EC1403 SATELLITE COMMUNICATION UNIT 4: TDMA-(TIME-DIVISION MULTIPLE ACCESS)

In time-division multiple access (TDMA) scheme, only one carrier uses the transponder at any one time, and therefore, intermodulation noise is reduced. This leads to one of the most significant advantages of TDMA, which is that the transponder traveling-wave tube (TWT) can be operated at maximum power output or saturation level.

Fig 1: TDMA using a reference station for burst synchronization Fig. 1 illustrates the basic TDMA concept, in which the earth station transmits bursts sequence. One earth station is assigned only for transmitting reference bursts to which the others can be synchronized. The time interval from the start of one reference burst to the next is termed a frame. A frame contains the reference burst R and the bursts from the other earth stations, as shown as A, B, and C in Fig. 1 Basic Principles Of Burst Transmission

Fig 2: Burst-mode transmission linking two continuous mode streams Fig. 2 illustrates the basic principles of burst transmission for a single channel. Eventhough the transmission is digital, it seems to be continuous because the input and output bit rates are continuous and equal. However, within the transmission channel, input bits are temporarily stored and transmitted in bursts. The time interval between bursts is the frame time TF, the required buffer

capacity is

The stored M bits are transmitted as a burst in the next frame. The transmission time for M bits is known as the burst time TB, and the transmission rate is given by

The burst bit rate (or) burst rate is equal to the transmission rate, but the average bit rate for the burst mode is equal to the input and output rates.

The frame time TF is the time interval between one burst and another. This frame time adds to the propagation delay. Even if propagation delay between transmit and receive buffers is zero, there will be delay equal to the frame time. BASIC UNITS OF A TDMA: Fig. 3 shows some of the basic units in a TDMA ground station.

Fig 3: Some of the basic equipments block in a TDMA system. Transmission: The signals coming into the earth station will have addressed to destination stations, labeled B, C, X. The incoming continuous-bit-rate signals are converted into the intermittent-burst-rate mode by the TIM. Then, the individual burst-mode signals are time-division multiplexed in the timedivision multiplexer (MUX). At the beginning of each burst, particular time slots are used to carry timing and synchronizing information. These time slots collectively are referred to as the preamble. The output of the MUX is given to phase modulator. The radio frequency (rf) carrier is phase modulated by the complete burst with preamble and traffic data. At last, the radio frequency (rf) carrier is transmitted. Reception: In the receiver side, multiplexed burst signals are received and given to phase demodulator. The rf carrier is converted to intermediate frequency (IF), which is then demodulated. The preamble detector provides timing information. Demodulated signal is given to DEMUX block. From the demultiplexer, the signal is given to all the earth stations. A reference burst is required at the beginning of each frame to provide timing information for the acquisition and synchronization of bursts. In INTELSAT system, two reference stations are there. These are known as primary reference stations, one of which is further selected as the master primary. Each primary station has an alternative which is known as secondary reference station. Two reference bursts are transmitted in each frame. The first reference burst, which marks the beginning of a frame, is transmitted by a master primary (or a primary) reference station and contains the timing information needed for the acquisition and synchronization of bursts. The second reference burst, which is transmitted by a secondary reference station, provides synchronization but not acquisition information. The secondary reference burst is ignored by the receiving earth stations unless the primary or master primary station fails. THE REFERENCE BURST: The reference burst indicates the beginning of a frame. It is subdivided into time slots or channels used for various functions as shown in Fig. 4. The reference burst with some of the basic channels that are shown separately in Fig. 5.

Fig 4: Frame and Burst format TDMA system. Guard time (G): A guard time is necessary between bursts to prevent the bursts from overlapping. The guard time will vary from burst to burst depending on the accuracy with which the various bursts can be positioned within each frame. Carrier and bit-timing recovery (CBR): Carrier signal recovery is needed for the coherence of various bursts in a frame. Bit timing recovery is needed for the operation of the sample-and-hold function in the detector circuit. The CBR has two parts in its time slot. During the first part of the CBR time slot, an unmodulated carrier wave is provided for synchronization. In the second part the carrier is modulated by a phase-change sequence for the bit timing recovery. Burst code word (BCW): This is a binary word, also known as a unique word. Each earth station has a copy of BCW and it is compared with the incoming bits in a burst with the stored version of the BCW, to get an accurate time reference for the burst position. Station identification code (SIC): SIC identifies the transmitting station. INTELSAT reference bursts The INTELSAT 2-ms frame, reference burst and preamble are shown in Fig. 5. The additional channels included in the INTELSAT reference bursts are:

Fig 5: (a) Intelsat 2-msframe; (b) composition of the reference burst R; (c) composition of the

preamble P. 1. Coordination and delay channel (CDC): Coordination and delay channel also known as the control and delay channel. This channel carries the identification number of the earth station to be addressed. Also CDC carries various codes for acquisition and synchronization purposes. 2. Telegraph Order-Wire Channel (TTY): TTY is used to provide telegraph communications between earth stations. 3. Service Channel (SC) SC is used to carry various network protocol and alarm messages. 4. Voice-Order-Wire Channel (VOW): VOW: voice-order-wire channel used to provide voice communications between earth stations. Two VOW channels are provided. PREAMBLE AND POSTAMBLE: Preamble: The preamble is the initial portion of a traffic burst. It will not carry any traffic. The information carried by preamble is similar to the reference burst and both may be identical. If not identical the two may differ in the channels provided i.e., the preamble can provide an orderwire (OW) channel. Postamble: In some phase detection systems, some time is allotted before the next burst is received. It is known as decoder quenching. This time slot is known as postamble.