept is one in which a substantial gain in threshold
performance is obtained with only a modest increase in the channel bandwidth. For
example, a rate FEC can improve the threshold of a receiver by 3 to 5 dB, at the
expense of about 1 dB in bandwidth. This gain will be demonstrated in a later section of
this text when discussing the performance of a link

The hardware to perform this error correction function is usually imbedded in the
modulator and demodulator. Again, the advantages far outweigh the cost, which is
minimized by the advent of low cost VLSI technology. Most forward error correction
codecs utilize an array of shift registers and switches (commutators) to provide either
block or convolutional codes or a combination of the two.
Digital Modulation Techniques
Since satellite power is relatively low, and the link is rather long, it is generally prudent
to utilize a Power Efficient modulation technique. Virtually all digital satellite
transmissions utilize either a biphase (2 phase states), quadrature (4 states) or 8 phase
modulation known as BPSK, QPSK or 8 PSK, respectively. In some cases higher states (
16, 32states) are used where the data rate is high and the available bandwidth is low.
In other words, for most applications power efficiency is more desirable than spectral
efficiency.

Amplitude, Phase and Symbols
The concepts of a signal amplitude and phase, and subdivision of a signal into
symbols are basic to a discussion of digital modulation.
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The concept of amplitude is relatively simple. The amplitude of a digital signal is just
the peak or average value of the sinusoidal wave itself. Often it can be normalized to 1
for simplicity.

The phase of the digital signal refers to the state of the signal at a point in time. A
sinusoidal signal carrying digital modulation goes from 0
o
to 360
o
in one cycle or one
complete unique period of the sinusoid.

Figure 2-57 below shows three different sets of signals with different phase relationships
in each pair, illustrating the concept of phase and phase relationships.

In Phase 180
o
Out of Phase 40
o
Out of Phase
Figure 2-57: Phase Relationships in Signals

Figure 2.58 below shows the effect of modulating a baseband signal by changing its
phase, and also shows an example of a symbol

Basically, a symbol is one complete cycle of the baseband sinusoidal wave in which the
amplitude and phase is stable at some value for the duration of the symbol.
Note that the concept of a symbol is primarily valid for the baseband modulation only,
not for the Radio Frequency or RF wave. The RF wave will normally have many cycles
of for each cycle of baseband modulation. For example, a baseband digital signal of 3
Mbps might be modulated on an RF signal of 6,000 MHz ( 6 GHz). In this case there are
at least 2000 sinusoidal cycles of RF signal for each symbol bit of modulation (
6,000/3=2,000)
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Figure 2-58: Changing the Phase of a Sinusoid by Modulation

Biphase Modulation (BPSK)
BPSK is considered the simplest form of phase shift keying. Figure 2-59 is a block
diagram of a typical Biphase modulator showing the signal-time domain relationships at
various points in the signal path. Figure 2-60 is a simplified block diagram of a biphase
demodulator. Today, BPSK is not as common as it once was because QPSK is more
bandwidth efficient. It can still be found in some older VSAT systems, however, and can
be useful for certain licensing purposes.
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Figure 2-59: Simplified Block Diagram, Time Domain of Biphase Modulator.
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Figure 2-60 Simplified Block Diagram, Biphase Demodulator.

Quaternary Phase Modulation (QPSK)
QPSK transmission is the most popular satellite modulation technique in current
practice. Spectral efficiency of almost twice that of BPSK can be realized with about the
same power efficiency of BPSK. The demodulation methods described here are also
used in QPSK. In addition to the extensions of the biphase techniques, a method called
offset keyed quadriphase (OKQPSK) modulation is also used.

Figure 2-61 is a simplified block diagram of how a QPSK signal is generated, along with
a (gray coded) vector presentation of the phase states. The serial to parallel converter
may also contain differential encoding. The dashed line block showing an offset delay
of Tb (one bit duration) is a means to obtain offset keying. The input data stream is split
into two data streams by the serial to parallel converter. These two streams are called
the I and Q channels. The I and Q channels are fed to balanced mixers along with an RF
oscillator whose phase is 90 apart at each mixer. The QPSK can be regarded as two
BPSK systems operating in quadrature.

The four phase states are generated by a unique mapping scheme of consecutive dibits
(pairs) into symbols. The phase states are maintained during the signaling interval T
s

which has a two bit duration. The four possible dibits are usually mapped in accordance
with the Gray code as shown in Figure 2-61. The Gray code assures that a single
symbol error corresponds to a single bit error.

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In some cases where several lower data rate channels are time division multiplexed
(TDM) into higher rate data streams, the serial to parallel converter is bypassed and the I
and Q channels are separately fed and separately used at the receiving end.

Figure 2-62 shows a timing diagram for QPSK and OKQPSK, and figure 2-63 shows the
RF envelope for QPSK and OKQPSK. It should be noted that for QPSK, 180 transitions
have a momentary change to zero in the envelope amplitude. For OKQPSK these 180
transitions are eliminated. Certain advantages insure for OKQPSK in satellite
transmission because of this elimination of the 180 envelope amplitude change.

Figure 2-61 Simplified Block Diagram, QPSK Modulator Showing (gray
coded) Phase States.

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Figure 2-62 Modulator Data Streams for QPSK and OKQPSK.

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Figure 2-63 RF Envelope for QPSK and OKQPSK Signals.

Signal-to-Noise Ratio and Eb/No
The usual method of determining performance in a digital system is Bit Error Rate
(BER). For example, a BER of 10
-5
would mean that for 10
5
bits sent, there would be one
error. If the transmission rate was 100 kb/s (10
5
b/s), then one error would be made
every second. As indicated above (2.14.1.4) various FEC coding schemes can be used to
decrease the errors in a transmission. Each service will have a threshold BER that is
considered to be tolerable. For example, voice service can tolerate BER as high as 10
-3
,
computer traffic is generally acceptable at 10
-6
, and certain highly compressed video and
audio services might require BER of 10
-10
or lower.

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The BER analysis of a particular mode of transmission must proceed from a noise model
since incoming data bits will have a signal-to-noise ratio which depends on the link
parameters. The signal-to-noise ratio in a digital transmission is given by the term
Eb/No, where Eb is the bit energy and No is noise power density per hertz.

The relationship between Eb/No and the system carrier-to-noise ratio for BPSK and
QPSK modulation is:

( ) [ ]db BW R N C
N
E
s
o
b
log 10 log 10 / + =

where: R is the information bit rate, and
BW is the predetection bandwidth in Hz.

Consider the curve of figure 2-64. This curve represents the theoretical performance of
BPSK and QPSK transmission. Let us assume that a link exists where the information
data rate is 56 kb/s and the noise bandwidth is 84 kHz. Assume further that the system
carrier-to-noise ratio is 10 dB.

3 3
10 84 log 10 10 56 log 10 10 x x
N
E
o
b
+ =
=
[ ]db 2 . 49 5 . 47 10 +

= 11.7 db

From figure 2-64, this corresponds to a BER of 2 x 10
-8
.

Suppose further in this example that the required BER is 10
-6
. What margin exists in this
link to the 10
-6
threshold?

The curve of Figure 2-64 indicates that BER = 10
-6
is obtained with Eb/No = 10.6 db.

Required ( ) BW R
N
E
s N C
o
b
log 10 log 10 / + =
= [ ]db 2 . 49 5 . 47 6 . 10 +
= 8.9 dB

Since the link provides (C/N)s of 10 db, the margin to BER = 10
-6
is 1.1 dB.

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Figure 2-64 Plot of Theoretical Eb/No vs. BER.

8PSK and 16 QAM Modulation
Figures 2-65 and 2-66 provide information on 8 PSK and 16 QAM modulation.

Figure 2-65: 8 PSK Characteristics
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As can be seen from Figure 2-65, one transmitted symbol or point in the constellation
now transmits 3 bits of information, as opposed to 2 bits of information for QPSK or one
bit for BPSK. Thus, transitioning from QPSK to 8 PSK theoretically improves overall
capacity by 50%. In practice it is less than this value but still significantly higher.
.

Figure 2-66: 16-QAM Constellations

Figure 2-66 shows three ways in which the next higher order of modulation, 16
Quaternary Amplitude Modulation, or 16- QAM, can be implemented. Different
combinations of amplitudes and phases exist, but in each case, one symbol represents 4
bits (as compared to 8 PSK which would be 3 bits). Thus, the capacity of the link has
improved by a factor of 4/3 or 33%.

Figure 2-67 shows the theoretical performance of several levels of PSK systems. No
forward error correction is applied. Curves provide BER versus Eb/No. Curves for
QPSK, 8 PSK, 16 QAM and 32 QAM are shown. These curves assume an infinite
bandwidth channel where there are no non-linearities to produce distortions. They are
based on thermal (Gaussian white) noise with no interference and no forward error
correction.
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Figure 2-67: Error Rates of PSK Modulation System.

COFDM Modulation
Figure 2-68 below shows the waveform used for COFDM modulation. In this
modulation method, the actual symbol time is increased and therefore its resistance to
multipath interference is greatly increased. COFDM is seeing extensive use for
Electronic Newsgathering (ENG) applications due to its ability to be reliably transmitted
in a non-line-of-sight situation.

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Figure 2-68: Coherent Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplex Modulation

Forward Error Correction Coding
Until now, we have been dealing with signals that do not employ error correction codes.
In practice, however, almost all digital satellite signals today employ error correction
codes. Such codes generally fall into two types:
Block codes such as Reed Solomon Codes, BCH codes,
Convolutional codes

While a complete description of these codes is beyond the scope of this course, it still
will be valuable to discuss some coding basics.

Block Coding
With block coding techniques, each group of K consecutive information bits is encoded
into a group of N bits for transmission over the channel. Normally, the K information
bits are located at the beginning of the N bit block code and the last N-K bits correspond
to parity bits formed by performing a specified operation on the K information bits. The
coding rate for this operation is K/N. The encoder structure is shown in the below
figure 2-69. The information bits are stored in the k storage devices and then the shift
register is shifted N times. For the encoder shown, K=6.
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Figure 2-69: Block Encoder

The block decoder is shown below and is essentially a digital processor

Figure 2-70: Block Decoder
LDPC
One block code which has been shown to be even more powerful than Turbo coding is
Low Density Parity Check. This is a block code based on an idea which is not new, but
was not capable of being implemented until todays powerful computing technology
existed. Figure 2-71 shows a comparison of LDPC to the Shannon (theoretical
maximum) limit and to various turbo codes.
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Figure 2-71: LDPC Performance Comparison
Figure 2-72 shows an example of how the LDPC works. Essentially, it uses a matrix
of information bits and parity check bits and solves the matrix mathematically.
For the example shown, k=message bits = 9, n-k parity bits = 7
Code Rate = k/n = 9/16

Figure 2-72 Computational Basis of LDPC
n9 = n0 + n1 + n2
n10 = n3 + n4 + n5
n11 = n6 + n7 + n8
n12 = n0 + n3 + n6
n13 = n1 + n4 + n7
n14 = n2 + n5 + n8
n15 = n12 + n13 + n14

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Convolutional Coding
The next figure is a block diagram of a convolutional encoder for a rate coder that
will encode K information bits into N total bits. Bits are shifted in from the left and the
A/B switch selects one upper path output and one lower path output for each shifted
bit. The process is continuous. K is called the constraint length of the code.

Figure 2-73: Convolutional Encoder

Coding in this manner, a code tree is developed as shown below. The encoded bits
depend not only on the input bit received ( 1 or 0) but also on the state of the encoder
when it receives them.

There are several ways to decode or trace back the input bits- Viterbi decoding
method is one method and sequential decoding is another method. These methods
attempt to determine the input (information) bits by various computation and error
measurements essentially they are trying different paths through the code tree and
measuring which path has the most probability of being correct.

Figure 2-74: Viterbi Decoding of Convolutional Coding

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Figure 2-75 shows how FEC can improve performance in a system.

Figure 2-75: Modem Performance with and without FEC

In concatenated coding two different codes are used, separated by an interleaver
which permits the full power of both codes to be applied. The block diagram for such a
scheme is shown in figure 2-76
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Figure 2-76: Concatenated Coding

Figures 2-77 and 2-78 show how the interleaver is used to distribute errors left over from
one decoding and disperse them so the second decoding can correct them.

Figure 2-77: Concept of Interleaving
Outer
Encoder
Inner
Encoder
Modulator
Channel
Outer
Decoder
Inner
Decoder
Demodulator
Input
Data
Output
Data
Outer
Interleaver
Inner
Interleaver
Inner
Deinterleaver
Outer
Deinterleaver
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Figure 2-78: Dispersal of errors in an interleaver

System Impairments
The above discussion and example are theoretical and might not exist in practice.
Nonlinearities in the link timing imperfections and phase noise can degrade the
performance. The aggregate effect is called implementation loss and can vary
considerably depending on the service and condition of the equipment in the link. The
uplink operator must be aware and maintain the equipment to its specified levels.

Nonlinear phase versus frequency can cause Intersymbol Interference (ISI), and in a
QPSK system, amplitude nonlinearity can cause I to Q component interference. The
degree of implementation loss is difficult to predict.

A practical approach to implementation loss in link analysis is to start with MODEM
vendor provided curves of BER versus Eb/No curves for the particular service. These
curves are generally taken on a back-to-back basis at IF frequency. An example is given
in figure 2-75, showing performance of the modem with certain FEC coding and without
coding. Each service then will have a loss factor in implementation. This factor is
applied to Eb/No as an increase. For example, if the implementation loss in a system
using the Model of figure 2-75 is say 1.0 dB, and no FEC is applied, the threshold Eb/No
for 10
-6
BER is 12.0 dB (11+1). If Rate coding is used, the threshold Eb/No for 10
-6
BER
is 6.0 dB (5+1).

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Eye Patterns

An excellent means for monitoring the relative performance of a digital link is by means
of an EYE PATTERN on a suitable oscilloscope.. If the I and Q channels of a QPSK
signal are applied to the horizontal and vertical inputs and the symbol clock is applied
to the external trigger, a lissajous pattern is obtained. The horizontal time base should
be adjusted for the symbol duration, and the scope should have high persistence.

A more modernized display which is similar to an eye pattern shows only the
demodulated baseband bit stream. This type display is included in many pieces of
digital test equipment and shows multiple demodulated bits.

The system input data stream should be constantly monitored, and any changes over
time should be documented and corrective action taken. Likewise, the output data
stream should be constantly monitored. Each service is likely to have unique eye
patterns depending on the baseband processing (filtering and limiting). The important
aspect of monitoring is to denote changes from normal. Analysis of changes and
corrective action should be made by experts familiar with the system design.

Compressed Digital Television and Transmission
Introduction- Analog Television
Many types of video currently exist today- both analog and digital. Before describing
digital video, it is useful to spend a few minutes describing analog television systems.
Today the three types of analog television systems are NTSC, PAL and SECAM. Figure
2-79 and Figure 2-80 show the countries in which NTSC and SECAM are used today.
The remainder of the world uses some form of PAL.

USA Guatemala
Canada Honduras
Chile J amaica
Columbia South Korea
Costa Rica Mexico
Dominican Republic Myanmar
Ecuador Nicaragua
El Salvador Panama
Venezuela Peru
Taiwan Philippines
Figure 2-79 NTSC Countries
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Greece Some Luxembourg,
Some Germany Bulgaria,
Some Saudi Arabia Czechoslovakia
Some Afghanistan Hungary
Egypt, Iran Poland,
Iraq CIS
Lebanon Congo
Libya Korea
Morocco Mongolia
Syria France
Niger Some Vietnam
Figure 2-80: SECAM Countries
Figure 2-72 below shows the NTSC signal levels, and Figure 2-73 shows the NTSC
waveform including timing and framing pulses..

Figure 2-81 NTSC Signal
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Figure 2-82: NTSC Waveform

Types of Video
Generally speaking, all video is either in component form or in composite form.
These terms refer, very simply, to whether the video signal is transmitted as one signal
or is broken down into sub-signals which need to be added together to produce the
video signal. There are many ways of breaking the signal down into component forms,
such as RGB, YUV, Y Cr Cb, and others.
Some of the advantages of component and composite are:
Effects and Graphics Compositing: Graphic or live images that are painted,
moved, keyed or otherwise manipulated . Component digital systems allow free
exchange of images between paint, effects and editing devices without loss of quality
or regard to NTSC signal anomalies.
Standards Conversion: The recording on a D1 or Digital Betacam tape is digital
component which is the native video signal format of standards conversion
equipment. It presents the least adulterated signal to the converter for the best
conversion quality.
Color Correction: The native video signal in color correctors is component video.
Projection: Video projectors that produce large screen images are best served by
component a video source..
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Film recording: Video programs targeted for film recording are best done on
component recorders. Film recorders are presented with an RGB (Red Green and
Blue) image that would be degraded if they had been composite at some point along
the way
Computer Images: Video intended for display on computer equipment is best
presented in component form since the native internal format of the computer is
RGB.
:
Introduction to Digital Video
This section provides additional instruction and details dealing specifically with
COMPRESSED digital television technology as currently implemented in satellite
transmission. It is presented in a generic manner rather than being directed to a specific
method of implementation.

The basic element of a digital video picture is the pixel or individual colored light
element. The Figure below provides the number of pixels of resolution in the horizontal
and vertical dimension for various types of video
Resolution (Pixels) Type of Video Application
1920 x 1280 HDTV Best quality video
720 x 486 ITU-R- 601- Serial Digital Network Distribution
640 x 480 VGA Computer Display
720 x 576 DVD Consumer Disk
720 x 486 DV Camcorder
352 x 240 FCIF, MPEG1 VCR Quality
176 x 120 QCIF Videoconferencing
Figure 2-83: Types of Video

Emphasis is placed on entertainment quality rather than videoconference quality.
In general, videoconference quality (in todays state-of-the-art) is transmitted at bit rates
up to about 1.5 Mb/s. Entertainment quality has bit rates from 1.0 Mb/s to 20 Mb/s.
These terms of entertainment quality and Videoconference quality are purely
subjective. Entertainment quality can be broken down to three levels: 1) VCR home
quality (1.0 to 2.0 Mb/s), 2) NTSC broadcast quality (2.0 to 8.0 Mb/s) and 3) High
Definition-HDTV quality (12 to 20 Mb/s). These bit rates refer to the information rate. .

Why Digital Television?
The digital format for television has an enormous advantage over the analog format
because it is inherently more robust. There is noise immunity up to a certain threshold.
It is also relatively immune to nonlinear transfer functions of transmission or recording
circuits. This immunity or robustness is because each bit is either on or off (1 or 0). The
NTSC color system benefits greatly because of its sensitivity to differential gain and
differential phase (luminance to chrominance intermodulation) and other nonlinear
distortions such as; chrominance to luminance intermodulation, luminance non-
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linearity, chrominance nonlinearity (gain and phase), dynamic gain (picture and sync),
and transient sync nonlinearity.

It is for these reasons, and more that the broadcast and recording industries have
embraced the digital format for many years in the studio, and in a limited way in
transmission where the bandwidth is adequate to support transmission economically.
The digital format is not totally immune to transmission anomalies or distortion.
Timing errors due to unstable oscillators (phase noise), group delay and certain linear
distortions can give rise to implementation loss.

Why Compression?
The answer is: bandwidth, bandwidth, bandwidth and economics.

The basic sampling (Nyquist) theorem states that only two samples of the highest
frequency in a complex waveform contain all of the information of the original message.
The television industry has standardized sampling frequencies and data rate for various
input signals. Table 2-4 shows the important parameters for Composite (NTSC) and
Component (luminance and color difference) signals. If RGB inputs were to be digitized
and coded into 8 bit words and assuming 8.4 MHz sampling frequency, the bit rate
would be 8.4 x 10
6
x 8 x 3 or about 201 Mb/sec.

These uncompressed data rates and the concomitant bandwidth requirements are just
impractical for satellite transmission. Adding parity bits for error correction requires
additional bandwidth. High order modulation schemes to fit the bit stream into the
available bandwidth would require rather large antennas for reception, and more
complex modulation and demodulation equipment. In short, there would be no
economic incentive to go digital for virtually all applications. However, modern
compression technology allows from 4 to 10 entertainment quality television signals to
be transmitted in a single satellite transponder with reasonable cost in the earth station
segment. It is extremely cost effective in a broadcast mode where the receiver
population is large. The receiving (decompression) equipment is reasonably
inexpensive due to the current availability of single chip (VLSI) decoders.
Digital TelevisionBasics
Before delving into compression technology, it is deemed prudent to describe in some
detail how a television image is transformed from an analog (complex voltage
waveform) to a serial digital stream suitable for transmission. In this discussion, we will
deal only with a composite video signal (NTSC video to SMPTE D-2).

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The A-D ProcessSampling, Quantizing and PCM Coding
Sampling
Figure 2-84 provides an overview of the Analog to Digital Conversion process,
and we will discuss it in detail below when reviewing Figure 2-85.

Figure 2-84 Overview of the A to D Conversion Process

Let us review in somewhat more detail the sampling and PCM coding discussed
in previous paragraphs and how they are applied to NTSC television. The D-2 format
suggests that for composite signals the sampling frequency be either 3 or 4 times the
subcarrier frequency (10.6 or 14.4 MHz). This frequency is in turn an integral multiple of
the line rate (15.75 kHz). These rates represent oversampling but allow anti-aliasing
filters with gradual cutoff (similar to roofing filters used in analog video) and to simplify
processing and decoding since the same time period is sampled in each active line.
Figure 2-86 shows sampling of the color burst (3.58 MHz) at four samples per hertz. The
samples are taken at specific burst phase. This is I-Q axis sampling.
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PARAMETER

NTSC,
3 FSC

SMPTE
D-2,
4 FSC
525 LINE
59.95 FIELDS
SMPTE D-1
SMPTE RF 125
CCIR 601
Baseband bandwidth (MHz) 4.2 4.2 --
Luminance Channel (MHz) -- -- 5.5
Color difference (MHz) -- -- 2.2
Subcarrier Frequency (MHz) 3.58 3.58 --
Sampling Frequency (MHz) 10.6 14.4 --
Luminance -- -- 13.5
Color Difference -- -- 6.75
Bit Rate (Mb/s) 8 bit word 85.9 114.5 --
Luminance -- -- 108
Chrominance -- -- 54
Figure 2-85: Video Sampling Frequencies and Bit Rates

Figure 2-86 Sampling Points (F
s
= 4f
sc
)

Quantizing
Once an analog signal is sampled, its amplitude is quantized. If an 8 bit word is
assigned to each sample, there are 2
8
or 256 discrete levels including 0. For SMPTE D-2
only 196 levels are used for video. The balance is used for audio, data and control.
Figure 2-87 shows the composite signal and the quantizing level utilization. Levels 0
and 255 are used for synchronization.

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Figure 2-86: Composite Quantizing Levels
If actual values fall between the discrete levels, the net result is noise and some
distortion. For 8 bit quantization, the signal-to-noise ratio is about 48 dB (unweighted).

Encoding

There are many methods of encoding the quantized levels. Only one is discussed here,
i.e., pure binary. Each character in a binary word is a bit and is either a 1 or 0. Figure 2-
87 shows the relationship between decimal number and the binary code.
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Decimal Binary
0 00000000
1 00000001
2 00000010
3 00000011
4 00000100
5 00000101
6 00000110
7 00000111
8 00001000
9 00001001
10 00001010
11 00001011
12 00001100
13 00001101
14 00001110
15 00001111
20 00010100
100 01100100
200 11001000
255 11111111
Figure 2-87: 8 Bit Binary Codes

As an example, consider the sampling of one cycle of the color burst which was shown
in Figure 2-86. The color burst has a peak-to-peak amplitude from 20 to +20 IRE. From
figure 2-87 these values carry the quantized numbers ranging from 27 to 87. Taking into
account the sample values at the proper phase of the burst signal, the sample quantized
values are 82.6 (83), 74.7 (75), 37.4 (37 and 44.3 (44). The binary words corresponding to
these levels are shown in Figure 2-88.
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Figure 2-88 Binary Words for Burst Samples

Serial or Parallel Transmission
The bits in a code word can be transmitted in a serial or parallel manner. For satellite
transmission, parallel (8) paths would be impractical although it would take only one-
eight of the required bandwidth for serial operation. For serial operation, the 8 bits in
each word are stored in a shift register and read out sequentially to a single circuit. As
indicated earlier (Figure 2-85) the overall bit rate for NTSC with sampling frequency of
14.5 MHz (4f
sc
) is 114.5 Mb/s. The required bandwidth for transmission is about one-
half the bit rate (approximately 57 MHz minimum), which as indicated earlier makes
satellite transmission unattractive.

Compression
Figure 2-89 below provides the bit rates for video which is not yet compressed . As can
be noted, these bit rates are extremely high.
4
3
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ITU-R-601 270 Mbps
VGA 220 Mbps
NTSC 186 Mbps

Figure 2-89: Uncompressed Video Data Rates

Compression consists of both Intra Frame (within the frame) and Intra Frame (between
frames) coding. Intra frame coding is characterized by:
First frame in a Group of Pictures (sequence of frames)
Coded completely within the frame
Coded similarly to JPEG ( used in computer photos)
Discrete Cosine Transform ( DCT)
DPCM or run-length Coding
Variable quantization levels
Huffman variable length Coding
Its the only time you have a real picture
Editing/channel switching must be done on I frames

Whereas Inter-frame coding is characterized by:
Coding is done over the Group of Pictures
Combination of forward Prediction (P) and Bi-directional (B) interpolation
Generally P frames are predicted and B frames provide mostly difference
information
Uses motion compensation vectors, coded image difference information
Complicates editing, channel switching

In general, Figure 2-90 shows how inter frame coding is accomplished using I, P and B
frames.
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Figure 2-90: Motion Compensation in MPEG 2

Bit rate and the attendant bandwidth reduction are possible in large part due to the
nature of the television image and the human vision system. There is a great deal of
statistical redundancy in a television image, even one with considerable motion as in
sports events. Furthermore, the human vision system has limitations that mask certain
distortions or artifacts. Compression technology utilizes sophisticated mathematical
tools (algorithms), coding techniques and components (hardware) to exploit these
factors.

.
Even though there is a great deal of redundancy in a television signal, the statistics of
this signal are enormously complex. Each frame of the image represents a new set of
statistics. Even if the image is relatively stationary, panning or zoom of the camera
creates an entirely new frame. Powerful signal processing chips and massive storage
chips have become available at reasonable cost. These semiconductor LSIs have
allowed the sophisticated mathematical tools to analyze and process the image and
remove the redundancy and thereby reduce the bit rate and the required bandwidth.

B B
P
B B
P
B B I I

Spatially
Coded I
Frame
GOP =9
Forward Motion
Compensation
Bidirectional
Motion Compensation
Time
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Compression Techniques
Figure 2-91 shows in a general manner what needs to be accomplished to perform
digital video compression encoding. Simplistically speaking, the main task as shown in
the first two blocks is to remove time and space redundancies, and then to perform
quantization and transformation on the signal, followed by entropy reduction. There
are many methods and approaches to video compression taken by researchers over the
years. In this document, only those methods used in modern methods are discussed.
The discussion here is limited to generalization and simple examples because the theory
and implementation is beyond the scope of this text. In practice, current implementation
uses a cascade of several methods.
Figure 2-91 Encoding Process Simplified

Pre-Processing and Redundancy Removal
Pre-processing removes information that is relatively unimportant to visual quality and
is most difficult to code. This is accomplished by a combination of spatial and temporal
filters. Pre-processing is an inexact science and its effectiveness depends largely on
source material. It is more effective on canned material, and less effective on live
event material.

Prediction and Motion Compensation
Because the difference in signal level of adjacent pixels in a line is usually small, a
smaller number of bits per word can be used to represent the difference in levels. This is
known as differential PCM. Modern compression systems, utilize the fact that video
sequences are highly correlated in time. That is, each frame is quite similar to the
preceding and following frames. Therefore, coding the difference means that a lot less
information needs to be sent.

The predictive method used is to break a frame down to small blocks (typically 16 x 16
pixels) and searching at nearby positions of the previous frame. It is therefore possible

Remove
temporal
redundancy
Remove
spatial
redundancy

Transform
and
quantizer
Entropy
reduction
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to find a good predictor block so that only the position of predictor block and the current
block needs to be sent. This process greatly reduces the bit rate when portions of a scene
are in motion. Hence, a great deal of motion compensation is produced.

Figure 2-90 shows how MPEG 2 uses I, B and P frames to achieve motion compensation.
I frames are complete frames and are suitable for editing. P frames are predicted frames
based on the last I frame and the encoding algorithm. B frames are interpolated among
both I and P frames.

TransformationFrequency Decomposition
The object of a transformation process is to find a frequency representation or the signal
representing the motion compensation residual frame. The exact mathematical
approach is beyond the scope of this text. Instead, we discuss the purpose and provide a
simple example of a transform.

The motion compensated signal is analyzed into two dimensional (spatial and temporal)
frequency components. The signal usually has most of its energy concentrated in a
narrow band, so that fewer bits need be sent at the unimportant frequencies.
Furthermore, the transformation process mirrors the human visual system and allows
quantization to be tailored to the sensitivity of the human visual system to frequency
content.

The predominant transform currently used is the discrete cosine transform (DCT). The
DCT takes a block of the motion compensation residual (16 x 16 pixels) and converts it to
a corresponding set of coefficients representing different frequency components. As
indicated earlier, this is an exceedingly complex procedure, whereby a set of values is
converted to another set of values that can be transmitted with less data by utilizing a
series of equations.

As a simple example, assume the values A,B,C and D are transformed to the values
W,X,Y and Z by the equations:
W=A
X=B-A
Y=C-A
Z=D-A
W,X,Y and Z are transmitted, Since X, Y and Z are difference values, they are smaller
than the original values and do not require as many bits per word.

Quantization
In a previous section, we discussed the quantization process whereby the amplitude of a
sample was given an eight bit word that can identify 256 discrete levels. Non linear
quantization (Companding) and/or course linear quantization can reduce the bit rate at
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the expense of quality or noise. Judicious companding of the unimportant frequency
components of the decomposition process can reduce the bit rate.

Vector Quantization applies the quantization process to more than one co-efficient
simultaneously. A block of pixels (or a set of coefficients) are considered as a vector, and
a search is made to find one of a small set of representative vectors that is close to the
input vector. The representative vectors are resident in a codebook and its index
(number) in the codebook is transmitted. The number of bits required for transmission
is therefore less than if the input vector was transmitted.

Entropy Reduction
Bit rate reduction can also be accomplished by exploiting the fact that some image
values are less frequently encountered than others. By applying a longer code word to
the less frequently encountered values, and a shorter code word to the frequently
encountered values, bit rate reduction can be realized. A commonly used code in video
compression in the Huffman Code.

The quantized frequency domain coefficients tend to have the value zero at many
different frequencies and large groups of zeros are clustered at the higher frequencies.
A run-length of many zeros gets assigned a short word in the Huffman Code.

Algorithms
The algorithm is the basic tool for specifying the mathematical operations to be
performed for bandwidth reduction. Since modern compression systems use a
combination of the methods described above, the operations are extremely complex.
Figure 2-92 shows the various elements of MPEG-2 encoding. Motion compensation,
DCT frequency decomposition, Companding and Huffman Coding are employed.
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Figure 2-92: Basic Elements in MPEG 2 Encoder
Once encoded, the encoded audio signal and any data signals are added to the
formatted digital bit stream known as a transport stream by a process which is shown
in Figure 2-93, Figure 2-94, and Figure 2-95.

MPEG-2
ALGORITHM
MOTION
COMPENSATION
DISCRETE
COSINE
TRANSFORM
STATISTICAL
QUANTIZATION
HUFFMAN
CODING
NTSC
VIDEO
INPUT
COMPRESSED
DIGITAL VIDEO
OUT
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Transport Packet Stream
..many services can be dynamically multiplexed and delivered to the viewer...
video video TEXT audio 1 video audio 2 PGM GD video video video video
184 Byte Payload (incl. optional Adaptation Header)
188 Byte Packet
4 Byte
Packet Header
4 Byte
Packet Header
All packet types carry one type of data, identified by a PID
Various data types are multiplexed into the packet stream
PID eliminates backward compatibility problems - receivers ignore packet
types that they cannot process

Figure 2-93 MPEG Transport Packet Stream

Figure 2-94 MPEG Transport Stream Packet
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The Packet Scheduler permits packets
into the bit stream according to
need and priority. This allows dynamic
allocation of the channel.
The Packet Scheduler permits packets
into the bit stream according to
need and priority. This allows dynamic
allocation of the channel.
Packet Multiplexing
. . . a freight car switch yard . . .
audio 1 audio 1
Video Video Video Video Video
audio 2 audio 2
aux data aux data
Packet
Scheduler
Video Video audio 1 Video audio 2 aux data control
control
F
r
o
m

s
o
u
r
c
e

e
n
c
o
d
e
r
s
To Transmitter

Figure 2-95 MPEG Transport Stream Packet Multiplexing
Decompression Decoding
The decompression processing is not nearly as complex as the compression process. In
fact, several semiconductor manufacturers are providing decoders on a single chip. The
process involves the inverse of the compression process to produce the signal in the
same format as the input to the encoder. Figure 2-96 shows a conceptual view of the
Packet Demultiplexing process and Figure 2-97 shows a block diagram of the de-
compressor. All signals to activate the elements are imbedded in the transmitted data
stream.
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Packet Demultiplexing
. . . unrecognized packets are discarded . .
.
Digital Broadcast Receiver
Packet
De-Mux
CPU
Video
Decoder
Video
audio 1
a
u
d
i
o

2
a
u
x

d
a
t
a
Reads PID's and
sorts packets
Packets from RF demodulator
Video audio 1 Video audio 2 aux data control
Audio
Decoder
control
De-mux Initialization
The Path to
Extensibility
The Path to
Extensibility

Figure 2-96 Packet Demultiplexing

Figure 2-97 Basic Elements of the MPEG-2 Decoder

HUFFMAN
DECODER
DCT FREQ.
COMPOSITION
RECON-
STRUCTED
FRAME
ERROR
CONCEAL-
MENT
MOTION
COMPENSATION
REFERENCE
INCOMING
DATA
STREAM
VIDEO
OUT
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Complete System Example
Figure 2-98 shows an example of a complete system employing compressed digital video.
Representative Digital Distribution Process
HPA
Decryptor
Integrated
Receiver
Decoder
Up-
Converter
QPSK
Mod-
ulator
Encryptor
Scientific
Atlanta
Digital
Multiplexer
Model
D9130
SA 9110
Digital
Encoder
SA 9110
Digital
Encoder
SA 9110
Digital
Encoder
SA 9110
Digital
Encoder
SA 9110
Digital
Encoder
SA 9110
Digital
Encoder
SA 9110
Digital
Encoder
AT&T
Cable
Fiber
Optic
Interface
ABC Television
Radio
Radio
Radio
Radio
Radio
CBS Television
NBC Television
Fox Television
PBS Television
AMC-3 Satellite, Transponder
Data Services
Television to Cable Plant
Uplink
Remote
Cable
Operator

Figure 2-98: Complete Digital System
Standardization
Compression technology has advanced very rapidly. The International Standard Setting
organization (ISO) and the Motion Picture Engineering Group (MPEG) has worked
diligently toward establishing a standard for compression of entertainment quality
television. The MPEG-2 standard was adopted in November 1993. Figure 2-99 shows
the Levels and Profiles adopted for the MPEG 2 standard. Looking at this figure shows
that not only is the main level main profile shown, which is the standard for video
backhauling and other applications, but MPEG 1, 4:2:2 profile and even HDTV is shown
in this figure.

Satellite delivery is currently operating both multiplexed (several TV channels) on a
carrier (MCPC), and a single TV channel on a carrier (SCPC). One carrier will normally
contain one transport stream, which is capable of multiplexing together a large number
of video, audio and data signals.

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The MPEG-2 system is not a fixed bit rate system. The bit rate is determined by the
quality desired. There are no current objective standards. Only subjective descriptions
are currently used. It is generally agreed that inch VCR quality is obtained at bit rates
in the range 1.5 to 2.5 Mb/s. Broadcast quality is obtained with bit rates from 2.5 to 8.0
Mb/s depending on program content. In MCPC transmission, adaptive bit rate
multiplexing can be employed by borrowing bits from one program with little or no
motion and assigning them to a program with a lot of motion.

Current Standards for Satellite Transmission of Digital Television
The following digital video standards exist for the more common video formats, and are
listed in approximate chronological order;

MPEG 1
MPEG 2
4:2:0 profile
4:2:2 profile
DVB
ATSC (also known as DTV, ATV): HDTV and SDTV
MPEG 4 (also now known as MPEG 4-2)
AVC (also known as H.264, H.26L, MPEG 4-10)
Windows Media 9/ SMPTE VC-9
JPEG 2000
In previous sections above, some basic aspects of digital television and modern
compression technology (MPEG 2 ISO/IEC 13818-1) were discussed. In this section,
we discuss additional standards activity since the adoption of the MPEG 2 standard.
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MPEG 2 Levels and Profiles
Profiles
Levels
Simple
I,P
4:2:0
Non-
scalable
Main
I,P,B
4:2:0
Non-
scalable
Professional
I,P,B
4:2:2
Non-
scalable
SNR
I,P,B
4:2:0
SNR
scalable
Spacially
I,P,B
4:2:0
Spacially
scalable
High
I,P,B
4:2:2
SNR,
spacially
scalable
High
<1920x1152
60 frames/
second
Grand
Alliance
HDTV
< 80 Mbps
< 100 Mbps
High-1440
<1440x1152
60 frames/
second
<60 Mbps < 60 Mbps < 80 Mbps
Main
<720x576
30 frames/
second
< 15 Mbps
MLMP
< 15 Mbps
Professional
Profile
< 50 Mbps
< 15 Mbps < 20 Mbps
Low
<352x288
30 frames/
second
MPEG-1
< 4 Mbps < 4 Mbps

Figure 2-99 MPEG-2 Levels and Profiles

Digital Television Standard (DVB)
The European Broadcast Union has generated standards for both terrestrial broadcast
and satellite distribution of digital TV in a comprehensive project called DVB. For
satellite transmission, interoperability tests were run between manufacturers of codecs
(coders and decoders). As a result of these tests an approved list of compatible coders
and decoders has been developed. From an uplink earth station operator standpoint it is
prudent to purchase coders that are DVB compatible. Receivers in the network
should also have DVB compatible decoders. If the program transmitted has conditional
access encryption, the receivers in the network should be equipped with appropriate
decryption. The conditional access process is unique and not part of the standard.
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The DVB standards are based on MPEG 2 and on Forward Error Correction (FEC)
coding. It goes beyond MPEG 2 however by adding standards not included in MPEG 2
for
Modulation
FEC
Interleaving
Conditional Access/Encryption
Data Services encapsulation

A powerful FEC coding is used that consists of a combination of Reed Solomon (block),
Viterbi (convolution), and interleaving coding. In addition, the baseband filter shape
(alpha factor) is standardized.

As indicated earlier in the text , MPEG-2 is not a fixed data rate standard. Therefore, the
data rate is a function of the quality desired in the television reproduction. Variables
are: 1) symbol rate, FEC rate, and modulation level (m).

The defining relation is:

Usable Information Rate Ru = Sx(m)x(188/204)x(FEC)

Where, S is the symbol rate (selected in the modulator),
(m) is the modulation factor (for QPSK, m = 2)
188/204 is the Reed Solomon block inner code, and
FEC is the Viterbi convolution code

A popular MCPC (Multiple Channel per Carrier) utilizes a full (36 MHz) satellite
transponder with QPSK modulation, rate FEC, and a composite Symbol Rate of 19.5
Mb/s. This provides a usable Information rate of 27 Mb/s. This amount of information
can be shared with a multiplicity of TV channels by the use of adaptive multiplexing.

DVB-S and DVB-S2
A brief comparison of DVB-S and DVB-S2 shows that DVB-S2 is essentially a significant
expansion of the transmission method prescribed in DVB-S:
DVB-S
Published in 1993
Modulation: primarily QPSK and BPSK
Convolutional codes concatenated with RS codes
DVB-S2
Published in 2003
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Modulation: QPSK, 8-PSK (broadcast applications), 16-APSK and 32-APSK
(professional applications)
Backward-compatibity with existing DVB-S receivers
Reasonable receiver complexity
Interactivity (i.e., Internet access)
Best transmission performance
LDPC codes were concatenated with BCH codes
Variable and adaptive coding and modulation (recovers rain margin)
Approximately 30 % capacity increase compared to DVB-S
Maximum flexibility
framing structure
variable and adaptive coding and modulation
can operate in any existing satellite transponder
accommodates any input stream format (188-byte MPEG-2 transport
streams (packets), continuous bit streams, IP, ATM)
Emerging Encoding Methods: MPEG 4 and JPEG 2000
MPEG 4 Part 10 and SMPTE VC-9
H.26L or AVC or MPEG- 4-10:
continuation of MPEG standards process
takes advantage of more powerful processing
probably 50% reduction in data rate
Windows Media 9
similar to H.26L but proprietary thus far
serious attempt by Microsoft to enter broadcast video market
Being standardized by SMPTE as VC-9

Characteristics of MPEG 4, also known a H.264, include:
By 2007, broadcast quality at 1 Mbps
Enhanced motion compensation prediction
Quarter pixel interpolation
Optional smaller block sizes (16x16 to 4x4)
Option to search across many more frames
Option for more B frames
Allows Adaptive Field or Frame encoding on macro block basis
Loop filter smoothes block edges to minimize blocking
Improved Entropy Coding
Context Adaptive Binary Arithmetic Coding (CABAC)
Computationally intensive
Gives 15% improvement in compression
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Context Adaptive Variable Length Coding (CAVLC)
Refined version of Huffman coding
These are the first defined MPEG encoder functions but are optional

The encoding process is shown in Figure 2-100. Compare this process with that
previously shown for MPEG 2 to observe the improvements.
Simplified H.264 Encoding Process
Remove
temporal
redundancy
Remove
spatial
redundancy
Transform
and
quantizer
Entropy
reduction
Loop Filter
Inverse
Transform
Inverse
Quantizer

Figure 2-100 MPEG 4-10 Encoding Process
JPEG 2000
JPEG2000 is the successor to JPEG
State of the art compression technology based on Wavelet Technology
Overall goals:
Better compression then original DCT (Discrete Cosine Transform) based JPEG
Scalability, extract multiple resolution images from a single high resolution
master
Softer Artifacts
Compression scheme that worked well in network environments (trade off
bandwidth for resolution, quality
JPEG 2000 uses Wavelet compression that transforms images into wavelet subbands and
resolutions.
The general process for this is as follows:
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-Image is sent to a set of wavelet filters
-pixel information is transformed into wavelet coefficients
-these are then grouped into several sub-bands that describe H and V frequencies
-Lower frequencies remain in first transform level
-Higher frequencies contained in higher transform levels
Figure 2-101, shows graphically more on how this is accomplished.

Figure 2-101: JPEG 2000 Process

Original
LL1
LH1
HL1
HH1
LL1
LH1
HL1
HH1
LL2
LH2
HL2
HH2
LL1
LH1
HL1
HH1
LL2
LH2
HL2
HH2
1
st
Pass
A B C D
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High Definition Television
Currently three standards exist throughout the world for transmission of HDTV. These are
shown in Figure 2-102.
System Adopters Modulation/ Other
ATSC US, Mexico, Canada,
Argentina, South Korea
8 VSB
ISDB J apan, Brazil COFDM
Contains DAB capability
DVB Everybody else COFDM
Figure 2-102 HDTV Standards and Implementation
Advanced Television Standards Committee (ATSC)
The ATSC has generated a standard (DOC. A/80) that builds on the MPEG-2 and DVB
standards specifically for satellite transmission. A copy of this standard can be obtained
on the Internet at http://www.atsc.org/standards.html.

This document provides for optional higher modulation levels of 8PSK and 16 QAM,
while QPSK is considered mandatory. It also contains more detailed information about
digital television than is contained in this textbook. The student is encouraged to
download it. Furthermore, the interested student should consider obtaining the
references contained in ATSC-A/80.

The ATSC DTV standard consists of a single or multiple television channel or multiple
television channel carrying HDTV and/or SDTV. Encapsulated data may be
transmitted as well. It consists of :

Video Formats
Interlaced & Progressive
Video Compression
MPEG-2
Audio Compression
Dolby AC-3
Packetized Data Transport
It can be thought of as defining the signal in three layers, as shown in Figure 2-103 below:
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DTV System Layers
Picture
Layer
Video
Compression
Layer
Transport
Layer
Transmission
Layer
MPEG-2 packets
MPEG-2
compression syntax
Multiple Picture Formats
and Frame Rates
Multiple Picture Formats
and Frame Rates
8-VSB
Video packet Audio packet Aux data
Data
Headers
Motion
Vectors
Chroma and Luma
DCT Coefficients
Variable Length Codes
Packet Headers
Flexible delivery of data
Flexible delivery of data
1920 x 1080
1280 x 720
60,30, 24 Hz
Video packet
6 MHz Channel

Figure 2-103 : ATSC Digital Television Layers

ATSC Video Compression is characterized by :
MPEG-2 Compliant
Main Profile @ High & Main Levels
19.3 Mbps Information Stream
188 byte transport packetization
ATM Compatible

Whereas the ATSC Audio Signal does not use MPEG 2 audio but instead can employ
Dolby 2.0, PCM or Dolby AC-3. AC-3 characteristics include:
Motion Picture System
Surround Sound
5.1 channels
384 Kbps
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When transmitted terrestrially, the ATSC signal employs:
8-VSB Modulation
10.76 M Symbols/sec
3 Bits/Symbol
Forward Error Correction
Trellis coding (2/3 rate)
Reed-Solomon (T=10)
19.4 Mbps information rate
Offset QAM, 16 VSB also defined

Figure 2-104 below shows four HDTV Formats currently defined. The two formats in
most common use today are 1920 x 1080 Interlaced (30 frames/sec) and 1280 x 720 P (60
frames/sec):
Resolution Scan Frames/Sec Possible
Applications
1920 x 1080 P 24 or 30 Highest Spatial
Resolution
1920 x 1080 I 30 Scenes shot with
an interlace
camera
1280 x 720 P 24 or 30 Complex film
scenes, graphics,
possibly reduced
data rate
1280 x 720 P 60 Sports, concerts,
animation,
graphics, up
converted NTSC
Figure 2-104: Four currently defined ATSC HDTV formats

There are several SDTV picture formats defined. Two of these formats include:
480 x 704 Resolution
16:9 & 4:3
Progressive @ 60, 30, 24 frames/second
Interlace @ 60 fields/second
480 x 640 Resolution
4:3, square pixel spacing
Progressive @ 60, 30, 24 frames/second
Interlace @ 60 fields/second

Satellite Transmission of Compressed Television
Current satellite transmission practice for compressed television utilizes QPSK
modulation as a good compromise between spectrum and power efficiency. Higher
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modulation levels can be used such as 8 PSK and 16 QAM. ATSC has defined standard
satellite transmission formats that generally employ DVB-S modulation. Other
proprietary digital formats such as Digicipher II are still in use however and employ
their own transmission systems.
Video file formats and asset management systems employing MXF asset management
will increasingly be used.

The threshold bit error rate is on the order of 10
-10
to 10
-12
. The FEC used is a
concatenation of two separate coding schemes (Reed-Solomon, which is a block or
polynomial code, and Viterbi, which is a convolutional code). Typically a 188/204 Reed
Solomon is used with a concatenated code. If Rate concatenated coding is used, this
results in an effective FEC rate of 0.69

Typically, a Nyquist rolloff factor of 1.35 is used for occupied bandwidth calculation.

For example, one SCPC implementation has a (digital video) information rate of 2.6
Mb/s, and a rate .69 FEC. The transmission rate is 3,770,000 transmitted bits. This is a
symbol rate of 1.88 mega symbols per second for QPSK, which requires a bandwidth of
approximately 2.54 MHz assuming the rolloff factor mentioned above. This is calculated
as follows:
Bandwidth Required = (Symbol Rate) X (Roll off Factor)
Roll off factor typically 1.33 TO 1.35 but can be as small as 1.25
Equipment limitations (minimum frequency step size) can add to
bandwidth requirement
Symbol Rate = (Usable Info Rate)/(M) x (FEC)
Where M= Modulation factor =2 for QPSK, 3 for 8 PSK and 4 for 16 QAM,
FEC= Total Forward Error Correction inner plus outer code

Concerning the question of number of compressed digital signals that can be transmitted
in a satellite transponder,:
Need to distinguish between contribution, distribution and direct to home
type of service.
Encoding bit rates will continue to decrease as they have in the past
Generally, Contribution>Distribution>Direct to home bit rates
Number of signals per transponder varies depending upon:
Type of service/bit rate
Modulation
Multiplexing (MCPC or SCPC), including statistical multiplexing
Receive Antenna Size
Transponder bandwidth, gain step, power
Today, most digital video signals tend to be bandwidth limited but 16 QAM
could change that.
A representative link budget for compressed digital video via satellite is shown in
Figure 2-105 below.
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3.0 MBPS DIGITAL SCPC VIDEO FROM: NEWYORK TO: DALLAS

REQUIREMENTS SATELLITE
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Avai l abi l i t y ( %) : 99. 866 Sat el l i t e GE 3
Requi r ed Eb/ No ( dB) : 5. 50 Sat el l i t e West Long : 87. 0
Bi t Er r or Rat e : QEF Tr ansponder LI NEARI ZED 60 W
Modul at i on Type : QPSK Usabl e Tr nspndr BW( MHz) : 36. 00
I nf o. Rat e ( Kbps) : 3000. 00 SFD @0 dB/ K ( dBW/ M^2) : - 93. 10
FEC Rat e : 0. 69 Tr ansponder At t en ( dB) : 8. 0

TRANSMIT E/S RECEIVE E/S
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Nor t h Lat : 48. 0 West Long: 73. 0 Nor t h Lat : 30. 0 West Long: 100. 0
Fr equency ( GHz) : 14. 25 Fr equency ( GHz) : 12. 10
Sat el l i t e G/ T ( dB/ K) : 4. 30 Sat el l i t e EI RP ( dBW) : 46. 00
Ant enna Di amet er ( m) : 5. 0 Ant enna Di amet er ( m) : 3. 0
Ant enna Gai n ( dBi ) : 55. 10 Ant enna Gai n ( dBi ) : 49. 20
Antenna Elevation (Deg): 33.23 Antenna Elevation (Deg): 52.30
Carrier EIRP (dBW): 55.31 LNA Noi se Temp ( K) : 125. 00
Power Cont r ol ( dB) : 0. 00 Loss bet w. LNA & Ant . ( dB) : 0. 10
Out put Ci r cui t Loss ( dB) : 3. 00 System Noise Temp. (K): 175.67
Path Loss (dB): 207.22 Station G/T (dB/K): 26.75
Ot her Losses ( dB) : 0. 70 Path Loss (dB) : 205. 48
( ot her l oss = at m, pol , ant poi nt ) Ot her Losses ( dB) : 0. 60

INTERFERENCE
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
C/Io Adj Sat U (dB-Hz): 83.42 C/Io Intermod (dB-Hz): 86.44
C/Io Adj Sat D (dB-Hz): 87.30 C/No Thermal Up (dB-Hz): 80.29
C/Io Crosspol (dB-Hz): 150.00 C/No Thermal Dn (dB-Hz): 80.87
C/Io Adj Channel (dB-Hz): 90.92 C/Io Total (dB-Hz): 79.90
C/Io Adj Trans (dB-Hz): 91.31 C/No Therm Total (dB-Hz): 77.56
C/Io Microwave (dB-Hz): N/A C/No Total (dB-Hz): 75.57

RAIN ATTENUATION
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Overall Link Margin (dB): 5.29 Rain Model : CRANE
Uplink Availability (%): 99.934
Rain Margin (dB): 5.29 Uplink Rain Zone : D2
Dnlink Availability (%): 99.932
Rain Margin (dB): 6.08 Dnlink Rain Zone : D3
G/T Degradation (dB): 3.51

TRANSPONDER H.P.A
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Number of Car r i er s : MULTI PLE Number of Car r i er s : 1. 0
Tot al OPBO ( dB) : 3. 50 Tot al HPA OPBO : 0. 00
Tot al I PBO ( dB) : 7. 78 HPA Power/Carrier (dBm) : 33. 21
Car r i er OPBO ( dB) : 14. 40 Required HPA Size (dBW) : 3.21
Car r i er I PBO ( dB) : 18. 68 Required HPA Size (W): 2.10

FCC Req: 1) Uplink Flange Density (dBW/4kHz): -27.14
(@50.0) 2) Downlink EIRP Density (dBW/4kHz): 8.25
Transponder BW Used Per Carrier (x1.35) (%): 8.15
Transponder Power Used Per Carrier (%): 8.13
Transponder Bandwidth Allocation (MHz): 2.935
Figure 2-105 Compressed Video Link Budget (outputs in italics)
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High Definition (HD) Transmission Over Satellite
Many terrestrial stations from network feeds distributed by satellite currently broadcast
HD. In addition, cable and Direct to Home (satellite) companies can deliver HD
programs to subscribers if they are equipped with HD receivers.

In most cases of current satellite distribution, the ATSC-A/80 standard is used. QPSK
modulation with a data rate of 19.4Mb/s and rate FEC is established for an HD
transmission. This signal can be transmitted in either a full or half (36 or 54mHz)
transponder or a full 27 MHz transponder. In one implementation, two 19.4 Mb/s
streams are multiplexed into a 39 Mb/s rate signal and transmitted to a 36 MHz
satellite transponder. Frequently for distribution not directly to the end user, 32-38
Mbps data rate is used for a single HDTV signal.

Direct Broadcast Satellite Systems
Figure 2-106 provides a comparison of the satellite transmission bands used for the Fixed
Satellite Service (FSS) and the Direct Broadcast Service (BSS)
FSS BSS
Polarization Linear Circular
SatelliteSpacing 2degrees 9degrees
DishSize >1m <1m
Uplink 14GHz 17GHz
Downlink 11.712.2GHz 12.212.5GHz
FCCAuthorization Byorbitalarclocation Bylocationandchannel
(transponder)
AccessMethod Various MCPC

Figure 2-106: Difference between Ku FSS and BSS

Figure 2-107 provides comparative information on the two primary DBS systems
Standard Used Conditional
Access
Private Networks
DirecTV DSS NDS Few
Echostar (Dish) DVB (except audio) Nagra Some
Figure 2-107 Comparison of DBS Systems

Figure 2-108 provides representative spot beam coverage for the DirecTV system.
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Figure 2-108 Representative DirecTV Spot Beam Coverage
DIRECTV 4S Spot Beam Coverage (estimated
maximum coverage area per spot beam)
One Transponder
Two Transponders
Three Transponders
1
2
5
13
9
4
3
1
1
8
7
1
0
6
14
15
12
16
17
18
1
9
2
0
21
25
23
24
22
26
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CHAPTER 3: GROUND EQUIPMENT
In very general terms, a complete satellite earth station consists of the following basic
elements:
Uplink
Baseband Equipment
Modulating Equipment
Upconverters
Intermediate Power Amplifier/High Power Amplifier (IPA/HPA)
Channelization Multiplexer
Downlink
Low Noise Amplifier (LNA) or LNB
Power Divider
Downconverter
Demodulation Equipment
Baseband Equipment
Common Equipment
Antenna, Feed and Duplexer
Interfacility Link (IFL)
Monitor and Control System
Figure 3-1 shows how these basic elements form a complete earth station.

Figure 3-1 Composite Satellite Earth Station
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In many applications, two or more of these basic elements are lumped together to form
an integrated unit. In some cases, a very high level of integration exists. Furthermore,
not all of these basic elements need to exist in some applications. In addition, as
indicated in Figure 3-1, the low level (uplink) equipment and downlink (less LNA)
equipment is sometimes called Ground Communications Equipment or GCE.

These elements will be discussed in this chapter in a functional manner. Important
features from a safety and interference avoidance standpoint are highlighted. Specifics
on a particular piece of equipment are not included.

Figure 3-2 shows a more detailed view of a larger earth Ku earth station, showing other
earth station components such as monitoring and control, etc.

Figure 3-2 Large Ku Band Earth Station

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Uplink Equipment
Uplink Ground Communications Equipment
Modern uplink GCE for use in U.S. domestic service television transmission frequently
consists of a single rack mounted unit called an exciter. Baseband, modulation and
upconversion functions are usually performed with plug-in modules. The
interconnection between modules is either on a printed circuit or wired backboard. For
other services, packaging can cover a wide range of configurations.

In analog SCPC, a modulator contains both baseband and modulation functions and a
separate upconverter contain tight tolerance frequency oscillators. In digital SCPC
systems, the modulation and demodulation function is performed in a single package
called a modem, and the RF function of up and down conversion is also combined in a
single package. A narrowband VSAT will contain a RF Head (also called the Outdoor
Unit) which includes the up/down conversion plus the added function of power
amplifier and low noise amplifier. The RF head will interface directly with the antenna
feed horn in an outdoor enclosure.

Some functional details are given here for the more commonly used services. The
uplink operator must be constantly aware of the fact that the frequency determining
elements are contained in the uplink GCE regardless of the service or configuration. The
operator must be familiar with all of the elements that determine the uplink frequency
and never radiate a signal from the antenna that is not on the authorized frequency.
Whenever frequency adjustment or changes are made, either disconnect the GCE from
subsequent amplifier stages, disable the amplifier stages, or radiate into a dummy load.
Always carefully monitor frequency adjustment or changes.

Television Exciters/Uplink Video Equipment
Analog Exciter
Figure 3-3 shows a typical analog television exciter in block diagram form. The
configuration shown is for a non-redundant, non-scrambled, NTSC video transmission,
with FM subcarriers, subcarrier ATIS and dual conversion for frequency agility.
Redundant configurations will have a pair of exciters fed from a video/audio
distribution amplifier (DA), and the outputs feeding separate power amplifiers. In some
configurations, the exciter outputs can be switched to either single string power
amplifiers or redundant power amplifiers.

Baseband Circuits
Reference to figure 3-3 shows several functional elements in the baseband portion of a
TV Exciter. In some exciters, the baseband video is band limited by a low pass (roofing)
filter. This is good practice, since a highly saturated color signal may have frequency
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components that exceed 4.2 MHz, and there is a possibility of interference into the audio
subcarrier.

Baseband audio is frequency modulated on a subcarrier and combined with the video
waveform. The composite baseband signal is then fed to an FM modulator.

An Automatic Transmitter Identification System (ATIS) is required on all wideband
FM/TV transmission. The method mandated by the FCC is one where a subcarrier at
7.1 MHz is used. This ATIS is discussed in more detail below.

Figure 3-3 Basic Elements of an Analog TV Exciter

Modulation and Upconversion
The frequency modulation is usually accomplished at a high frequency in the
neighborhood of 1.0 GHz in order to obtain good linearity over a reasonably wide
bandwidth. The signal is then down converted to a 70 MHz IF. A band-pass filter is
then used for the dual purpose of: 1) elimination of image and harmonies in the
downconversion, and 2) limit the modulation components to the necessary bandwidth
and guard against over-deviation.

Dual conversion to the ultimate RF output is usually employed to provide frequency
agility. Figure 3-4 shows how frequency agility over a 500 MHz band is obtained using
fixed tuned filters and by varying the second local oscillator frequency. By selecting the
upper sideband, the modulation sense remains erect throughout the conversion

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processes. That is, an increasing frequency from the modulator produces an increasing
RF output frequency.

Figure 3-4 Dual Conversion Process
Transmitter Identification
As indicated above, the FCC has mandated an ATIS for wideband video transmission.
The method chosen is one where a low level subcarrier is continuously modulated by
an international Morse Code message. Other methods may be used if they were
implemented before March 1, 1991 if a waiver is requested. The message to be
transmitted consists of:

The FCC assigned earth station call sign;
A telephone number providing immediate access to personnel capable of resolving
ongoing interference or coordination problems with the station;
A unique ten digit serial number or random code programmed into the ATIS device in a
permanent manner such that it cannot be readily changed by the operator on duty;
Additional information, provided that the total message length, including ATIS does not
exceed 30 seconds.

Figure 3-5 is a block diagram of the subcarrier ATIS. The subcarrier frequency is 7.1
MHz and the injection level is -26 dB referenced to the unmodulated microwave main
carrier.

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Figure 3-5 Subcarrier ATIS-Block Diagram
Digital Exciter
A block diagram of a digital exciter is shown in Figure 3-6. Digital exciters are not as
common as analog exciters but are frequently used where cost and space are at a
premium. If the video and audio signals are not already in digital format, they are first
converted to digital using an A/D or analog to digital converter. They are then MPEG
(typically) encoded and combined into an MPEG transport stream. This transport
stream is typically digitally modulated by a QPSK or 8 PSK modulator and then
upconverted to RF for transmission to the satellite.

SCPC Uplinks
There are many SCPC or partial transponder applications ranging from one-way (point-
to-multipoint) to two-way services or combinations such as teleconferencing. Both
analog and digital modulation, with a wide range of data rates and occupied bandwidth
are in use. Equipment packaging varies greatly depending on the type of network
involved. Figure 3-7 shows the configuration of a generic SCPC uplink in block diagram
form.

In both analog and digital networks the modulators have frequency agility to allow
operation at any frequency within a transponder bandwidth, and the upconverters have
agility to operate in any transponder.

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Figure 3-6 Digital Exciter

Figure 3-7 Simplified Block Diagram of Digital SCPC Uplink
If an upconverter is used to carry more than one carrier as might be the case for several
SCPC channels from the same uplink station, the levels out of the converter should be

AUDIO
ENCODER
A to D
CONVER-
TER

A to D
CONVER-
TER
VIDEO
ENCODER
TRANS-
PORT
STREAM
MUX
QPSK/8PSK
MODULA-
TOR
UP-
CONVER-
TER
VIDEO
IN
AUDIO
IN
RF
OUT
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carefully monitored and controlled to preclude or limit intermodulation components to
a tolerable level. Figure 3-8 shows two audio channels using a single upconverter.

Figure 3-8 Two or more SCPC Channels Feeding a Common Upconverter

Satellite operators normally require that intermodulation components emanating from
an uplink station be more than 30 dB below the carrier level (C/IM> 30 dB). This will
entail de-rating the output power level. The amount of output backoff will depend on
the saturation and intermodulation characteristics of the particular upconverter used.
The manufacturer will supply data or specifications relating to intermodulation. This
data can be: 1) Saturation Level, 2) Third Order Intercept Level, or 3) Actual 2 Tone
Intermodulation data. The actual data can be given as a single point or a curve.
Regardless of the data or specifications supplied, it is recommended that actual
measurements be made with two equal level carriers. The input level of each carrier
should be adjusted so that the output C/IM is greater than 45 dB. The actual power
level of each carrier should then be measured (dBm) with the spectrum analyzer. A
check with a power meter can be made, keeping in mind that the power meter reads
twice the power in each carrier. A typical value of carrier level to meet this requirement
is - 27 dBm for upconverters used in this service.

If more than 2 carriers are passed through the upconverter, the input level should be
further reduced in accordance with (10 log N) dB where N is the number of carriers.

Power Amplifiers
Power amplifiers used in U.S. domestic satellite service range from 1 watt output power
to over 3,000 watts capacity. The power amplifier used depends on the application.
Solid state amplifiers are usually used for requirements up to about 20 watts at C band

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and up to about 10 watts at K
u
band. Traveling wave tube amplifiers are generally used
for power requirements up to about 700 watts at C band and up to about 600 watts at K
u

band. Klystron tube amplifiers are used for power requirements above that. Commonly
used Klystron amplifiers have 3,000 watt capacity at C band and 2,500 watt capacity at
K
u
Band.

Solid state amplifiers and traveling wave tube amplifiers are broadband, meaning they
have reasonably flat response over the full 500 MHz of the C or Ku band. Klystron
amplifiers are narrowband, meaning they have reasonably flat response over a
transponder bandwidth. Modern Klystron amplifiers can be pre-tuned to a number of
channels corresponding to a number of transponders.

Some power amplifiers consist of two distinct stages, especially the higher power TWT
and Klystron amplifiers. The first stage is an Intermediate Power Amplifier or IPA, and
the second or final stage is a High Power Amplifier or HPA. This two stage
arrangement is necessary because the nominal output power from an upconverter is
usually about - 40 dBW. To obtain 1,000 watts (+30 dBW) a gain of 70 dB would be
required. Although this is possible, a single amplifier with this much gain in one unit
would be unstable. The higher power klystron amplifiers usually have the IPA included
in a single package. These units are sometimes called KPAs.

Figure 3-9 Shows characteristics of various types of power amplifiers

TWTA SSPA Klystron
Bandwidth 500 MHz 500 MHz 70 MHz
Linearity Fair (but can be
linearized)
Good Fair-Poor
Max Power 3000 W (but
600W more
common)
200 W 3000 W
Cost/ Watt Medium Medium-High Low
Life Medium Longest Long

Figure 3-9 Characteristics of Different Power Amplifiers

If a power amplifier is used to amplify more than one carrier simultaneously,
consideration should be given to intermodulation in a manner similar to the common
upconverter discussed above.

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It is good practice to have plenty of reserve power for flexibility to operate with any
satellite. For most K
u
band satellites a Power Amplifier with 300 watts is adequate for
most SCPC applications.

Multiplexers and Switches
Switches
The discussion on uplink hardware to this point implies operation with a single satellite
using a single antenna. There are a variety of major earth stations where the same
uplink hardware may be used to access more than one satellite. These major stations are
known as teleports. A teleport may have a multiplicity of antennas each dedicated to a
single satellite or it might have an antenna known as a TORUS that has a single reflector
and a multiplicity of feeds. The station might have a combination of the two. In order to
time share equipment on more than one antenna or feed, the station usually has a switch
matrix on the output of the power amplifiers. Figure 3-10 shows a simple case of how a
single uplink chain can be fed to more than one antenna. This is accomplished by using
waveguide switches capable of handling the high power usually required. The switches
can also be used to feed signals into either of the cross polarized ports of an antenna.

Great care should be taken if switches are used to feed multiple antennae or cross
polarized ports. The switches should be clearly labeled to preclude wrong positioning.
They should be located in an area with restricted access. If the switches are controlled
remotely, they should be interlocked by faultless logic to preclude wrong positioning.
Bells and/or alarms should sound for wrong positioning.

Multiplexers
Most major earth stations will transmit on more than one transponder in a satellite on
the same polarization. This multiple transmission will probably be required
simultaneously. Multiplexing can be accomplished in a number of ways. The best way
depends on the circumstances that exist in a particular installation. Two major
components are used for multiplexing. They are 1) Filters and 2) Hybrids. Use of filters
is recommended for use with a specific transponder or a similar transponder on another
satellite. Generally, a filter type multiplexer will present less than 1.0 dB loss to any one
channel. Hybrid type multiplexers present 3 dB loss every time the number of channels
doubles. In some cases, a combination of filters and hybrids is required.

Figure 3-11 shows how a filter type multiplexer is used to inject several channels onto a
single waveguide manifold, with relatively low loss. This example shows 6 channels
being fed to the horizontal polarization port of an antenna on their way to a satellite,
where the uplink vertical polarization channels have odd numbers (1,3,5). It should
be noted that every other odd channel is multiplexed onto this single manifold. This is
necessary since the channels are contiguous, and a guard band is needed for practical
purposes.
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Figure 3-10 Sharing an Uplink with More Than One Antenna.
Consider a signal entering the channel #21 filter. It passes through with less than 0.5 dB
loss. It then enters a circulator that is a passive device that allows energy to travel in
only one
direction (arrow denotes direction). The signal then enters the output of the filter for
channel 17 where it is reflected back to a circulator and so on until it is fed to an antenna
transmit port. Each pass through the circulator presents a loss of less than 0.1 dB.

Now consider a similar case using hybrid multiplexing as depicted in Figure 3-11. The
hybrid is a 3 dB directional coupler. Energy entering ports A or B is split equally
between ports C & D. Half the power from A & B must be absorbed by the dummy load
on port D. In the case shown here, more than 9 dB is lost on the way to the antenna and
a lot of power is wasted. An element of flexibility is afforded in this case because any
one of the 12 channels available to a certain polarization can be used. Figure 3-12 shows
how more than 6 channels on a given polarization can be handled with a combination of
filters and hybrid.

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Figure 3-11 Six Channel Filter Diplexer Multiplexer

Figure 3-12 Six Channel Hybrid Multiplexer

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Figure 3-13 Twelve Channel Multiplexer Uses Filters and Hybrid
Satellite SimulatorNon Radiation Tests
It is considered good practice to include a switch in the transmission line to an antenna.
This switch can be used to dump transmitter power into a dummy load and/or feed a
satellite simulator. Satellite operators usually require such a switch in the line to the
antenna. It is also a good practice to include a directional coupler in this line to monitor
transmission at all times. Figure 3-14 shows such an arrangement.

The satellite simulator is a commercially available unit that serves as a wideband
downconverter. At C band, input frequency from 5925 to 6425 MHz is converted to 3700
to 4200 MHz. At K
u
band, the 14,000 to 14,500 MHz band is converted to 11,700 to
12,200 MHz. Care must be exercised in the design of directional couplers and level
controls to preclude overload levels in the simulator and receivers. Component ratings
should be such as to easily handle the transmit power levels required.

The usefulness of this apparatus should be instantly obvious. Before radiating any
signal, the internal workings of the station can be checked, for proper frequency and
occupied bandwidth. Furthermore, if the antenna is pointed at the appropriate satellite,
the received signal can indicate if the satellite is occupied on the frequency or
transponder to which the local station is tuned to transmit.

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Figure 3-14 Monitor and Non Radiation Test Apparatus

Downlink Equipment
An uplink station should have the capacity to monitor its own transmission from
baseband to baseband even if it is in a one-way (point-to-multipoint) network. In a two-
way network, of course, the receiver function is used for beneficial purposes. We have
already discussed the fact that in some applications transmit (uplink) and receive
(downlink) equipment are combined in a functional unit such as modems in a digital
network and RF heads in VSAT networks. In this section, we discuss the downlink in a
functional manner.

Low Noise Amplifiers/Converters
Figure 3-15 shows the differences between LNAs, LNBs, and LNCs. In a previous
section, a device called an LNA was introduced as part of a receiver chain. It was shown
that this component is a contributor to system noise. The LNA is a pre-amplifier in the
receiving system. In most applications, it is the major contributor to system noise.

LNAs can take on many physical forms. In older systems (pre 1976) most earth stations
used parametric amplifiers either cooled (liquid helium) or un-cooled. The range of
noise temperature for paramps was 15 K (cooled) to 85 K for un-cooled ones.

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Although some may still be in use, the paramp has virtually disappeared from use in
U.S. domestic satellite service, being replaced by amplifiers using gallium arsenide
devices. From 1976 to now, gallium arsenide LNA performance has evolved from noise
temperature of 500 K to about 65 K (30 K for selected units) at C band. Current K
u
Band
LNA performance is about 110 K or 75 K for selected units. However, many lower noise
temperature devices apparently are achieved only by increasing the output VSWR of
these devices. This is a false economy because poor VSWR itself increases the system
noise temperature by reflected and lost power transfer.

Early television receive only stations for homes at use combined the low noise function
and downconverter function to produce an output frequency of 70 MHz which was then
used to feed an indoor unit to perform the demodulation function. This is called an
LNC. A new de-facto standard has evolved for virtually all television receiver functions
where the RF (C band or K
u
band) is converted to the frequency range 950 to 1450 MHz.
This device is called an LNB, which denotes a low noise broadband converter. Some
SCPC applications are using LNBs. In very narrowband applications, this places a
requirement for tight tolerance on the local oscillator part of the converter. The tight
tolerance requirement in this application is met with the use of an oscillator that is phase
locked to a very stable reference oscillator.

Figure 3-15 General Configuration of LNAs, LNBs and LNCs

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It should be remembered from a previous section , that loss between the antenna and
LNA/LNB should be held to a minimum. This is because this loss enacts an
inordinately high increase in the system noise temperature. Therefore, the LNA should
be located outdoors as close to the antenna as possible.

Figure 3-16 provides a conversion chart from L band frequencies to RF frequencies,
assuming that the standard local oscillator frequencies of 5150 ( C Band) and 10750 (Ku
Band) are used. It should be noted that DBS receive dishes use a different format.
L-band C-band Ku-band
Freq. (MHz) Freq. (MHz) Channel Freq. (MHz)
950 4200 11700
970 4180 24 11720
990 4160 23 11740
1010 4140 22 11760
1030 4120 21 11780
1050 4100 20 11800
1070 4080 19 11820
1090 4060 18 11840
1110 4040 17 11860
1130 4020 16 11880
1150 4000 15 11900
1170 3980 14 11920
1190 3960 13 11940
1210 3940 12 11960
1230 3920 11 11980
1250 3900 10 12000
1270 3880 9 12020
1290 3860 8 12040
1310 3840 7 12060
1330 3820 6 12080
1350 3800 5 12100
1370 3780 4 12120
1390 3760 3 12140
1410 3740 2 12160
1430 3720 1 12180
1450 3700 12200
Figure 3-16: L Band to C and Ku Conversion Chart

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Power Dividers
When more than one channel is received by an earth station, the output of the
LNA/LNB must be divided so that each demodulator will have an input. In this case,
channelization is easily performed with passive dividers. The downconverters and
demodulators have filters to discriminate against unwanted signals. Furthermore, in
most cases, the gain of the preamplifier (LNA) will overcome the losses from a level and
noise standpoint.

In rare cases where the line loss from LNA to power divider is high, and many channels
are equipped, it may be necessary to include a post amplifier before the power divider.
This might typically be required in SCPC service where each carrier level is low
compared to a carrier that saturates a satellite transponder. Figure 3-17 depicts this
situation. In this example, the power delivered to the channel receiver is - 87 dBm
without a post amplifier. Most receivers require levels between - 30 to - 65 dBm. A post
amp with at least 30 dB gain is required to provide margin against gain degradation in
the LNA. If the channel receiver has a noise figure of 15 dB (typical), without a post
amp, the second stage contribution of noise would be 23 K. With the 30 dB gain post
amp having a 10 dB noise figure, the total contribution would be less than 1 K.

Figure 3-17 Example Where Post Amplifier is Required to Boost Levels and
Decrease Noise

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Downconverter/Demodulator
Downconverters and/or demodulators perform the functions of channel separation and
demodulation to a useful baseband signal.

Modern television receivers generally operate at the 950 to 1450 MHz input frequency
and have a single conversion to an IF where demodulation takes place. Threshold
extension demodulators are almost universally in use. The noticeable distortion
threshold usually occurs at a system carrier to noise ratio in the range 7 to 9 dB,
depending on the program content. Noticeable distortion is generally defined as the
onset of sparkles in a television picture. These sparkles are a result of noise peaks which
are of greater amplitude than the carrier at a given instant of time. In FM/SCPC
transmissions of radio or other audio networks, this dynamic threshold results in
audible clicks in the receiver output. In digital systems, peaks of noise cause false
triggering of the decision circuits in the regeneration of the digital data (1s and 0s). As
indicated earlier, there are many methods of coding and/or synchronization methods to
extend the useful threshold (desired Bit Error Rate).

Integrated Digital Receiver-Decoder
Figure 3-18 shows the block diagram of a digital MPEG video receiver called an IRD or
Integrated Receiver Decoder. It is roughly the digital counterpart of an analog video
receiver. It receives an L Band signal from an LNB, demodulates, and decodes the
signal, delivering analog or digital video and audio outputs, as well as data in some
IRDs.

Figure 3-18: Integrated Receiver-Decoder
The IRD frequently will have a conditional access capability for descrambling and
decrypting a protected digital signal. Additionally, the IRD will normally provide a DC
voltage at its input port to provide power to the LNB over the connecting coaxial cable.
Antennas, Duplexer and IFL
The antenna and its duplexer are common to both uplink and downlink in a satellite
earth station. Another item generally treated as a common element is the interfacility
link (IFL). Actually, the IFL is nothing more than the transmission lines connecting the
outdoor and indoor equipment. In addition to the transmission lines, it can include
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power and control wiring for the various outdoor items that require it. The antenna and
its duplexer deserve a good deal of description and we will do so in this section.

Duplexer
A duplexer is a device or a means of connecting a transmitter and a receiver to a
common element such as an antenna. Sometimes the term diplexer is used to describe
this functional element, however the use of the term diplexer in this context is actually
not correct. A diplexer is a means of connecting two transmitters or two receivers to a
common element such as an antenna. In our earlier discussion of the means for
connecting more than one transmitter to an antenna we used the generic term
multiplexer. A diplexer is a special case of a two channel multiplexer. A three channel
multiplexer could be called a triplexer and so on.

On the transmit side, a duplexer may contain a high-pass filter and/ or a band-pass
filter. The high pass filter is not normally needed if the final power amplifier is a
narrowband one such as a klystron (KPA). Sometimes the KPA will have a band pass
filter built in on the output in which case, the band-pass would not be required. The
function of the band-pass is to eliminate harmonics from being transmitted.

The function of the high pass filter is not quite so straightforward. In the case of a
wideband power amplifier such as TWTs and SSPAs, their output may contain noise or
other spurious outputs at the receive frequency band. This is especially true of TWT
amplifiers in both C band and Ku band. Isolation may not be adequate in the antenna
transducer depending on the level of receive band noise transmitted. The high-pass
filter consists of a length of waveguide that is beyond cutoff at the receive frequency
band.

On the receive side, a band reject filter is included in a duplexer. Only in rare
circumstances is the component not required. Its purpose is to keep the transmit band
from entering the receive side. Even if the LNA used has some rejection to the transmit
frequencies, the possibility of desensitization and the concomitant gain reduction is
highly probable.

The type of antenna feed transducer to be used in the duplexer will depend on the
overall antenna function. If only transmission and reception on a single polarization is
required, a simple 2 port device can be used. If either transmit or receive function or
both are required on two polarizations, a 3 or 4 port device is required. These 3 or 4 port
transducers are quite complex (and costly) and it is beyond the scope of this training
course for explanation.
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AntennasRadiating Elements
In earlier sections of this text, antenna radiation patterns (main lobe and sidelobe) have
been discussed and their importance to link performance has been shown. In this
section, we will discuss antennas in more detail. Performance verification, some
common geometries, and mechanical factors which affect performance are delineated.

Gain and Sidelobe Performance Verification
Since the sidelobe requirements of satellite earth stations are mandatory and carry the
force of law, it would seem prudent for the uplink operator to be assured of compliance.
A subcommittee of an industry FCC advisory committee has recommended a two-step
approach toward verification. The two steps are: 1) Manufacturers Production
Qualifications and 2) On Site Verification. In Step 1, a detailed set of data is supplied to
the FCC and would be a prerequisite for an earth station license application. The second
step would consist of less detailed tests on site to verify the performance.

Considering the legal requirements, and the technical consequences of non compliance,
good judgment in the selection of an uplink antenna and periodic checks are warranted
regardless of the ultimate FCC rules adopted. The prudent buyer of an uplink antenna
should review the qualification data submitted to the FCC, as well as the manufacturers
specifications. Mechanical specifications should be scrutinized carefully so that there is
reasonable assurance that the electrical performance will hold under the climatic
conditions that are likely to exist at fixed locations. The mechanical ruggedness of the
antenna in transportable applications should be considered. Finally, in applications
where the antenna is likely to be disassembled and reassembled, the means for doing so
and maintaining required tolerances should be of paramount importance.

Antenna GeometryFeed Systems
Commonly used earth station antennas use a paraboloidal reflector as the (secondary)
radiating element. The primary radiating element is a flared waveguide aperture (feed
horn) or a combination of horn and a second (sub) reflector. The parabolic reflector has
the virtue of providing a uniform phase over the aperture when it is fed by the primary
radiator from its focal point (center of phase). It is worth noting that the focal point of
antenna is independent of frequency, and depends only upon the geometry of the
parabola.

Figures 3-19 and 3-20 show the commonly used geometries. Each has its advantages
and disadvantages.

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Figure 3-19 Prime Focus and Dual Reflector Geometry

Figure 3-20 Offset Fed Antenna Geometry

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The ultimate performance of an antenna depends on a combination of feed design and
dimensional tolerances of the main reflector. In general, the design must be a
compromise between efficiency (on axis gain) and sidelobe gain. It is desirable to have
high on axis gain and low sidelobe gain. Unfortunately, the two do not go hand in
hand. A feed system which provides a uniform amplitude over the main reflector
aperture will provide high gain and high sidelobes. A design for a large amplitude
taper over the aperture will produce low sidelobes and a concomitant low gain. Various
feed designs exist for a compromise. In a prime focus design, the feed horn will have
corrugations (circular metal rings) or other means to shape the primary pattern. Some
flexibility in design exists in a combination of horn and focal length to diameter ratio
(f/d). In dual reflector systems, a combination of sub-reflector parameters, and/or horn
design afford the designer a good deal of flexibility.

In some large antennas, the main reflector is intentionally designed in a non-parabolic
shape so that the combined feed and reflector produce the desired result of high gain
and low sidelobes.

In circularly symmetric designs shown in Figure 3-19, the feed or sub-reflector and the
necessary support struts produce a significant blockage of the aperture. This blockage
has only slight effect on the gain, but it can have significant effect on sidelobes. Offset
fed designs as shown in Figure 3-20 can mitigate against degradation due to blockage.
Due to the mechanical complexity of offset fed designs, they are only practical in
relatively small apertures. The horn antenna provides extremely low sidelobes and low
noise because of negligible spillover. It is however very bulky, difficult to steer, and
very expensive even in relatively small sizes.

Mechanical Features
Mechanical aspects of fixed earth station antennas could be greatly simplified if the
operator of the station was to be assured that the satellite of choice would always be at
the same orbital position. In that case the reflector could be imbedded in concrete (or
even made of concrete with a reflective surface), and made a part of the earth.
Unfortunately, FCC guidelines do not allow this. An earth station antenna must be able
to point to any satellite in the entire orbital arc in U.S. domestic service. This
requirement gives rise to a variety of mounting arrangements with a wide range of
pointing adjustment of approximately 65 degrees in elevation and more than 120 in
azimuth. The entire structure must withstand a wide range of climatic conditions
without significant degradation.

The earth station operator should be aware of these degrading factors in order to
maintain appropriate performance.
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Dimensional Tolerances
From the discussion above dealing with feeds and geometries, it can be seen that earth
station antennas are quasi-optical devices. The main reflector is a mirror that should
provide a uniform phase over its aperture. Deviations from proper optics and or surface
roughness will detract from the ideal conditions. Errors are either random or regular.

Random errors arise generally from manufacturing tolerances or installation errors in
the main reflector. These errors are statistical in nature. The net effect of this type of
error is to increase sidelobe energy and decrease main beam energy. Specifications for
surface tolerance are usually included by the manufacturer. A reasonable tolerance for
C band to maintain specified gain and sidelobe specifications is in the range of 0.05 to
0.08 inches RMS with a maximum deviation of 0.125 inches over the entire surface. At
K
u
band, since the frequency of operations is more than twice that of C band, the
appropriate tolerance is in the range of 0.015 to 0.025 inches RMS with maximum
excursion of 0.060 inches over the entire surface. These are not trivial requirements.
Since the reflecting surface is a relatively thin metallic skin, there is a requirement for a
strong backup structure to maintain these tolerances.

Regular errors arise from reflector surface deformations or feed displacements. This
type of error generally affects only the phase over the aperture. The entire main beam
can be made asymmetric, tilted (mis-pointed), reduced in amplitude (gain), or a
combination of all. The sidelobes can be raised in amplitude, blurred (no deep nulls)
and asymmetrical. These deformations and displacements can occur gradually, or they
can be induced by temperature variations, wind and snow loads and self induced by
changing position. Manufacturer specifications include the range of environmental
factors in which the antenna will operate and survive.

Never operate an earth station if winds in excess of the specifications are anticipated.
Drive the antenna to Stow Position and lock in place. Even with this precaution,
evacuate all personnel and/or other inhabitants who could be affected by destruction of
the antenna.

It is recommended that when installing a large earth station, or even modest size ones,
the manufacturer be contracted to install and provide proof of performance tests. This
data can be used to compare subsequent periodic checks on antenna performance to
denote degradation for subsequent correction.

Foundations, Mounts and Motor Drives
Earth station mounts come in a wide diversity of types and design. Reputable
manufacturers supply foundation designs and when required by building code, will
supply structural design data. A prudent buyer should obtain structural data
regardless of whether it is required for local construction permit or not.
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Motor drives for mount pointing adjustments and feed polarization adjustments are
highly recommended.

Receive Only Earth Station
Figure 3-21 shows the block diagram of an analog and digital receive only earth station
or TVRO. This low cost earth station, with an L-band inter-facility link (IFL) can
provide simultaneous reception of analog and digital video and audio. Data capability
(not shown) can be readily added. For simplicity, analog reception is shown on one
polarity and digital on another, but in an actual terminal, either polarity can receive and
process either or both types of video, and multiple signals as well.

Figure 3-21: Video Receive Only Earth Station

Interfacility Link (IFL)
As indicated earlier, the IFL consists of nothing more than the transmission lines and
control wiring for outdoor (antenna) equipment. However, the waveguide used in the
uplink portion from HPA output to antenna input must be treated with care. In all
cases, some sort of pressurization system should be included to maintain a clean dry (air
or nitrogen) atmosphere in this line. Moisture and/or other contaminants can cause
degradation or serious damage to expensive antenna, multiplexer, or power amplifier
components. In major earth stations a compressor/desiccant system is suggested. For
smaller stations, dry nitrogen from a small tank is suggested.

Physical damage to this waveguide line (dents, dings, etc.) must be avoided, and care
should be exercised when installing or modifying this line. Discontinuities can cause
reflections that can cause distortion in transmission.

Finally, this waveguide line should be carefully designed and installed with thermal
considerations in mind. All components used must be rated for the expected power. If
necessary, cooling of some sort (convection, forced air, or water cooling) must be
included. A component, say a filter for example, with 0.5 dB loss would dissipate over
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300 watts with 3000 watts on the input. If this heat is not removed, it could cause
serious damage. Dummy loads used in hybrid type multiplexers or in non-radiating
testing should be especially considered. Dummy loads usually have heat dissipation
fins but the heat needs to be carried away through convection or forced air.

In some major stations, it might be necessary to have a closed system with heat
exchanger for this interfacility link.

Power Systems
Backup power systems are recommended for uplink stations. It is an absolute necessity
for major uplink stations. The complexity and expense expended on standby power
depend on the philosophy of the ownership and the mission of the station. Generally
speaking, the most unreliable element in a satellite earth station is commercial power,
especially if it is located in a rural area.

Backup power can be uninterruptible power supply (UPS), where batteries are used for
prime power until generators can be brought on line. In any case, some economies can
be obtained by splitting the load into essential and non-essential loads. Some utility
power for minimal lighting and test equipment outlets should be included in the
essential load. If the operating equipment requires a closed air conditioning system or
heat exchangers, this should also be included in the essential load.
Maintenance Programs
Practical considerations warrant the institution and close adherence to a preventative
maintenance schedule. The kind of program instituted depends of course on the nature
of the earth station and its mission. Listed herein are only a few suggested items to be
included in the program:

1. Corrosion Control: All outdoor equipment should be regularly inspected for
corrosion and treated before actual corrosion occurs. This includes grounding as
well as antennas, mounts, LNAs, and waveguide runs and their support
structures.

2. Lubrication and exercise of mechanical moving parts throughout the system.
This includes antenna drives, as well as any cooling fans or heat exchangers of
HPA and/or waveguide components.

3. Close scrutiny of expendables, such as fuel for backup power, battery conditions,
etc.

4. Close monitoring and log of major electronic units. This should include daily
checks of:

a. Power amplifier voltage and current:
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b. Radiated signal with spectrum analyzer. The uplink operator should
know and recognize the normal or proper spectral signature of his own
transmission. Any changes or frequency shift in the signature should be
investigated and corrected.
c. Levels (gain) of all components in the uplink chain.
d. Modulation depth.

5. Occasional sweep checks of all RF units, including the RF portion of modulator,
upconverters and power amplifiers. These sweep checks should use
reflectometer techniques using leveled input signals, with comparison to
inherent test equipment variation with frequency and comparison with
previously taken sweep tests. These data should be recorded in X-Y plots,
oscilloscope photographs or computer memory.

6. Periodic monitoring of antenna performance (gain, sidelobes and cross
polarization isolation).

An important part of a preventative maintenance program should be the rapid repair of
failed units, or to have shelf spares of major units in addition to redundancy units.

Earth Station Licensing
The FCC requires licensing of transmitting earth stations and permits licensing of
receive only (RO) earth stations. It is normally desirable for an operator to license a C-
band RO earth station, since licensing protects the station from future interference from
domestic microwave systems.

The FCC Rules and Regulations are ever evolving therefore it is strongly suggested that
the FCC be contacted before filing to obtain the latest regulations and regulatory
procedures effective at the time of the filing. Licensing information is available on the
internet at: www.fcc.gov .

The FCC Rules and Regulations, Part 25, form the basis of the applicable documents
which must be followed for the planning and implementation of any FSS band satellite
communication system.

The FCC established precedents for the minimum diameter apertures and sidelobe gain
envelopes for earth station antennas operating in the FSS bands at the beginning of these
services in the early 1970s to minimize interference between terrestrial systems and
satellite systems and between satellite systems. These precedents have been modified
through the years as the use of satellite services has increased. The more significant
recent rulings pertaining to earth station antenna performance have resulted in
improved antenna radiation patterns in the close-in sidelobe region and have
established maximum radiated power densities.
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The FCC Rules and Regulations Part 25.209 pertaining to antenna gain envelopes are
mandatory for all transmit antennas. Excerpts from this standard follow (refer to the
current rules publication for the entire text):
a) The gain of any antenna to be employed in transmission from an earth
station in the fixed satellite service shall lie below the envelope defined below:
1. In the plane of the geostationary satellite orbit as it appears at the
particular earth station location:

[29-25*log()]dBi 1 < < 7
+ 8 dBi 7 < < 9.2
[32-25*log()] dBi 9.2 < < 48
-10 dBi 48 < < 180

where is the angle in degrees from the axis of the main lobe and dBi refers to the dB
relative to an isotropic radiator. For the purposes of this section, the peak gain of an
individual sidelobe may not exceed the envelope defined above for between 1 and 7.
For greater than 7, the envelope may be exceeded by 10% of the sidelobes, but no
individual sidelobe may exceed the envelope by more than 3 dB.

2. In all other directions:
Outside the main beam, the gain of the antenna shall lie below the envelope defined by :

[32-25*log()] dBi 1 < < 48
-10 dBi 48 < < 180

where is the angle in degrees from the axis of the main beam and dBi refers to dB
relative to an isotropic radiator. For the purpose of this section, the peak gain of an
individual sidelobe may be reduced by averaging its peak level with the peaks of the
nearest sidelobes on either side, or with the peaks of the two nearest sidelobes on either
side, provide that the level of no individual sidelobe exceeds the gain envelope given
above by more than 6 dB.

b. The off-axis cross-polarization isolation of any antenna to be employed in
transmission at frequencies between 5925 and 6425 MHz from an earth station to a space
station in the domestic fixed-satellite service shall be defined by:

[19-25*log()] dBi 1.8< < 7
-2 dBi 7 < < 9.2

c. Any antenna licensed for reception of radio transmission from a space station in
the fixed-satellite service shall be protected from radio interference caused by other
space stations only to the degree to which harmful interference would not be expected to
be caused to an earth station employing an antenna conforming to the standards defined
in paragraphs a. and b. of this section.

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d. The operations of any earth station with an antenna not conforming to the
standards of paragraph a. and b. of this section shall impose no limitations upon the
operation, location and design of any terrestrial station, any other earth station, or any
space station.

e. An earth station with an antenna not conforming to the standards of
paragraphs (a) and (b) of this section will be routinely authorized upon a finding by the
Commission that unacceptable levels of interference will not be caused under conditions
of uniform 2 orbital spacings. This provision is generally applied to antennas with
diameters smaller than 4.6 m at C band and 1.0 m at Ku Band, because these antennas
are not able to meet the sidelobe requirement. To invoke this provision and license
smaller antennas, it is necessary to overlay the transmit power density expressed in
dBW/4 kHz to show that the power presented to the antenna feed at Ku band, for
example, is less than 15-25 log () per 4 kHz of transmitted spectrum.

f. The antenna performance standards of small antennas operating in the
12/14 GHz band with diameters as small as 1.2 meters starts at 1.25 instead of 1 as
stipulated in paragraph (a) of this section.
The FCC further acknowledged that the envelope defined above is only a reference
envelope in the receive band. Receiving antennas do not have to conform to this
envelope to be eligible for licensing. Facilities with performance worse than the
reference envelope must, however, accept higher interference levels.

Frequency Coordination
C Band earth stations require frequency coordination prior to licensing because the band
is shared with the fixed microwave service. Normal Ku Band earth stations do not
require coordination because this band is dedicated to satellite communications.
Coordination is normally performed by a commercial organization such as Comsearch.

CHAPTER 4: UPLINK OPERATION

In this chapter, we discuss operation of the uplink earth station with emphasis on the
initial line-up procedures. Much of what is given in this chapter has already been
covered in previous chapters, but it is felt that repetition is needed for emphasis.

Safety is also discussed in this chapter. The operator has a responsibility to himself (or
herself) as well as to others. It is important that he (or she) be aware of certain dangers
in operating an earth station.

Operating Responsibilities
The operator of a satellite uplink is responsible for assuring that no interference is being
created to other satellite systems. While the operators first concern may be to provide
the desired transmission for the sponsor, it is equally important that the service being
provided through other satellite networks not be harmed.

Human Error 19.2%
Adjacent Satellites 0.8%
Terrestrial 3.2%
Cross Pol 25.6%
Equipment Malfunction 16.8%
Unknown Source 34.4%
Figure 4.1 Causes of Interference (source: SUIRG)

Similarly, if the desired signals are not being transmitted properly, it is possible that the
received signals will be harmed by the signals of other satellite networks that are
operating perfectly within coordinated specifications. These problems will become
more severe as additional satellites are placed in the geostationary orbit. It is therefore
the technical and moral responsibility of all satellite uplink operators to assure proper
orientation and operation of their equipment.

There are also legal obligations that accompany the transmitting license issued by the
FCC. Negligence can result in severe penalties, including fine, jail terms, or loss of the
owners station operating license.
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Operator Controls
The uplink operator must be familiar with all equipment controls. Special attention
should be given to antenna pointing and polarization controls, frequency (operating
channel) controls and bandwidth (modulation depth) controls. Once set, access to those
controls should be limited physically to prevent accidental readjustment.

Test Equipment and Calibration
At a minimum, a properly equipped uplink station should have the ability to: 1)
Monitor its own signal through the various stages on the uplink; 2) Monitor its own
signal in the downlink, and 3) Monitor the entire satellite frequency band of the
downlink. This means that downlink equipment is required for its own signal and a
wideband access point is available on the downlinkusually the output of an LNA or
LNB.

In the case of unmanned small station (VSAT or other), the responsible service person
should be properly equipped and the control (HUB) station should carefully monitor the
transmission with appropriate means.

The SPECTRUM ANALYZER is a powerful tool, and is the single item of test equipment
capable of performing the minimum routines for operation of an uplink station. This
does not mean that it is the only item of test equipment needed for all aspects of uplink
maintenance, repair and operation. A decent quality spectrum analyzer can perform the
minimum monitoring functions listed above. It, therefore, follows that the person in
control of an uplink station fully understands the functions, limitations, and proper use
of spectrum analyzers and in particular the one, which is used by that person. The
uplink operator should know and understand various types of spectrum signatures,
especially that signature associated with transmission from the station he (or she)
controls.

The balance of test equipment provided is a function of maintenance and operational
philosophy of the uplink station owner and is dependent on the application to which the
uplink station is to be used. However, since the stakes are rather high and harsh
penalties can be meted out to improperly operating stations which interfere with other
services, it would seem prudent that owners equip adequately and keep the equipment
in good working order and in calibration at all times.


Access Procedures
The satellite operators of U.S. domestic satellites have formed a committee entitled
Satellite Users Interference Reduction Group. This committee has generated a simple
one-page document dealing with a standard Access Procedure. It is included in this
textbook as Appendix E. This procedure is general and applies mostly to analog TV
transmission or other full transponder service.

Each uplink operator should be thoroughly familiar with the procedure for the
particular service and satellite to be accessed; a copy of the written details should be
available at each uplink site.

Should the uplink station initiate a new class of service for any satellite, the access
procedure should be worked out (in advance of actual rollout of service) between the
satellite operator and the user.

The following paragraphs will be helpful to gaining access.

Establish Contact with Satellite Operators
Contact shall be maintained with the satellite operator during the initial phases of any
transmission to ascertain that predicted signal levels are being received and distributed
by the satellite system. This contact shall be accomplished through the switched public
telephone system. Transportable stations should be equipped with cellular telephones if
located remotely from telephone access.

Some Satellite News Gathering (SNG) vehicles are equipped with voice and other
communications features. This method of operation will be discussed later in this
chapter.

Locate and Verify Identity of Proper Satellite
Before transmitting any signal, the uplink station operator should be certain the station
antenna is pointing at the satellite to which it will be communicating. There should be a
clear, unobstructed line of sight path to this satellite. The operator should know the
approximate geographic coordinates of the station. This information combined with the
knowledge of the satellite orbital location, is sufficient to calculate the azimuth and
elevation angle of the antenna. The satellite operator can assist in the calculation or
verify the accuracy of the calculation.

Antenna pointing can be facilitated by the proper use of inclinometer and compass or
antenna angular readout, if it is so equipped. A spectrum analyzer monitoring the
wideband downlink test port should be used to recognize the spectrum signature of
the proper satellite. If there is any doubt at all, the uplink operator should request an
identifying signal from the satellite operator. Once positive identification is made, the
earth station operator should move the antenna in both directions in azimuth and
elevation to make certain that the main lobe and not a sidelobe is pointing at the proper
satellite.

Antenna Optimization and Pre-Transmission Adjustments
As indicated above, each satellite operator has (or should have) procedures for uplink
access. This procedure will have certain pre-transmission requirements. These pre-
transmission requirements can be facilitated by the satellite operator providing a steady
(usually an unmodulated) carrier on the frequency that the uplink station will operate.
The uplink station can use this signal to perform antenna pointing and polarization
adjustment and other antenna tests as might be requested by the satellite operator or
mandated by FCC rules or guidelines.
Other pre-transmission adjustments should include a non-radiating check by the uplink
station of carrier frequency and modulation parameters. In the case of video
transmission, the modulation parameters should include deviation of the main carrier by
video and subcarrier(s) (if used), deviation of subcarrier (s) by audio. See Appendix D
for video and subcarrier deviation adjustment procedures.

Transmission
When initiating transmission, the uplink station should transmit at a greatly reduced
power level of at least 20 dB below its normal power output. The power level should be
increased under direction from the satellite operator. These adjustments might include
fine tuning of antenna polarization, carrier frequency, or modulation parameters.

The uplink operator should log various values and settings and continuously monitor
and maintain a log of the values and settings. Changes and/or adjustments to critical
parts or parameters should be coordinated with the satellite operator.

Satellite News Vehicles(SNG)
The television broadcast industry has embraced satellite usage from the earliest days of
satellite operations. Network distribution has gradually drifted away from terrestrial
service to where virtually all distribution is by satellite.

The official FCC nomenclature for mobile earth stations is Temporary Fixed Earth
Stations. Although these stations are mobile, they operate in the Fixed Satellite Service
(FSS) frequency range.
Evolution of SNG Vehicles
Early implementation of SNG vehicles was at C band. This usually involved a rather
large trailer with a 4.5 or 5-meter antenna on a trailer hauled by a hefty truck. These
mobile earth stations were cumbersome, difficult to get to remote locations, and difficult
to assemble on site. They also require frequency coordination to operate in each new
location, which eliminated the ability to move them quickly to a new location.

When K
u
band satellites became available, this frequency band became the natural
choice for SNG and now virtually all operate at K
u
band (14 GHz transmit, 12 GHz
receive).

A) Frequency coordination with terrestrial microwave systems is not required. A
station can be located at virtually any site.
B) The antenna can be much smaller than C Band ones. The main reflector need not
be sectionalized. It can be an integral part of the vehicle used to transport the station.

With the advent of K
u
band, most broadcast stations have invested in SNG facilities to
enhance their local news gathering capabilities. Entities other than broadcast such as
educational institutions and governments have also used transportable earth stations for
a variety of applications.

Vendors have responded to this demand with compact earth stations in a variety of
configurations ranging from large trucks with extensive production facilities to smaller
trucks (or vans) and flyaway packages in suitcases. These vendors can configure the
earth station to customer requirements based on several standard vehicle or trailer
models.

Most of the earlier implementations and some of the modern ones utilize moderately
large truck bodies. If the aggregate gross weight of these vehicles exceeds 10,000
pounds, they are subject to regulations of the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT).
More about these regulations are given below.

A resurgence is also being seen in C Band SNG vehicles, particularly for HDTV sports
applications. These vehicles have greater reliability than Ku band vehicles due to their
decreased rain fade attenuation. Furthermore, the location of the uplink is generally
known far enough in advance to accomplish the required frequency coordination, which
remains valid for a period of 6 months.

Pertinent DOT Regulations
Time limits placed on the driver.

No more than 10 hours driving following at least 8 consecutive hours off duty.
No driving after 15 hours on duty following 8 consecutive hours off duty.
Waivers are not generally given.

Duty status records (log books)
There are specific regulations for driver record keeping (49 CFR section 395). Driver
status must be logged in duplicate for each 24-hour period if the driver travels beyond a
100-mile radius from normal location. If within 100-mile radius, a time card can be
considered sufficient. Specific log entries:

Off Duty
Sleeping Berth
Driving
On Duty, Not Driving

Sanctions and penalties

If record keeping violations are found, the carrier can be fined up to $500 for each
violation and the driver may be placed out of service for 8 consecutive hours.
Each driving time violation may be fined up to $ 1,000.
Violations causing injury or death may be fined up to $ 10,000.
Patterns of violations may also be fined up to $ 10,000.

Other Driver and truck requirements

Drivers must pass a written test on regulations.
Drivers must pass a medical examination by an approved physician, and be re-
examined every two years.
The truck must undergo a simple daily inspection.
Trucks are not allowed on roadways that are designated as Parkways.
There are many streets in metropolitan areas that have restricted truck access.
While not a rule, watch for signs that say low clearance.

Analog or Digital
Early SNG vehicles used analog FM/TV modulation. The modulation parameters are
such that either full or half transponder bandwidth is used. With the advent of
standardized digital compression techniques, most vehicles have added digital
transmission to the capabilities. New vehicles can be equipped with both analog and
digital.

Digital transmission from a transportable usually operates in Single (TV) Channel Per
Carrier (SCPC) mode. From a satellite usage standpoint, this means that a multiplicity
of TV channels can be transmitted to a transponder. Satellite cost can therefore be
reduced. Satellite operators typically sell 4.5 MHz blocks of bandwidth for occasional
use. With a 36 MHz transponder, 8 TV channels can be accommodated if each is
contained in a 4.5 MHz bandwidth.

There are a variety of modulation parameters that are in current use for both analog and
digital transmission. Before starting out on any use of the transportable, the operator
must have a clear understanding of:

Work order number
Satellite (orbital slot)
Transponder
If analog:
Full or half transponder
Deviation of main carrier by video
Deviation of main carrier by the subcarrier(s)
Deviation of the subcarrier(s) by audio

If digital
Frequency (slot)
Bandwidth (symbol rate)
FEC rate

Voice Communications
As indicated in paragraph 4.4 of this textbook, voice communications with the network
controller MUST be established before attempting to access satellites. The most common
method used in the U.S. is by cellular phone. If the location is in a cellular dead zone
(unlikely), the station should be equipped with a global mobile satellite phone.
Vehicle vendors can supply this item as an option.

In some cases of SNG operations, additional phone connection to the home TV station
may be required for producer/director communication with a reporter or the
driver/operator on the scene.

SNG Priorities

1. Safety
a. Driving and vehicle inspections
b. Safe operation of electronic equipment
c. Personal safety (section 4.6 below)
2. Interference
a. To others in the same transponder
b. To others in the same satellite
c. To others in different satellites
3. Courtesy with satellite control
4. Communications
5. On-Air operations
Safety
Workers in any job or industry are subject to hazards and satellite uplinking is no
exception. In this section, we highlight a few of the safeguards that a prudent worker
should follow. Above all, the operator should have a healthy respect for electricity and
should avoid direct contact with it. In making all measurements, insulated probes must
be used. A few unique safety aspects of satellite uplinking need emphasis.

One frequent safety problem which can easily cause death is deploying a SNG or ENG
antenna into a power line overhead. Operators must always look before deploying any
antennas to ensure clearance from power lines and other objects.

A carbon monoxide detector is advisable due to potentially long periods operating on
generator..

Microwave Radiation Hazards
Microwave energy like all electromagnetic energy is non-ionizing. That is, it does not
change the molecular structure of any material. It can damage tissue or any material by
heating that material or tissue. The following precautions should be taken in this
regard.

1. Turn off the power amplifier when working on the waveguide
transmission line, multiplexers, switches and other components
between HPA and the antenna.
2. Never work inside the antenna when RF power is in the feed. This area
inside the antenna aperture is the only area, which exceeds the
environmental protection agency guidelines for safe exposure.
3. Access by the public to the antenna must be restricted in some manner.

Power Amplifier and Power Supply
TWT and Klystron power amplifiers have power supplies of greater than 1,000 volts
with some as high as 8,000 volts. NEVER WORK ON A HIGH VOLTAGE SUPPLY
ALONE. A LARGE WOOD ROD MUST BE KEPT NEARBY TO REMOVE A
FELLOW WORKER FROM A HIGH VOLTAGE SUPPLY. NEVER TOUCH A
WORKER WHO IS IMMOBILIZED ON A HIGH VOLTAGE SUPPLY. USE THE
WOOD ROD IMMEDIATELY. FINALLY, A TRAINING COURSE IN CPR IS
STRONGLY RECOMMENDED.

Equipment Layout and Housekeeping
Ordinary common sense dictates that equipment should be arranged in a neat manner,
with interconnecting cables and test equipment arranged to preclude accidents when
working on earth station equipment. In some states, Occupational Safety and Health
Administration (OSHA) standards exist for the layout and spacing between electronic
equipment racks. The uplink operator should make a serious attempt to adhere to these
standards. A neat working environment is conducive to neat orderly work, which can
cut down or eliminate errors.

Interference Management
Interference management and coordination is appropriately performed between satellite
operators and users of that satellite, or between satellite operators. In extreme cases, the
FCC may be involved. Nasty legal consequences can arise if users either on the same
satellite or on different satellites attempt to resolve interference cases. All coordination
between users should be done by the satellite operator in the case of mutual interference
or between satellite operators in the case of interference between different satellites.

Uplink operators should be prepared to cooperate with all reasonable requests of the
satellite operator in the search for sources of interference. Remember, the uplink station
only has a contractual relationship with the satellite operator (or carrier) with whom it is
operating.

An operator should promptly notify the satellite operator of any anomalies in their
transmission. Be prepared to give details and cooperate with the satellite operator or the
FCC.


Review of Common Operator Errors

Antennamispointing
Antennapolarizationmisadjustment
Wrongcarrierfrequency
Overdeviation(orexcessiveoccupiedbandwidth)
Oversaturation(orpowertoohighinmulticarrierpertransponder
operation)
Wrongpolarizationinsertionofcarrier
Radiatingwhilemovingantennafromonesatellitetoanother
Poorassemblyofantennas
Notcheckingforantennaclearancebeforedeploying

Review of Critical Equipment Items

1. Antennamechanicaldamage
2. Frequencydeterminingdevices(oscillators,synthesizers)
3. Polarizationinjectiondevices(Switches,diplexers)
4. Bandwidthdeterminingdevices(modulators,basebandamplifiers)
5. Amplifiers(whichmightoscillate)

Careful monitoring of the transmission, and/or proper access procedures can eliminate
or minimize interference due to equipment malfunction.

REFERENCES

1. Introduction to Satellite Communications, Bruce R. Elbert. Artec House,
1987, Chapters 5 and 7.

2. Satellite Communications, Emanual Fthenakis. McGraw-Hill, 1984,
Chapters 3 and 4.

3. International Satellite Directory, Design Publishers (yearly publication).

4. Electromagnetic Wave Propagation through Rain, Robert K. Crane, Wiley
& Sons, 1996.

5. Digital Communications, Satellite/Earth Station Engineering. Kamilo
Feher, Prentice Hall, 1993.

6. ITU RP 618-7.

7. Satmaster Pro. (Arrowe Services, U.K.) available over the Internet. Author
Derek Stephens on www.arrowe.co.uk.

8. ATSC Standard A/80. Modulation and Coding requirements for Digital TV
(DTV) Applications over Satellite, July 17, 1999.

9. NAB Satellite Uplink Operators Course Text and Classroom Notes,
Norman Weinhouse, Norman Weinhouse Associates, April 2004

10. Satellite Users Interference Reduction Group , various publications on
www.suirg.org


APPENDICES

PAGE
APPENDIX A: SAMPLE LINK BUDGETS A-1

APPENDIX B: TUTORIAL IN THE USE OF DECIBELS (DB) B-1

APPENDIX C: FORMS FOR LINK BUDGET ANALYSIS C-1

APPENDIX D: FM MODULATION ADJUSTMENT PROCEDURES D-1

APPENDIX E: SUIRG SPACECRAFT ACCESS PROCEDURES E-1

APPENDIX F: C+N/N MEASUREMENT AND Eb/No CALCULATION F-1

APPENDIX G: GLOSSARY OF SATELLITE TERMS G-1

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All Rights Reserved

All Rights Reserved

All Rights Reserved

Appendix A
A-1

All Rights Reserved

Appendix
A-2

All Rights Reserved

Appendix
A-3

All Rights Reserved

Appendix
A-4

All Rights Reserved

Appendix
A-5

All Rights Reserved

Appendix
A-6

All Rights Reserved

Appendix
A-7

All Rights Reserved

Appendix
A-8

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Appendix
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A-10

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A-11

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A-12

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A-13

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A-17

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A-20

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A-21

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Appendix
B-1

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B-2

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B-3

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B-4

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B-5

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Appendix
C-1

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C-2

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C-3

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C-4

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C-5

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C-6

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C-7

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C-8

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C-9

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Appendix
D-1

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D-2

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D-3

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D-4

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D-5

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D-6

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D-7

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Appendix
D-8

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Appendix
D-9

Appendix F: C+N/N MEASUREMENT AND Eb/No
CALCULATION

Appendix E Spacecraft Access Procedures
E-1

Skjei Telecom, Inc. 2006 G-236
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The below Eb/No calculation from the C+N/N measurement assumes the use of a
Hewlett Packard or equivalent operation spectrum analyzer. The measurements will be
made with the carrier at the normal operational level in unmodulated (CW) mode at the
input to the receiver. The spectrum analyzer will use a resolution bandwidth of 100
kHz.

# Parameter Value Units

A. Measured C+N _______ dBm

B. Measured Noise Level _______ dBm

C. Corrected Noise Level, B + 2.5 _______ dBm

D. (C+N)/N, A C _______ dB

E. C/N, 10 Log
10
[10
(D/10)
-1] _______ dB

F. Bandwidth Conversion,
10 Log
10
[1.2 x Resolution Bandwidth] 50.8 dB-Hz

G. C/No, E + F _______ dB-Hz

H. Data Rate Conversion,
10 Log
10
[data rate] _______ dB/Hz

I. Calculated Eb/No, G H _______ dB

Note: Step F assumes the spectrum analyzer is set to 100 kHz resolution bandwidth
when the C+N and Noise measurements are made in steps A and B respectively.

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APPENDIX G: GLOSSARY OF SATELLITE TERMS
8 PSK: 8 state phase shift keying. A modulation method in which each symbol
represents 3 bits
16 QAM: 16 state quaternary amplitude modulation. A modulation method in
which each symbol represents 4 bits
A...
Amplitude Modulation (AM) The baseband signal is caused to vary the amplitude
or height of the carrier wave to create the desired information content.
Amplifier A device used to boost the strength of an electronic signal.
Analog A form of transmitting information characterized by continuously variable
quantities, as opposed to digital transmission, which is characterized by discrete bits
of information in numerical steps. An analog signal is responsive to changes in light,
sound, heat and pressure.
Analog-to-Digital Conversion (ADC) Process of converting analog signals to a
digital representation. DAC represents the reverse translation.
ANIK The Canadian domestic satellite system that transmits Canadian
Broadcasting Corporations (CSC) network feeds throughout the country. This
system also carries long distance voice and data services throughout Canada as well
as some transborder service to the U.S. and Mexico.
Antenna A device for transmitting and receiving radio waves. Depending on their
use and operating frequency, antennas can take the form of a single piece of wire, a
di-pole a grid such as a yagi array, a horn, a helix, a sophisticated parabolic-shaped
dish, or a phase array of active electronic elements of virtually any flat or
convoluted surface.
Aperture A cross sectional area of the antenna which is exposed to the satellite
signal.
Apogee The point in an elliptical satellite orbit which is farthest from the surface of
the earth. Geosynchronous satellites which maintain circular orbits around the
earth are first launched into highly elliptical orbits with apogees of 22,237 miles.
When the communication satellite reaches the appropriate apogee, a rocket motor is
fired to place the satellite into its permanent circular orbit of 22,237 miles.

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Apogee Kick Motor (AKM) Rocket motor fired to circulate orbit and deploy
satellite into geostationary orbit.
ATSC Advanced Television Systems Committee- the organization specifying Digital
Television (DTV) , including HDTV and SDTV, standards.
Attenuation The loss in power of electromagnetic signals between transmission and
reception points.
Attitude Control The orientation of the satellite in relationship to the earth and the
sun.
Audio Subcarrier The carrier between 5 MHz and 8 MHz containing audio (or
voice) information inside of a video carrier.
Automatic Frequency Control (AFC) A circuit which automatically controls the
frequency of a signal.
Automatic Gain Control (AGC) A circuit which automatically controls the gain of
an amplifier so that the output signal level is virtually constant for varying input
signal levels.
ATIS- Automatic Transmit Identification System- a Morse code signal added to an
analog FM TV carrier to identify the transmitting station. Required by the FCC for
all analog television uplinks.
AVC: Advanced Video Codec- a second generation digital encoding method
improving on MPEG 2
AZ/EL Mount Antenna mount that requires two separate adjustments to move from
one satellite to another;
Azimuth The angle of rotation (horizontal) that a ground based parabolic antenna
must be rotated through to point to a specific satellite in a geosynchronous orbit.
The azimuth angle for any particular satellite can be determined for any point on
the surface of the earth giver the latitude and longitude of that point. It is defined
with respect to due north as a matter of easy convenience.

B...
B-Frames: MPEG frames which basically provide difference information from
frames before or after it

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B-Mac A method of transmitting and scrambling television signals. In such
transmissions MAC (Multiplexed Analog Component) signals are time-multiplexed
with a digital burst containing digitized sound, video synchronizing, authorization,
and information.
Backhaul A terrestrial communications channel linking an earth station to a local
switching network or population center.
Backoff The process of reducing the input and output power levels of a traveling
wave tube to obtain more linear operation.
Band Pass Filter An active or passive circuit which allows signals within the desired
frequency band to pass through but impedes signals outside this pass band from
getting through.
Bandwidth A measure of spectrum (frequency) use or capacity. For instance, a voice
transmission by telephone requires a bandwidth of about 3000 cycles per second
(3KHz). A TV channel occupies a bandwidth of 6 million cycles per second (6 MHz)
in terrestrial Systems. In satellite based systems a larger bandwidth of 17.5 to 72
MHz is used to spread or dither the television signal in order to prevent
interference.
Baseband The basic direct output signal in an intermediate frequency based
obtained directly from a television camera, satellite television receiver, or video tape
recorder. Baseband signals can be viewed only on studio monitors. To display the
baseband signal on a conventional television set a modulator is required to
convert the baseband signal to one of the VHF or UHF television channels which the
television set can be tuned to receive.
Baud The rate of data transmission based on the number of signal elements or
symbols transmitted per second. Today most digital signals are characterized in bits
per second.
Beacon Low-power carrier transmitted by a satellite which supplies the controlling
engineers on the ground with a means of monitoring telemetry data, tracking the
satellite, or conducting propagation experiments. This tracking beacon is usually a
horn or omni antenna.
Beamwidth The angle or conical shape of the beam the antenna projects. Large
antennas have narrower beamwidths and can pinpoint satellites in space or dense
traffic areas on the earth more precisely. Tighter beamwidths thus deliver higher
levels of power and thus greater communications performance.
Binary: referring to the basic digital encoding of 1s and 0s
Bit A single digital unit of information

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Bit Error Rate (BER) The fraction of a sequence of message bits that are in error.
A bit error rate of 10-6 means that there is an average of one error per million bits.
Bit Rate The speed of a digital transmission, measured in bits per second.
Blanking An ordinary television signal consists of 30 separate still pictures or
frames sent every second. They occur so rapidly, the human eye blurs them together
to form an illusion of moving pictures. This is the basis for television and motion
picture systems. The blanking interval is that portion of the television signal which
occurs after one picture frame is sent and before the next one is transmitted. During
this period of time special data signals can be sent which will not be picked up on an
ordinary television receiver.
Block Down Converter A device used to convert the 3.7 to 4.2 KHz signal down to
UHF or lower frequencies (1 GHz and lower).
BOi: input backoff see backoff
BOo- output backoff- see backoff
BPSK: Binary Phase Shift Keying System of modulating a satellite signal such that
each symbol contains one transmitted bits. Also called Biphase modulation
Broad beam A single large circular beam that covers a large geographic area
Broadcast The sending of one transmission to multiple users in a defined group
(compare to unicast).
Business Television Corporate communications tool involving video transmissions of
information via satellite. Common uses of business television are for meetings,
product introductions and training.
BSS: Broadcast Satellite Service: e.g. DirecTV, Echostar,

C...
C Band This is the band between 4 and 8 GHz with the 6 and 4 GHz band being
used for satellite communications. Specifically, the 3.7 to 4.2 GHz satellite
communication band is used as the down link frequencies in tandem with the 5.925
to 6,425 GHz band that serves as the uplink.
Carrier to Noise Ratio (C/N) The ratio of the received carrier power and the noise
power in a given bandwidth, expressed in dB. This figure is directly related to G/T
and S/N; and in a video signal the higher the C/N, the better the received picture.

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Related: C/No: Carrier to Noise Spectral Density- ratio of total carrier power to
noise in 1 Hz of bandwidth
Carrier The basic radio, television, or telephony center of frequency transmit signal.
The carrier in an analog signal is modulated by manipulating its amplitude (making
it louder or softer) or its frequency (shifting it up or down) in relation to the
incoming signal. Satellite carriers operating in the analog mode are usually
frequency modulated.
Carrier Frequency the main frequency on which a voice, data, or video signal is
sent. Microwave and satellite communications transmitters operate in the band
from 1 to 14 GHz (a GHz is one billion cycles per second).
Cassegrain Antenna The antenna principle that utilizes a subreflector at the focal
point which reflects energy to or from a feed located at the apex of the main
reflector.
CCIR or CCITT: terminology formerly used for branches of the ITU
CDMA Code division multiple access. Refers to a multiple-access scheme where
stations use spread-spectrum modulations and orthogonal codes to avoid interfering
with one another.
Channel A frequency band in which a specific broadcast signal is transmitted.
Channel frequencies are specified in the United States by the Federal
Communications Commission. Television signals require a 6 MHz frequency band
to carry all the necessary picture detail.
CIF: a video display format
Circular Polarization Unlike many domestic satellites which utilize vertical or
horizontal polarization, the international Intelsat satellites transmit their signals in
a rotating corkscrew-like pattern as they are down-linked to earth. On some
satellites, both right-hand rotating and left-hand rotating signals can be transmitted
simultaneously on the same frequency; thereby doubling the capacity of the satellite
to carry communications channels.
Clamp A video processing circuit that removes the energy dispersal signal
component from the video waveform.
Clarke Orbit That circular orbit in space 22,237 miles from the surface of the earth
at which geosynchronous satellites are placed. This orbit was first postulated by the
science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke in Wireless World magazine in 1945.
Satellites placed in these orbits, although traveling around the earth at thousands of
miles an hour, appear to be stationary when viewed from a point on the earth, since

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the earth is rotating upon its axis at the same angular rate that the satellite is
traveling around the earth.
C/No Carrier-to-noise ratio measured either at the Radio Frequency (RF) or
Intermediate Frequency (IF)
Codec Coder/decoder system for digital transmission.
COFDM: Coherent orthogonal frequency division multiplex. A form of modulation
employing multiple small carriers combined together to reduce intersymbol
interference
Co-Location Ability of multiple satellites to share the same approximate
geostationary orbital assignment frequently due to the fact that different frequency
bands are used.
Color Subcarrler A subcarrier that is added to the main video signal to convey the
color information. In NTSC systems, the color subcarrier is centered on a frequency
of 3.579545 MHz, referenced to the main video carrier.
Common Carrier Any organization which operates communications circuits used by
other people. Common carriers include the telephone companies as well as the
owners of the communications satellites, and others. Common carriers are required
to file fixed tariffs for specific services. Today, most services are sold on a non-
common carrier basis.
Companding A noise-reduction technique that applies single compression at the
transmitter and complementary expansion at the receiver.
Composite Baseband The unclamped and unfiltered output of the satellite receivers
demodulator circuit, containing the video information as well as all transmitted
subcarriers.
Concatenated Coding: two or more different types of coding sequentially applied to
a signal
CONUS Contiguous United States. In short, all the states in the U.S. except Hawaii
and Alaska.
Co-Pol- co-polarized; on the same polarization or on the primary polarization or on
the polarization being used
Cross-Pol or XPOL: cross polarized; on the opposite (orthogonal) polarization or on
the polarization which is not providing primary service

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Cross Modulation A form of signal distortion in which modulation from one or
more RF carrier(s) is imposed on another carrier.
CSU Channel service unit. A digital interface device that connects end-user
equipment to the local digital telephone loop. CSU is frequently coupled with DSU
(see below) as CSU/DSU.
C/T Carrier-to-noise-temperature ratio.
CW- Continuous Wave. An unmodulated carrier signal. A sine wave such as would
be generated by a signal generator.

D...
DAMA Demand-Assigned Multiple Access - A highly efficient means of
instantaneously assigning telephony channels in a transponder according to
immediate traffic demands.
DBS Direct broadcast satellite. Refers to service that uses satellites to broadcast
multiple channels of television programming directly to home mounted small-dish
antennas.
DCT- Discrete Cosine Transform: a way of transforming a digital signal into a
frequency like domain in which it can be compressed and digitally manipulated
Decibel (dB) The standard unit used to express the ratio of two power levels. It is
used in communications to express either a gain or loss in power between the input
and output devices.
dBi The dB power relative to an isotropic source.
dBW The ratio of the power to one Watt expressed in decibels
Declination The offset angle of an antenna from the axis of its polar mount as
measured in the meridian plane between the equatorial plane and the antenna main
beam.
Decoder A television set-top device which enables the home subscriber to convert an
electronically scrambled television picture into a viewable signal. This should not be
confused with a digital coder/decoder known as a CODEC which is used in
conjunction with digital transmissions.
De-emphasis Reinstatement of a uniform baseband frequency response following
demodulation.

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De-interleaver: see Interleaver
Delay The time it takes for a signal to go from the sending station through the
satellite to the receiving station. This transmission delay for a single hop satellite
connection is very close on one-quarter of a second.
Delta Modulation: a very early form of digital encoding. Not used extensively today
Demodulator A satellite receiver circuit which extracts or demodulates the
wanted signals from the received carrier.
Deviation The modulation level of an FM signal determined by the amount of
frequency shift from the frequency of the main carrier.
Digital Conversion of information into bits of data for transmission through wire,
fiber optic cable, satellite, or over air techniques. Method allows simultaneous
transmission of voice, data or video.
Digicipher or Digicipher II:A proprietary digital video audio and data encoding
system invented by General Instruments ( Now Motorola)
Digital Speech Interpolation DSI - A means of transmitting telephony. Two and One
half to three times more efficiently based on the principle that people are talking
only about 40% of the time.
Diplexer (or Filter Diplexer): Device used to combine multiple HPA outputs by
adding filtered outputs together
Duplexer: Device used to combine transmitter and receiver to a common antenna.
Dolby AC-3 or Dolby E: two types of advanced audio encoding for broadcasting
Downlink The satellite to earth half of a 2 way telecommunications satellite link.
Often used to describe the receive dish end of the link.
DSU Data service unit. A device used in digital transmission that adapts the physical
interface on a DTE device to a transmission facility such as T1 or E1. The DSU is
also responsible for such functions as signal timing. DSU is frequently coupled with
a CSU (see above) as CSU/DSU.
DTV Digital Television
Dual Spin Spacecraft design whereby the main body of the satellite is spun to
provide altitude stabilization, and the antenna assembly is despun by means of a
motor and bearing system in order to continually direct the antenna earthward.
This dual-spin configuration thus serves to create a spin stabilized satellite.

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Duplex Transmission Capability for simultaneous data transmission between a
sending station and a receiving station.
DVB Digital Video Broadcasting - The European-backed project to harmonize
adoption of digital video. Also, an open standard digital Video, Audio and Data
encoding system.
DVB-S DVB Satellite specifications.
DVB-S2: Newly revised DVB satellite specifications giving many enhanced
characteristics.

E...
E1 Wide-area digital transmission facility used predominantly in Europe that
carries data at a rate of 2.048 Mbit/s.
E3 Wide-area digital transmission facility used predominantly in Europe that
carries data at a rate of 34.368 Mbit/s.
Earth Station The term used to describe the combination or antenna, low-noise
amplifier (LNA), down-converter, and receiver electronics. used to receive a signal
transmitted by a satellite. Earth Station antennas vary in size from the.2 foot to 12
foot (65 centimeters to 3.7 meters) diameter size used for TV reception to as large as
100 feet (30 meters) in diameter sometimes used for international communications.
The typical antenna used for INTELSAT communication is today 13 to 18 meters or
40 to 60 feet.
Eb/No: Energy per bit divided by Noise Spectral Density: The crucial figure of
merit for digital signals, comparable to signal to noise ratio
Echo Canceller An electronic circuit which attenuates or eliminates the echo effect
on satellite telephony links. Echo cancellers are largely replacing obsolete echo
suppressors.
Echo Effect A time-delayed electronic reflection of a speakers voice. This is largely
eliminated by modern digital echo cancellers.
Edge of Coverage Limit of a satellites defined service area. In many cases, the EOC
is defined as being 3 dB down from the signal level at beam center. However,
reception may still be possible beyond the -3dB point.
EIRP Effective Isotropic Radiated Power - This term describes the strength of the
signal leaving the satellite antenna or the transmitting earth station antenna, and is

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used in determining the C/N and S/N. The transmit power value in units of dBW is
expressed by the product of the transponder output power and the gain of the
satellite transmit antenna.
Elevation The upward tilt to a satellite antenna measured in degrees required to aim
the antenna at the communications satellite. When. aimed at the horizon, the
elevation angle is zero. If it were tilted to a point directly overhead, the satellite
antenna would have an elevation of 90 degrees.
Encoder A device used to electronically alter a signal so that it can only be viewed
on a receiver equipped with a special decoder.
ENG- Electronic News Gathering: usually refers to use of microwave transmission
for local area news operations, normally from an ENG truck equipped with a
microwave transmitter and mast..
EOL End of Life of a satellite.
Equatorial Orbit An orbit with a plane parallel to the earths equator.
ESC Engineering Service Circuit - The 300-3,400 Hertz voice plus teletype (S+DX)
channel used for earth station-to-earth station and earth station-to-operations
center communications for the purpose of system maintenance, coordination and
general system information dissemination. In analog (FDM/FM) systems there are
two S+DX channels available for this purpose in the 4,000-12,000 Hertz portion of
the baseband. In digital systems there are one or two channels available which are
usually convened to a 32 or 64 Kbps digital signal and combined with the earth
station traffic digital bit stream. Modern ESC equipment interfaces with any mix of
analog and digital satellite carriers, as well as backhaul terrestrial links to the local
switching center.
Exciter or Television Exciter: a piece of equipment containing: baseband encoder,
modulator and up converter. May be analog or digital

F...
FCC: Federal Communications Commission- a branch of the government that
regulates satellite communications, particularly antennas and orbital arc locations.
F/D Ratio of antenna focal length to antenna diameter. A higher ratio means a
shallower dish.
FDMA Frequency division multiple access. Refers to the use of multiple carriers
within the same transponder where each uplink has been assigned frequency slot

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and bandwidth. This is usually employed in conjunction with Frequency
Modulation.
Feed This term has at least two key meanings within the field of satellite
communications. It is used to describe the transmission of video programming from
a distribution center. It is also used to describe the feed system of an antenna. The
feed system may consist of a subreflector plus a feedhorn or a feedhorn only.
Focal Length Distance from the center feed to the center of the dish.
Focal Point The area toward which the primary reflector directs and concentrates
the signal received.
Footprint A map of the signal strength showing the EIRP contours of equal signal
strengths as they cover the earths surface. Different satellite transponders on the
same satellite will often have different footprints of the signal strength. The
accuracy of EIRP footprints or contour data can improve with the operational age
of the satellite. The actual EIRP levels of the satellite, however, tends to decrease
slowly as the spacecraft ages.
Forward Error Correction (FEC) Adds unique codes to the digital signal at the
source so errors can be detected and corrected at the receiver.
Frequency The number of times that an alternating current goes through its
complete cycle in one second of time. One cycle per second is also referred to as one
hertz; 1000 cycles per second, one kilohertz; 1,000,000 cycles per second, one
megahertz: and 1,000,000,000 cycles per second, one gigahertz.
Frequency Coordination A process to eliminate frequency interference between
different satellite systems or between terrestrial microwave systems and satellites. In
the U.S. this activity relies upon a computerized service utilizing an extensive
database to analyze potential microwave interference problems that arise between
organizations using the same microwave band. As the same C-band frequency
spectrum is used by telephone networks and CATV companies when they are
contemplating the installation of an earth station, they will often obtain a frequency
coordination study to determine if any problems will exist.
FSS; Fixed Satellite Service- normal point to point satellite service between fixed
locations

G...
Gain A measure of amplification expressed in dB.

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Geostationary Refers to a geosynchronous satellite angle with zero inclination. so
the satellite appears to hover over one spot on the earths equator.
Geosynchronous The Clarke circular orbit above the equator. For a planet the size
and mass of the earth, this point is 22,237 miles above the surface.
Gigahertz (GHz) One billion cycles per second. Signals operating above 3 Gigahertz
are known as microwaves. above 30 GHz they are know as millimeter waves. As one
moves above the millimeter waves signals begin to take on the characteristics of
Iightwaves.
Global Beam An antenna down-link pattern used by the Intelsat satellites, which
effectively covers one-third of the globe. Global beams are aimed at the center of the
Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans by the respective Intelsat satellites, enabling all
nations on each side of the ocean to receive the signal. Because they transmit to such
a wide area, global beam transponders have significantly lower EIRP outputs at the
surface of the Earth as compared to a US domestic satellite system which covers just
the continental United States. Therefore, earth stations receiving global beam
signals need antennas much larger in size (typically 10 meters and above (i.e.30 feet
and up).
Goodnight Notification of cessation of transmissions
Gregorian Dual-reflector antenna system employing a paraboloidal main reflector
and a concave ellipsoidal subreflector.
G/T A figure of merit of an antenna and low noise amplifier combination expressed
in dB. G is the net gain of the system and T is the noise temperature of the
system. The higher the number, the better the system.
Guard Channel Television channels are separated in the frequency spectrum by
spacing them several megahertz apart. This unused space serves to prevent the
adjacent television channels from interfering with each other.

H...
H.264 or H.26l: See AVC. An improved video encoding method
Half Transponder A method of transmitting two TV signals through a single
transponder through the reduction of each TV signals deviation and power level.
Half-transponder TV carriers each operate typically 4 dB to 7 dB below single-
carrier saturation power.

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Headend Electronic control center - generally located at the antenna site of a CATV
system - usually including antennas, preamplifiers, frequency converters,
demodulators and other related equipment which amplify, filter and convert
incoming broadcast TV signals to cable system channels.
HDTV:High Definition Television. One of several formats (1080I, 720P, etc)
providing high definition television under the DTV group of specificications.
Hertz (Hz) The name given to the basic measure of radio frequency characteristics.
An electromagnetic wave completes a full oscillation from its positive to its negative
pole and back again in what is known as a cycle. A single Hertz is thus equal to one
cycle per second.
Hub The master station through which all communications to, from and between
micro terminals must flow. in the future satellites with on-board processing will
allow hubs to be eliminated as MESH networks are able to connect all points in a
network together.
Huffman Coding: a type of entropy coding employed in MPEG to reduce bandwidth
required

I...
I Frames: MPEG frames employing only intra frame coding. These frames are
complete within themselves and are similar to JPEG frames in many ways
Inclination The angle between the orbital plane of a satellite and the equatorial
plane of the earth.
Inclined Orbit: Normally refers to a satellite which has ceased North-South
stationkeeping and is no longer in a geostationary orbit because it exceeds the .01
degree orbital assignment box.
INMARSAT The International Maritime Satellite Organization operates a network
of satellites for international transmissions for all types of international mobile
services including maritime, aeronautical, and land mobile.
INTELSAT The International Telecommunications Satellite Organization operates
a network of satellites for international transmissions.
Interframe: within the same frame
Intraframe: relating to previous or subsequent frames

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Interleaver: a way of separating a normal bit stream so that sequential burst errors
in transmission do not overpower the FEC decoder
Intermodulation: unintended spurious signals generated when two or more signals
are passed through a non liner process
Interference Energy which tends to interfere with the reception of the desired
signals, such as fading from airline flights, RF interference from adjacent channels,
or ghosting from reflecting objects such as mountains and buildings.
IRD An integrated receiver and decoder for reception of a transmission of voice,
video and data.
ISDN - Integrated Services Digital Network. A CCITT standard for integrated
transmission of voice, video and data. Bandwidths include: Basic Rate Interface -
BR (144 Kbps - 2 B & 1 D channel) and Primary Rate - PRI (1.544 and 2.048 Mbps).
Isotropic Antenna A hypothetical omnidirectional point-source antenna that serves
as an engineering reference for the measurement of antenna gain.
ITU International Telecommunication Union.

J...
Jammer - An active electronic counter-measures (ECM) device designed to deny
intelligence to unfriendly detectors or to disrupt communications.
JPEG ISO Joint Picture Expert Group standard for the compression of still
pictures.
JPEG 2000: A digital encoding format used for very high resolution image
compression such as digital cinema.

K...
Ka Band The frequency range from 18 to 31 GHz.
Kbps Kilobits per second. Refers to transmission speed of 1,000 bits per second.
Kelvin (K) The temperature measurement scale used in the scientific community.
Zero K represents absolute zero, and corresponds to minus 459 degrees Fahrenheit

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or minus 273 Celsius. Thermal noise characteristics of LNA are measured in
Kelvins.
Kilohertz (kHz) Refers to a unit of frequency equal to 1,000 Hertz.
Klystron A microwave tube which uses the interaction between an electron beam
and the RF energy on microwave cavities to provide signal amplification. The
klystron operates on principles of velocity modulation very similar to those in a
TWT except that klystron interaction takes place at discrete locations along the
electron beam. Common types of klystrons are the reflex klystron (an oscillator
having only one cavity), two-cavity klystron amplifiers and oscillators, and multi-
cavity klystron amplifiers.
Ku Band The frequency range from 10.9 to 17 GHz.

L...
L-Band The frequency range from 0.5 to 1.5 GHz. Also used to refer to the 950 to
1450MHz used for mobile communications.
LDPC: Low Density Parity Check: a type of high powered FEC used in DVB-S2
Leased Line A dedicated circuit typically supplied by the telephone company.
Low Noise Amplifier (LNA) This is the preamplifier between the antenna and the
earth station receiver. For maximum effectiveness, it must be located as near the
antenna as possible, and is usually attached directly to the antenna receive port. The
LNA is especially designed to contribute the least amount of thermal noise to the
received signal.
Low Noise Block Downconverter (LNB) A combination Low Noise Amplifier and
downconverter built into one device attached to the feed.
Luminance: the black and white signal quality of a video signal-

M...
M&C: Monitoring and Control: usually an electronic systems that permits remote
equipment monitoring and controlling
Margin The amount of signal in dB by which the satellite system exceeds the
minimum levels required for operation.

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Master Antenna Television (MATV) An antenna system that serves a concentration
of television sets such as in apartment buildings, hotels or motels.
Megahertz (MHz) Refers to a frequency equal to one million Hertz, or cycles per
second.
Microwave Line-of sight, point-to-point transmission of signals at high frequency.
Many CATV systems receive some television signals from a distant antenna location
with the antenna and the system connected by microwave relay. Microwaves are
also used for data, voice, and indeed all types of information transmission. The
growth of fiber optic networks have tended to curtail the growth and use of
microwave relays.
Microwave Interference: Interference which occurs when an earth station aimed at
a distant satellite picks up a second, often stronger signal, from a local telephone
terrestrial microwave relay transmitter. Microwave interference can also be
produced by nearby radar transmitters as well as the sun itself. Relocating the
antenna by only several feet will often completely eliminate the microwave
interference.
Modulation The process of manipulating the frequency or amplitude of a carrier in
relation to an incoming video, voice or data signal.
Modulator A device which modulates a carrier. Modulators are found as
components in broadcasting transmitters and in satellite transponders. Modulators
are also used by CATV companies to place a baseband video television signal onto a
desired VHF or UHF channel. Home video tape recorders also have built-in
modulators which enable the recorded video information to be played back using a
television receiver tuned to VHF channel 3 or 4.
MODEM: a combination MODulator and DEmodulator
MPEG The Moving Pictures Experts Group, the television industrys informal
standards group.
MPEG-2 The agreed standard covering the compression of data (coding and
encoding) for digital television.
MPEG-2 MP@HL (also known as 4:2:2)Main Profile at High Level - The agreed
much higher bit-rate system adopted to provide high definition television in wide
screen format.
MPEG 4-2 or MPEG 4 or MPEG 4 ASP: a video encoding method designed mainly
for IP video encoding and web video. Uses video objects to permit video at very low
bit rates

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MPEG 4-10: see AVC. An improved (over MPEG-=2) video encoding method
MSS: Mobile Satellite Service: between mobile platforms. Typically at L or S Band
Multicast Multicast is a subset of broadcast that extends the broadcast concept of
one to many by allowing the sending of one transmission to many users in a defined
group, but not necessarily to all users in that group.
Multiplexing Techniques that allow a number of simultaneous transmissions over a
single circuit.

N...
Noise Any unwanted and unmodulated energy that is always present to some extent
within any signal.
Noise Figure (NF) A term which is a figure of merit of a device, such as an LNA or
receiver, expressed in dB, which compares the device with a perfect device.
NTSC - National Television Standards Committee A video standard established by
the United States (RCA/NBC} and adopted by numerous other countries. This is a
525-line video with 3.58-MHz chroma subcarrier and 60 cycles per second.

O...
Orbital Period The time that it takes a satellite to complete one circumnavigation of
its orbit.

P...
P Frames: MPEG frames containing prediction motion vectors and difference
information
Packet Switching Data transmission method that divides messages into standard-
sized packets for greater efficiency of routing and transport through a network.
PAL - Phase Alternation System The German developed TV standard based upon
50 cycles per second and 625 lines.

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Parabolic Antenna The most frequently found satellite TV antenna, it takes its name
from the shape of the dish described mathematically as a parabola. The function of
the parabolic shape is to focus the weak microwave signal hitting the surface of the
dish into a single focal point in front of the dish. It is at this point that the feedhorn
is usually located.
PCM- Pulse Code Modulation- a method of digitally encoding an analog signal
Phase-Locked Loop (PLL) A type of electronic circuit used to demodulate satellite
signals.
Polarization A technique used by the satellite designer to increase the capacity of the
satellite transmission channels by reusing the satellite transponder frequencies. In
linear cross polarization schemes, half of the transponders beam their signals to
earth in a vertically polarized mode; the other half horizontally polarize their down
links. Although the two sets of frequencies overlap, they are 90 degree out of phase,
and will not interfere with each other. To successfully receive and decode these
signals on earth, the earth station must be outfitted with a properly polarized
feedhorn to select the vertically or horizontally polarized signals as desired.
In some installations, the feedhorn has the capability of receiving the vertical and
horizontal transponder signals simultaneously, and routing them into separate
LNAs for delivery to two or more satellite television receivers. Unlike most domestic
satellites, the Intelsat series use a technique known as left-hand and right-hand
circular polarization.
Polarization Rotator A device that can be manually or automatically adjusted to
select one of two orthogonal polarizations.
Polar Mount Antenna mechanism permitting steering in both elevation and azimuth
through rotation about a single axis. While an astronomers polar mount has its axis
parallel to that of the earth, satellite earth stations utilize a modified polar mount
geometry that incorporates a declination offset.
Polar Orbit An orbit with its plane aligned in parallel with the polar axis of the
earth
PTT - Post Telephone and Telegraph Administration Refers to operating agencies
directly or indirectly controlled by governments in charge of telecommunications
services in most countries of the world.
Pulse Code Modulation A time division modulation technique in which analog
signals are sampled and quantized at periodic intervals into digital signals. The
values observed are typically represented by a coded arrangement of 8 bits of which
one may be for parity.

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Q...
QPSK - Quadrature Phase Shift Keying System of modulating a satellite signal such
that each symbol contains two transmitted bits.
Quantization: The individual levels of steps used to digitally encode an analog signal

R...
Rain Outage Loss of signal at Ku or Ka Band frequencies due to absorption and
increased sky-noise temperature caused by heavy rainfall.
Receiver (Rx) An electronic device which enables a particular satellite signal to be
separated from all others being received by an earth station, and converts the signal
format into a format for video, voice or data.
Receiver Sensitivity Expressed in dBm this tells how much power the detector must
receive to achieve a specific baseband performance, such as a specified bit error rate
or signal to noise ratio.
Router Network layer device that determines the optimal path along which network
traffic should be forwarded. Routers forward packets from one network to another
based on network layer information.

S...
Satellite A sophisticated electronic communications relay station orbiting 22,237
miles above the equator moving in a fixed orbit at the same speed and direction of
the earth (about 7,000 mph east to west).
Scalar Feed A type of horn antenna feed which uses a series of concentric rings to
capture signals that have been reflected toward the focal point of a parabolic
antenna.
Scrambler A device used to electronically alter a signal so that it can only be viewed
or heard on a receiver equipped with a special decoder.
Secam A color television. system developed by the French and used in the USSR.
Secam operates with 625 lines per picture frame and 50 cycles per second, but is
incompatible in operation with the European PAL system or the U.S. NTSC system.

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SDTV Standard Definition Television. Normal (not high definition) television as
defined by the DTV group of specifications.
SMPTE: Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineer. A standardization
body and professional organization
SFD - Saturation Flux Density The power required to achieve saturation of a single
repeater channel on the satellite.
Sidelobe Off-axis response of an antenna.
Signal to Noise Ratio (S/N) The ratio of the signal power and noise power. A video
S/N of 54 to 56 dB is considered to be an excellent S/N, that is, of broadcast quality.
A video S/N of 48 to 52 dB is considered to be a good S/N at the headend for Cable
TV.
Simplex Transmission Capability for transmission in only one direction between
sending station and receiving station.
Single-Channel-Per-Carrier (SCPC) A method used to transmit a large number of
signals over a single satellite transponder.
Skew An adjustment that compensates for slight variance in angle between identical
senses of polarity generated by two or more satellites.
Slant Range The length of the path between a communications satellite and an
associated earth station.
Slot That longitudinal position in the geosynchronous orbit into which a
communications satellite is parked. Above the United States, communications
satellites are typically positioned in slots which are based at two to three degree
intervals.
SNG Satellite news gathering usually with a transportable uplink truck.
Snow A form of noise picked up by a television receiver caused by a weak signal.
Snow is characterized by alternate dark and light dots appearing randomly on the
picture tube. To eliminate snow, a more sensitive receive antenna must be used, or
better amplification must be provided in the receiver (or both).
Solar Outage Solar outages occur when an antenna is looking at a satellite, and the
sun passes behind or near the satellite and within the field of view of the antenna.
This field of view is usually wider than the beamwidth. Solar outages can be exactly
predicted as to the timing for each site.

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Spectral Regrowth- regeneration of spectral sidelobes (and thereby increasing the
signal occupied bandwidth) due to passing the signal through a non-linear device
such as an HPA or SSPA not operating in the linear range.
Spectrum The range of electromagnetic radio frequencies used in transmission of
voice, data and television.
Spectrum Analyzer: A piece of test equipment that permits visualization of the
frequency spectrum and the signals contained therein.
Spillover Satellite signal that falls on locations outside the beam patterns defined
edge of coverage.
Spin Stabilization A form of satellite stabilization and attitude control which is
achieved through spinning the exterior of the spacecraft about its axis at a fixed
rate.
Splitter A passive device (one with no active electronic components) which
distributes a television signal carried on a cable in two or more paths and sends it to
a number of receivers simultaneously.
Spot Beam A focused antenna pattern sent to a limited geographical area. Spot
beams are used by domestic satellites to deliver certain transponder signals to
geographically well defined areas such as Hawaii, Alaska and Puerto Rico.
Spread Spectrum The transmission of a signal using a much wider bandwidth and
power than would normally be required. Spread spectrum also involves the use of
narrower signals that are frequency hopped through various parts of the
transponder. Both techniques produce low levels of interference Between the users.
They also provide security in that the signals appear as though they were random
noise to unauthorized earth stations. Both military and civil satellite applications
have developed for spread spectrum transmissions.
SSPA Solid state power amplifier. A VSLI solid state device that is gradually
replacing Traveling Wave Tubes in satellite communications systems because they
are lighter weight and are more reliable.
Stationkeeping Minor orbital adjustments that are conducted to maintain the
satellites orbital assignment within the allocated box within the geostationary
arc.
Subcarrier A second signal piggybacked onto a main signal to carry additional
information. In satellite television transmission, the video picture is transmitted over
the main carrier. The corresponding audio is sent via an FM subcarrier. Some
satellite transponders carry as many as four special audio or data subcarriers whose
signals may or may not be related to the main programming.

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SUIRG: Satellite Users Interference Reduction Group. An industry organization
dedicated to reducing satellite interference
Synchronization (Sync) The process of orienting the transmitter and receiver
circuits in the proper manner in order that they can be synchronized . Home
television sets are synchronized by an incoming sync signal with the television
cameras in the studios 60 times per second. The horizontal and vertical hold
controls on the television set are used to set the receiver circuits to the approximate
sync frequencies of incoming television picture and the sync pulses in the signal then
fine tune the circuits to the exact frequency and phase.

T...
TT&C: Telemetry, tracking and control: A system used to collect and transmit to
earth the spacecraft status, and to permit earth personnel to control the spacecraft.
T1 The transmission bit rate of 1.544 millions bits per second. This is also equivalent
to the ISDN Primary Rate Interface for the U.S. The European T1 or E1
transmission rate is 2.048 million bits per second.
T3 Channel (DS-3) In North America, a digital channel which communicates at
45.304 Mbps.
TDMA Time division multiple access. Refers to a form of multiple access where a
single carrier is the shared by many users. Signals from earth stations reaching the
satellite consecutively are processed in time segments without overlapping.
TI - Terrestrial Interference to satellite reception caused by ground based
microwave transmitting stations.
Transmitter An electronic device consisting of oscillator, modulator and other
circuits which produce a radio or television electromagnetic wave signal for
radiation into the atmosphere by an antenna.
Transponder A combination receiver, frequency converter, and transmitter
package, physically part of a communications satellite. Transponders have a typical
output of five to ten watts, operate over a frequency band with a 36 to 72 megahertz
bandwidth in the L, C, Ku, and sometimes Ka Bands or in effect typically in the
microwave spectrum, except for mobile satellite communications. Communications
satellites typically have between 12 and 24 onboard transponders although the
INTELSAT VI at the extreme end has 50.
Turbo Coding: a high powered FEC technique

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TVRO Television Receive Only terminals that use antenna reflectors and associated
electronic equipment to receive and process television and audio communications
via satellite. Typically small home systems.
Tweaking The process of adjusting an electronic receiver circuit to optimize its
performance.
TWT (Traveling-wave tube) A microwave tube of special design using a broadband
circuit in which a beam of electrons interacts continuously with a guided
electromagnetic field to amplify microwave frequencies.
TWTA (Traveling-wave-tube amplifier) A combination of a power supply, a
modulator (for pulsed systems), and a traveling-wave tube, often packaged in a
common enclosure.

U...
Unicast A unicast application transmits a copy of every packet to every receiver.
Uplink The earth station used to transmit signals to a satellite
UPS Uninterruptible Power Supply. A battery or rotating device designed to ensure
continuity of prime power to equipment

V...
V.35 ITU-T standard describing a synchronous, physical layer protocol used for
communications between a network access device and a packet network. V.35 is
most commonly used in the United States and in Europe, and is recommended for
speeds up to 48 Kbit/s.
VC-2 Videocypher 2- an analog scrambling method for NTSC television
VC-9: SMPTE designation of the Windows Media 9 digital encoding standard.
Similar to AVC.
VGA: the means whereby video is shown on computer display
Viterbi Decoding: a method of decoding convolutional codes which has been shown
to have certain desirable characteristics

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VSWR Voltage Standing Wave Ratio. A measurement of mismatch in a cable,
waveguide, or antenna system.
VSAT Very small aperture terminal. Refers to small earth stations, usually in the
1.2 to 2.4 meter range. Small aperture terminals under 0.5 meters are sometimes
referred to Ultra Small Aperture Terminals (USATs)

W...
Waveguide A metallic microwave conductor, typically rectangular in shape, used to
carry microwave signals into and out of microwave antennas.

X...
X.25 A set of packet switching standards published by the CCITT. < P>

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