ASSIGNMENT

ON
SPACE WAVE PROPAGATION

PRESENTED BY

ADITI JADHAV
ANJALI SUTAR
MADHURI NIKAM
ASHWINI BAMBALE

SUBJECT: ANTENNA AND RADIO WAVE PROPAGATION

SPACE WAVE PROPAGATION
Space wave propagation is defined for the radio waves that occur within the
20km of the atmosphere i.e.; troposphere, comprising of a direct and reflected
waves. These waves are also known as tropospheric propagation as they can
travel directly from the earth’s surface to the troposphere surface of the earth.
It is also known as a line of sight propagation as the signals are sent in a
straight line from the transmitter to the receiver.
In order to prevent attenuation and loss of signal strength, the height of the
antennas and distance between them can be given as:
Dm = (2RHt)-½ + (2RHr)-½
Where,
Dm: distance between the two antennas
R: radius of the earth
Ht: height of transmission antenna
Hr: height of receiver antenna

The space waves are the radio waves of very high frequency (i.e. between 30
MHz to 300 MHz or more). The space waves can travel through atmosphere
from transmitter antenna to receiver antenna either directly or after reflection
from ground in the earth’s stratosphere region as shown in Fig. above. That is
why the space wave propagation is also called tropospheric propagation.
 Line-of-sight propagation is a characteristic of electro-magnetic radiation or
acoustic wave propagation. Electromagnetic transmission includes light
emissions traveling in a straight line. The rays or waves may be diffracted,
refracted, reflected, or absorbed by atmosphere and obstructions with
material and generally cannot travel over the horizon or behind obstacles.
At low frequencies (below approximately 3 MHz) radio signals travel
as ground waves, which follow the Earth's curvature due to diffraction with the
layers of atmosphere. This enables AM radio signals in low-noise environments
to be received well after the transmitting antenna has dropped below
the horizon. Additionally, frequencies between approximately 1 and 30 MHz
can be reflected by the F1/F2 Layer, thus giving radio transmissions in this
range a potentially global reach (see shortwave radio), again along multiple
deflected straight lines. The effects of multiple diffraction or reflection lead to
macroscopically "quasi-curved paths".
However, at higher frequencies and in lower levels of the atmosphere, neither
of these effects are significant. Thus, any obstruction between the transmitting
antenna and the receiving antenna will block the signal, just like the light that
the eye may sense. Therefore, since the ability to visually see a transmitting
antenna (disregarding the limitations of the eye's resolution) roughly
corresponds to the ability to receive a radio signal from it, the propagation
characteristic of high-frequency radio is called "line-of-sight". The farthest
possible point of propagation is referred to as the "radio horizon".
In practice, the propagation characteristics of these radio waves vary
substantially depending on the exact frequency and the strength of the
transmitted signal (a function of both the transmitter and the antenna
characteristics). Broadcast FM radio, at comparatively low frequencies of
around 100 MHz, are less affected by the presence of buildings and forests.
LINE-OF-SIGHT PROPAGATION AS A PREREQUISITE FOR RADIO DISTANCE
MEASUREMENTS

Travel time of radio waves between transmitters and receivers can be

measured disregarding the type of propagation. But, generally, travel time only
then represents the distance between transmitter and receiver, when line of
sight propagation is the basis for the measurement. This applies as well
to radar, to Real Time Locating and to lidar.
These rules: Travel time measurements for determining the distance between
pairs of transmitters and receivers generally require line of sight propagation
for proper results. Whereas the desire to have just any type of propagation to
enable communication may suffice, this does never coincide with the
requirement to have strictly line of sight at least temporarily as the means to
obtain properly measured distances. However, the travel time measurement
may be always biased by multi-path propagation including line of sight
propagation as well as non-line of sight propagation in any random share. A
qualified system for measuring the distance between transmitters and
receivers must take this phenomenon into account. Thus, filtering signals
traveling along various paths makes the approach either operationally sound
or just tediously irritating.
IMPAIRMENTS TO LINE-OF-SIGHT PROPAGATION
Low-powered microwave transmitters can be foiled by tree branches, or even
heavy rain or snow.
If a direct visual fix cannot be taken, it is important to take into account the
curvature of the Earth when calculating line-of-sight from maps.
The presence of objects not in the direct visual line of sight can interfere with
radio transmission. This is caused by diffraction effects: for the best
propagation, a volume known as the first Fresnel zone should be kept free of
obstructions.
Reflected radiation from the ground plane also acts to cancel out the direct
signal. This effect, combined with the free-space r−2 propagation loss to a
r−4 propagation loss. This effect can be reduced by raising either or both
antennas further from the ground: the reduction in loss achieved is known
as height gain.
Applications of space wave propagation
 It is used in various communication systems like
 A line of sight communication and satellite communication
 Radar communication
 Microwave linking
Space wave propagation limitations
 These waves are affected by the curvature of the earth.
 The propagation of these waves happens along the line of sight distance
which is defined as the distance between the transmitting antenna and
the receiving antenna which is also known as the range of
communication.