CHAPTER TWO

RADIO WAVES PROPAGATION

By
Mairaj Rasool
Radio Wave Propagation
Radio wave propagation is a term used to
explain how radio waves behave when they are
transmitted, or are propagated from one point to
another.
Mode of Radio Wave Propagation

There are generally three mode of wave propagation or

can say three types of waves

 Surface or ground waves

 Space waves
 Sky waves
Surface waves:
 The mode is commonly called the "ground wave". Surface or
ground waves travel along the surface of the Earth and
propagates by interacting with the semi-conductive surface of
the earth and guided to follows the curvature of the earth.
 This mode mainly useful for below HF frequency (LF and VLF
frequencies)
 These frequencies are sometimes used for military
communications, especially with ships and submarines.
 Ground waves provide useful communication up to about 400
miles (640 km)
Space waves
 The mode is also called the " Line of sight”. These
waves travel on a straight path between transmitter
and receiver. Space waves is comprise of “Direct waves”
and “Ground reflected wave”. Reflected waves can
cause reception problem if phase of the two receive
components is not the same. A complete cancellation
of the signal would occur if the two waves arrived 180
degree out of phase with equal amplitudes. Such
phenomenon is known as Fading.
 This mode provide useful communication for above
HF frequency (VHF and UHF ).
Sky waves
 Sky waves is transmitted in an upward direction from
the earth and returned/reflected back toward the
earth by the atmospheric layer known as “Ionosphere”.
It provides reliable communication up to a distance of
about 4000 miles (6400 km)
 This mode provide useful communication for HF
frequency only.
 Ionosphere is a region of the earth atmosphere where
ionization is caused by incoming radiation.
Layer of ionosphere:
There are four layer of ionosphere
 D layer: 50 – 90 km above the earth. It disappears
after the sunset.
 E layer: 90 – 140 km above the earth. It disappears
rapidly after the sunset.
 F1 layer: 140 – 250 km above the earth. it merges with
F2 after sun set.
 F2 layer: It exists day and night. It appears between
150 – 250 km above the earth in night and 250 – 300
km in day time.
Ionosphere Layers
HF (high frequency) Communication:
 HF propagation is characterized by Ground wave and
mostly by sky wave components. HF preferred over the
VHF and UHF(point to point communication)
because HF band frequencies take advantages of sky
waves propagation and permit reliable communication
up to 4000 miles (6400 km).
VHF (very high frequency) Communication

VHF propagation is characterized by Space wave

components.
Transmission in VHF band is radiated in a direct path
through the atmosphere to through receiver antenna
and therefore called line-of-sight transmission.
Obstructions such as mountains, forest and tall
buildings disturb the signals.
Transmission
Medium
Transmission Media:
 A transmission medium (plural transmission media)
is a material (solid, liquid or gas) which can propagate
energy waves. For example, the transmission medium
for sound received by the ears is usually air, but solids
and liquids may also act as transmission media for
sound.
categories of Transmission media:
There are two broad categories of Transmission media:
 Guided media
 Unguided media
Guided media:
 In guided media signal/transmission is guided
through a conductor or any medium that conduct or
carries on, the signal to the destination. Some
examples of guided media are:
Guided media:
UTP & STP
Coaxial Cable
Optical Fiber
Unguided media:
 In unguided media do not make use of conductors.
Rather the signal simply radiates through space
between transmitter and receiver. Some examples of
unguided media are:
Unguided media:
 1) Microwave: Microwave transmission is line of sight
transmission. The transmit station must be in visible
contact with the receive station.
2) Satellite: Satellites are transponders (units that
receive on one frequency and retransmit on another)
that are set in geostationary orbits directly over the
equator. These geostationary orbits are 36,000 km
from the Earth's surface.