COMMUNICATION LINK ANALYSIS

Radio Systems

Ant

Transmitter
Information Modulator Amplifier Filter Feedline

RF Propagation

Ant

Receiver
Information Demodulator Pre-Amplifier Filter Feedline

Waves from an Isotropic source propagate spherically

As the wave propagates, the surface area increases o The power flux density decreases proportional to 1/d2

At great enough distances

from the source, a portion of the surface appears as a plane The wave may be modeled as a plane wave

The classic picture of an

EM wave is a single ray out of the spherical wave

Real antennas are non-isotropic

Most real antennas do not radiate spherically o The wavefront will be only a portion of a sphere
Gain in this area

The surface area of the wave is

More on Antennas Later

reduced Power density is increased! The increase in power density is expressed as Antenna Gain dB increase in power along best axis dBi = gain over isotropic antenna dBd = gain over dipole antenna

Transmitted Power
Radiated power often referenced to power radiated by an ideal antenna

The isotropic radiator radiates power uniformly in all

directions

Effective Isotropic Radiated Power calculated by:

EIRP Pt Gt

Pt = power of transmitter Gt = gain of transmitting antenna system

Gt = 0dB = 1 for isotropic antenna

The exact same formulas and principles apply on the receiving side too!

This formula assumes power and gain is expressed linearly. Alternatively, you can express power and gain in decibels and add them: EIRP = P(dB) + G(dB)

Propagation Models
Large-scale (Far Field) propagation model Gives power where random environmental effects
have been averaged together Waves appear to be plane waves

Far field applies at distances greater than the

Fraunhofer distance:
df 2D 2
D = largest physical dimension of antenna = wavelength

Small-scale (Near Field) model applies for shorter

distances Power changes rapidly from one area/time to the next

Free Space Propagation Model

Limited to line-of-sight for most signals (more or less) o Max distance (m):

d 7140 Kh
h = height (in meters) K = fudge factor (around 4/3)
Attenuation prop. to square of distance traveled Free space: P (4d ) 2 (4fd ) 2 f = frequency t d = distance (m) 2 2 Pr c = wavelength (m) 2 Pt (4fd ) c = speed of light

10 log10

Pr

10 log10

c2

4fd loss (dB ) 20 log10 20 log10 f 20 log10 d 147.56dB c

Applying formulas to real systems

A transmission system transmits a signal at 960MHz with a power of 100mW using a 16cm dipole antenna system with a gain of 2.15dB over an isotropic antenna. At what distance can far-field metrics be used? = 3.0*108 m/s / 960MHz = 0.3125 meters Fraunhofer distance = 2 D2/ = 2(0.16m)2/0.3125 = 0.16m What is the EIRP? Method 1: Convert power to dBm and add gain Power(dBm) = 10 log10 (100mW / 1mW) = 20dBm EIRP = 20dBm + 2.15dB = 22.15dBm Method 2: Convert gain to linear scale and multiply Gain(linear) = 102.15dB/10 = 1.64 EIRP = 100mW x 1.64 = 164mW Checking work: 10 log10 (164mW/1mW) = 22.15dBm

Applying formulas to real systems

A transmission system transmits a signal at 960MHz with a power of 100mW using a 16cm dipole antenna system with a gain of 2.15dB over an isotropic antenna. What is the power received at a distance of 2km (assuming free-space transmission and an isotropic antenna at the receiver)? Loss(dB) = 20 log10(960MHz) + 20 log10(2000m) 147.56dB = 179.6dB + 66.0dB 147.56dB = 98.0dB Received power(dBm) = EIRP(dB) loss = 22.15dBm 98.0dB = -75.85dBm Received power(W) = EIRP(W)/loss(linear) = 164mW / 1098.0dB/10 = 2.6 x 10-8 mW = 2.6 x 10-11 W Checking work: 10
-75.85dBm/10

= 2.6x 10-8 mW

Link Budget Analysis

Gain Transmitter Loss
Information Modulator Amplifier Filter Feedline Ant

RF Propagation

Ant

Receiver
Information Demodulator Pre-Amplifier Filter

Feedline

A Link Budget analysis determines if there is enough power at the receiver to recover the information

Gain

Transmit Power Components

Begin with the power output of the transmit amplifier o Subtract (in dB) losses due to passive components in the transmit chain after the amplifier Filter loss Feedline loss Jumpers loss Etc. o Add antenna gain dBi Result is EIRP Transmitter
Information Modulator Amplifier Filter Feedline Ant

RF Propagation

Calculating EIRP
All values are example values Component Power Amplifier Filter loss Jumper loss Feedline loss Antenna gain 150 ft. at 1dB/100 foot 25 Watts Value 44 (0.3) (1) (1.5) 12 Scale dBm dB dB dB dBi

Total

53

dBm

Hata Path Loss Model

Hata Model used extensively in cellular communications. Empirical Model based on Okumura.
o Better estimates the path loss experienced as compared to Free Space. o Valid with range 1-20km, base height 30-200m

Hata Path Loss Model

Formula to compute the path loss:
o LH = 69.55 + 26.16log10fc 13.82log10hb a(hm) + (44.9 6.55log10hb)log10R hb is the base station antenna height in meters. hm is the mobile antenna height also measured in meters. R is the distance from the cell site to the mobile in km. fc is the transmit frequency in MHz.
a(hm) is an adjustment factor for the type of environment and the hieght of the mobile.
a(hm) = 0 for urban environments with a mobile height of 1.5m.

Receiver System Components

The Receiver has several gains/losses o Specific losses due to known environment around the receiver Vehicle/building penetration loss o Receiver antenna gain o Feedline loss o Filter loss These gains/losses are added to the received signal strength o The result must be greater than the receivers sensitivity
Ant

Receiver
Filter Pre-Amplifier Demodulator Information

Feedline

Receiver Sensitivity
Sensitivity describes the weakest signal power level that the receiver is able to detect and decode
o Sensitivity is determined by the lowest signal-to-noise ratio at which the signal can be recovered o Different modulation and coding schemes have different minimum SNRs
Range: <0 dB to 60 dB

Sensitivity is determined by adding the required SNR to the noise present at the receiver Noise Sources
o Thermal noise o Noise introduced by the receivers pre-amplifier

Receiver Noise Sources

Thermal noise
o N = kTB (Watts)
k=1.3803 x 10-23 J/K T = temperature in Kelvin B=receiver bandwidth

o Thermal noise is usually very small for reasonable bandwidths

Noise introduced by the receiver pre-amplifier

o Noise Factor = SNRin/SNRout (positive because amplifiers always generate noise) o May be expressed linearly or in dB

Receiver Sensitivity Calculation

The smaller the sensitivity, the better the receiver

o Sensitivity (W) = kTB * NF(linear) * minimum SNR required (linear) o Sensitivity (dBm) = 10log10(kTB*1000) + NF(dB) + minimum SNR required (dB)

Sensitivity Example
Example parameters o Signal with 200KHz bandwidth at 290K o NF for amplifier is 1.2dB or 1.318 (linear) o Modulation scheme requires SNR of 15dB or 31.62 (linear) Sensitivity = Thermal Noise + NF + Required SNR o Thermal Noise = kTB = (1.3803 x 10-23 J/K) (290K)(200KHz) = 8.006 x 10-16 W = -151dBW or -121dBm o Sensitivity (W) = (8.006 x 10-16 W )(1.318)(31.62) = 3.33 x 10-14 W o Sensitivity (dBm) = -121dBm + 1.2dB + 15dB = -104.8dBm Sensitivity decreases when: o Bandwidth increases o Temperature increases o Amplifier introduces more noise

RSS and Receiver Sensitivity

Transmit/propagate chain produces a received signal has some RSS (Received Signal Strength)
o EIRP minus path loss o For example 50dBm EIRP 130 dBm = -80dBm

Receiver chain adds/subtracts to this

o For example, +5dBi antenna gain, 3dB feedline/filter loss -78dBm signal into LNA of receiver?

This must be greater than the sensitivity of the receiver

o If the receiver has sensitivity of -78dBm or lower, the signal is successfully received.

Link Budgets
A Link Budget determines what maximum path loss a system can tolerate o Includes all factors for EIRP, path loss, fade margin, and receiver sensitivity For two-way radio systems, there are two link budgets o Base to mobile (Forward) o Mobile to base (Reverse) The system link budget is limited by the smaller of these two (usually reverse) o Otherwise, mobiles on the margin would have only one-way capability The power of the more powerful direction (usually forward) is reduced so there is no surplus o Saves power and reduces interference with neighbors

Forward/Reverse Link Budget Example

Forward (Base to Mobile)
o Amplifier power o Filter loss o Feedline loss o TX Antenna gain o Path loss o Fade Margin o Vehicle Penetration o RX Antenna gain o Feedline loss 45dBm (2dB) (3dB) 10dBi X (5dB) (12dB) 3dBi (3dB)

Reverse (Mobile to Base) Amplifier power 28dBm Filter loss (1dB) Feedline loss (3dB) TX Antenna gain 3dBi Fade Margin (5dB) Vehicle Penetration (12dB) Path Loss X RX Antenna gain 10dBi Feedline loss (3dB) Signal into bases LNA has strength
17dBm path loss If Base Sensitivity is -105dBm Maximum Path loss = 122dB

Signal into mobiles LNA has strength 33dBm path loss If Mobile Sensitivity is -100dBm
o Maximum Path loss = 133dB

Unbalanced Forward path can tolerate 11dB more loss (distance) than reverse