A

PROJECT REPORT

ON

SATELLITE GROUND STATION

Submitted By

RAVI SHANKAR
MANTOO KUMAR SINHA
VAIBHAV MISKEEN
PIYUSH ERANDE
RITESH ANAND

Under the Guidance of

Prof. S. D. JADHAV

DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRONICS AND TELECOMMUNICATION ENGINEERING

BHARATI VIDYAPEETH COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
CBD, SEC 7, BELPADA, NAVI-MUMBAI
UNIVERSITY OF MUMBAI
2009 - 2010

i
 BHARATI VIDYAPEETHS COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
SECTOR 7, C.B.D., NAVI - MUMBAI - 400614

Affiliated to University of Mumbai

DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRONICS AND TELECOMMUNICATION

Certificate

This is to certify that the Project Work entitled

SATELLITE GROUND STATION

Submitted by

RAVI SHANKAR
MANTOO KUMAR SINHA
VAIBHAV MISKEEN
PIYUSH ERANDE

Students of B E. Electronics and Telecommunication Engineering

during the academic year
2009 - 2010.

This Project embodies the work carried out by the candidate,

Towards the partial fulfilment of Bachelor degree
Electronics and Telecommunication Engineering conferred by the
University of Mumbai

.................................... ...................................... ..................................

Prof. S. D. Jadhav Prof. P. A. Kharade Dr. D. P. Mishra
Project Guide H.O.D. EXTC Principal
B.V.C.O.E

................................... ........................... ....................................

Internal Examiner College Seal External Examiner

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i

iii
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

While preparing this Report we received endless help from number of people. This report
would be incomplete if we dont convey our sincere thanks to all those who were involved.

First and foremost we would like to take this opportunity to thank Aerospace
Engineering,IIT,Bombay for involving us in to their PRATHAM SATELLITE project as
ground station team and rendering all whenever we needed it.

We are grateful beyond words to our H.O.D, Prof. P.A.Kharade Department of Electronics
and Telecommunication Engineering for being so generous to us with his support and wise
words in spite of his busy schedule.

We are indebted to the project guide Prof.S.D. Jadhav for his invaluable guidance and
appreciation for giving form and substance to this report. It is due to his enduring efforts;
patience and enthusiasm, which has given a sense of direction and purposefulness to this
project and ultimately made it a success.

We also thank Mr.Jhonny Santosh Jha and Saptarshi Bandopadhyay (project managers,
Pratham IIT-B satellite) for necessary guidance and assistance whenever we needed and
associates in spite of their busy schedule for us to carry out the project. Their help and
cooperation are gratefully acknowledged.

We would like to tender our sincere thanks Prof. S.N. Kadam (Mechanical department) for
helping us in antenna mounting design and rotation mechanism. We also very grateful to Mr.
D.M. Wankhede (workshop dept.) and Mr.Pujari (Lab assistance) for their support during
our antenna fabrication work.

Last but not the least we owe our thanks to all the staff of our Electronics &
Telecommunication department, who have helped us directly or indirectly. We would like to
express our heartfelt words for all these people without them the concept of this project was a
far-fetched dream.

Ravi Shankar
Mantoo Kumar Sinha
Vaibhav Miskeen
Piyush Erande

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 INTRODUCTION

The IIT Bombay Student Satellite Project is a landmark project taken up by IIT Bombay
students. The objective of this project is to make IIT Bombay a respected centre for
advancement in Satellite and Space Technology in the world. The project aims at launching
at least 5 satellites within the next few years. These Satellites could be test-beds for new
technology that is being developed in the institute and need space qualification.

'Pratham' is the first satellite under this project. The plan is to build a fully functional
microsatellite in less than two years which would then be launched by ISRO. This is entirely
a student initiative with mentorship provided by ISRO scientists and IIT Bombay Faculty.
The satellite will fit in a 30*30*30 cm cube and will weigh less than 15 kg. The satellite will
be launched probably in mid 2010 .The project will be involving students from other
universities in the Satellite mission by building ground stations in the respected universities
and enabling students and faculty to gain knowledge and experience in the field of Satellite
and Space technology and also to empowering the Satellite Team with the skills to develop

1
the Satellite through various phases of Design, Analysis, Fabrication and Testing until the
Flight Model is made.

'Pratham' has a four-fold mission statement:

Enabling students and faculty to gain knowledge and experience in the field of
Satellite and Space technology.
Empowering the Satellite Team with the skills to develop the Satellite through various
phases of Design, Analysis, Fabrication and Testing until the Flight Model is made.
Launching the satellite into orbit and measuring Total Electron Count of the
Ionosphere.
Involving students from other universities in our Satellite mission by building ground
stations in their universities.

For the relevance of the satellite to the student community, they will be transmitting
satellite data when the satellite passes over India so that any interested university with
a small ground station will not only be able to detect the beacon signal from the
satellite but will also be able to measure TEC above their ground station. This is
proposed to spread awareness among the student community about this exciting field.

The various contributors behind this project are.

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)

ISRO Satellite Centre (ISAC)
Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC)
Industrial Research And Consulting Centre (IRCC) IITB.
Centre for Distance Engineering Education Programme (CDEEP) IITB
Aerospace Engineering Association (AEA) IITB
Society for Applied Microwave Electronics Engineering and Research
(SAMEER)
Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR)
Boeing India Ltd.\

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 BACKGROUND

The challenge to build a Student Satellite was taken up by two Aerospace Department
students namely Saptarshi Bandyopadhyay and Shashank Tamaskar, around July 2007. The
feasibility of the concept was proved to the Aerospace Department, which agreed to support
the team in this initiative. During September October 2007, a team was chosen from
amongst the students spanning various departments and batches. During December 2008, the
team worked together and understood some of the essentials that were required for a project
of this magnitude. Work on the Satellite began in full earnest from January 2008. In
February, the project-managers and team leaders of all Sub-Systems went to ISAC (ISRO
Satellite Center) Bangalore, where they interacted with Raghava Murthy (Project Director,
Small Satellite Project) and his team of engineers who reviewed our progress. Finally after
months of debating and reviewing, the Payload for our first Satellite was chosen to be Total
Electron Count of the Ionosphere, around May 2008.

During the Summer Vacations (May-July, 2008), the team worked on the Conceptual Design
of the Satellite which culminated in the Conceptual Design Review (CDR) held within IIT
Bombay on 31st July 2008, which was attended by a number of faculty members. Then the
entire team of 33 students went to ISAC in August for the project CDR. It was attended by Dr
Raghava Murthy and other Project Directors and Engineers. The team was lauded for the
work done so far and suggestions were givn for improvement. The next milestone for the
Satellite project is the Preliminary Design Review.

The project is under the aegis of the Aerospace Department, but is truly an institute level
project as the work involves many other departments like Electrical, Mechanical, etc. About
20 faculty members belonging to Aerospace, Electrical, Mechanical and Computer Science
Departments are involved with the project. Although 'Pratham' is a student initiative, the team
leader for Pratham is Prof. Sudhakar from Aerospace Engineering Department.

All through the project, a lot of emphasis has been given to documentation of the work.
Detailed descriptions of the methodology and the results of the work done by the team have
been included in the documentation. The Requirements Capture Report was written during
the months of March May 2008. The Conceptual Design Report was written after the
Conceptual Design was finalised in July 2008.

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 TIMELINE OF THE PROJECT AT IIT-B

The project has been divided into 4 phases:

Phase I: Conceptual Designing (Dec 07-Aug 08)

The phase began with a 1 month project on functional decomposition, defining interfaces,
building components and sythesising the system in December 2007. This was a training
ground where we learnt that satellite making is a tricky business and importance of working
as a team.

In Feburary the team went on a trip to ISAC Banglore where we interacted with Dr.
Raghavmurthy and his team of system engineers who reviewed our progress. This trip made
us realise the importance of system integration and documentation for our project.
Over the next two months we spe nt many hours debating over the feasibility of our payload
At the same time the team continued to learn the intricacies of the individual subsystems.
In the month of April and May we had extensive reviews of our work and we finally
converged onto a payload.

Phase II: Preliminary Design (Sep 08-Dec 09)

This is the next step in any design process after the payload has been identified and its
requirements from various subsystems known.

This is where we fix what components go into making individual subsystems.

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Phase III: Detailed Design (Dec 09-June 10)

Once we procure various components and have a hands on experience with them we will
enter into the detailed design phase. In this phase we will be dealing with various nitty-gritty
details on each of the components and how to join them together to make a prototype model.

Phase IV: Testing Phase (July 10-Launch)

This is when each of the components will be tested many times and in all possible ways until
we are sure that the satellite is capable of handling conditions found in space. The satellite
will undergo various tests in this phase - ThermoVac tests, Radiation tests, Vibration tests etc
to ensure the robustness of various components.

Fig: representation of a student satellite.

Finally when the satellite is fully tested in all ranges & conditions, it will be handed over to
ISRO which launch it successfully in its orbit

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 PARTICIPATIONS ACROSS INDIA

Team Pratham feels that the entire country should benefit by the knowledge and experience
that the team has gained while going to the satellite building process. They propose to share
their knowledge by making other universities to participate in the field of satellite
technology. For this purpose different universities across india are participating in this
project. They can establish their own ground station that will track the satellite and receive
the telemetry data from the IITB satellite named PRATHAM .

So, for that purpose around 8 universities have participated in the purpose for making their
individual ground station in their respective universities, & tracking & receiving signals from
the satellite. This will motivate the participating students and get them interested in satellite
technology.

The 8 participating universities are:

Thapar University, Patiala

Saveetha Engineering College, Chennai
Faculty of Engineering Technology, Saveetha University, Chennai
Atharva Engineering College, Mumbai
BVCOE, Navi Mumbai
BIT Mesra, Extension centre Jaipur
GGTIM, Bhopal
Jiwaji University, Gwalior

IIT-B kept all the participating teams updated by organising workshops from time to time. In
these workshops all the teams were described about their tasks & details regarding the tasks.
Here everybody got an opportunity to interact with each other and share their experiences.

6
 WORKSHOP DETAILS

The First Ground Station workshop, conducted on 12th October, 2008 at IITB, which was
to enable students to learn the technology of making a ground station. Through these
workshops, student teams will be able to make a working low cost ground station (<25,000
Rs) capable of receiving signals and data from the satellite. Around 8 universities participated
in this workshop.

The basic agenda of the workshop is given below:

Communication Work and Requirements

Beacon

Telemetry

Link Budget

General Decision

Ground Station

The Second Ground Station workshop was conducted on 22nd August, 2009 at IITB. It
dealt with simulation and design of Ground station crossed Yagi- Uda antennae using 4NEC2
software.

There was a brief overview of the satellite project in the workshop which consisted of:
Brief introduction by Ms. Haripriya.
Followed by an introduction to crossed Yagis by Mr. Jhonny Jha in the morning
session.
Mr. Saptarshi Bandyopadhyaya gave a brief talk on "failure modes" in the afternoon
session.
Followed by simulation and optimization of crossed Yagis which was taken up by Ms.
Deepika Thakur of the Communication and Ground station subsystem.

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 BVCOE GROUND STATION

Various universities across India are making student ground station .All ground station teams will be
establishing one of the ground station in their campus which will receive the telemetry data from IIT-
B PRATHAM satellite.
For the relevance of the satellite to the student community, it will be transmitting satellite data
when the satellite passes over India so that any respected university with a small ground station will
not only be able to detect the beacon signal from the satellite but will also be able to measure TEC
above their ground station. Here comes the role of our ground station. BVCOE ground station team
will be establishing one of the ground station in the campus which will receive the telemetry data
from IIT-B PRATHAM satellite .We are establishing our ground station at the roof of the Bharati
Vidyapeeth College of engineering exactly above our ADC (Advance Communication) lab.

It all started when some of our team members visited IIT-B for electrical department technical fest
AAGOMANI. There they attended a seminar which gave them the idea of the project. We liked the
whole concept of the project so, decided to go for it .After that we used to attend workshops ,
where we were told about the various tasks according to which we had to do the work step by step.

8
The main objectives of our project are:

To establish two independent crossed yagi antenna at 437 & 145 Mhz in BVCOE
campus.
The data collected from ground station will be used in measuring TEC of ionosphere
& further in making the TEC map of India.
Data can also be used in radio astronomy.
Demonstrate the setup and principles of satellite communication & antennas to the
present as well as future batches.
Create a background for students wherein in future networking with other universities
is also possible.
Involving juniors from our department in the project of building the ground station.
Sharing knowledge within our institute in the field of satellite communication &
antenna designing.
Gaining knowledge & experience through this project in the field of antenna
designing & satellite communication.
This ground station will be extra equipment in EXTC Dept. lab.
To make the BVCOE, Navi Mumbai a respected centre in field of student satellite
communication technology.

With this goal in mind we four students from EXTC department are working on this project.
The BVCOE Ground station project is a dream of the students of our department. We hope to
see the working ground station that is which can receive the data from the PRATHRAM IITB
satellite by the end of this year.

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 BASIC CONCEPTS OF OUR GROUND STATION

Ground station technology

Fig 2: Relation between Space segment, Ground station and Data User

Above is shown the basic relationship diagram between the three segments involved
in the project. The data user is the IIT Bombay team, ground station team is ours & various
other teams across India & space segment is the Pratham satellite.

As the ground station team our main objective will be to receive the mission signal
that is the telemetry and the mission data from the IIT-B satellite Pratham which will be
launched by end of 2010. The objective of data user will be receiving the mission data from
the ground station teams & processing the data from further examination.

A ground station is basically an earth based point of communication with the space
segment. They are our source of interaction with the satellite; hence play an important part
for any satellite related operation and it is very important to have a very good communication
link between the ground station and the satellite/space segment. Usually a ground
segment/ground system involves following tasks.

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 Tracking and determine the position of satellite orbit
Telemetry operation to acquire and record satellite data and status
Controlling operation to determine orbital parameters,to schedule all satellite
passes and to monitor and load the on-board computer
Data processing operations to present all the engineering and the scientific
data in formats required for the successful progress of the mission.
Voice and data links to the other worldwide ground station and processing
centres

Normally a ground segment can be divided into 4 main components.

Hardware
Software
People
Operations

a) Software:
There are mainly three different software used in the different ground station
operations .
Pre-pass software
Real time software
Post pass software

Pre pass software:

These are the software which are required in advance to the pass of the spacecraft.

Determination and prediction of the orbit of the satellite.

Observation planning and scheduling.
Command list generation and simulation.

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 Nova for windows software , win orbit software and virtual ground station
are used as pre pass software to determine the satellite AOS,LOS, Azimuth and
Elevation angles.

Real time software:

These are the software which are required when the satellite is visible to the ground
station. This includes the antenna tracking software, computer control software, command
and data control software, nova for windows, win orbit software and virtual ground station
to determine the satellite crossing angles according to satellite position.

GMS (ground station management software) is used to control the radio & antenna
autonomously according to satellite position. Pre packet pro to decode packet from satellite
downlink. The ham scope & cwGET to decode the cw beacon from downlink.

Fig : satellite tracking software ineterface.

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 Post pass software:

These are the software that are required for housekeeping , quality control, health
assesement, data processing and orbit determination for data analysis.

b) Hardware:

Basically the hardware consists of antennas, rotors, transceivers, computer, power supplies,
peripherals, data recorders etc.

Fig 4: A basic Ground station Configuration.

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People:

In a commercial ground station people are involved in many different areas of

responsibilities however in a student ground station like ours all the operations are carried out
by few staff members and the group of students.

Operations:

This is the part that brings the hardware, software & the people unit of the project
together. It is the fundamental human unit that integrates the mission software and hardware
into an effective routine process.

Fig : Block diagram of operations

Finally all the units come together under one roof and work in sync with each other to make the
ground station work properly.

Fig : A pictorial representation of a basic groundstation lab.

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 TIMELINE

Our project work is based on the various tasks which we have performed according to our
projects time line. The description of timeline and various tasks performed is given as
follows:

TASK SUBTASK DATED

Started the project with 20-03-09

1ST TASK permission of our HOD.
a) Studied basic antenna 23-03-09 to 30-03-09
parameters.
b) Studied basic YAGI- 01-04-09 to 07-04-09
UDA & its design
parameters.
c) Studied details of NEC 09-04-09 to 15-04-09
(numerical
electromagnetic code)
software.
d) Designed YAGIUDA 18-04-09 to 27-04-09
antenna with specified
parameters using NEC &
sending the obtained
output to IIT-B.
e) Studying about TEC in 30-04-09 to 3-05-09
Ionosphere.
nd
Antenna Fabrication from 25-08-09 to 25-02-2010.
2 TASK
the verified parameters.
rd
Characterization of 10-03-2010 to 5-04-2010.
3 TASK
fabricated antenna.

th
Designing of mounting 10-04-2010 to present
4 TASK
interface for antennae's
using stepper motor.

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 th
Studying of analog 10-04-2010 to present
5 TASK
polarization measurement
set-up & its installation.
FINAL TASK Installation of the full October-November 2010.
ground station & showing
its working.

Now the various tasks will be explained one by one which will give a brief idea of the work
which we have done till now and how it has been done, in accordance with the timeline.

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 1st TASK

The first task which involved the understanding the basic concepts is given as follows.

Design a Yagi antenna having following characteristics:-

1) Frequency = 437 MHz
2) Gain = 10 dB approx.

Steps to complete this task:-

Read general concepts of antenna and Yagi antenna from Antenna Theory:
Analysis
And Design" by Constantine A. Balanis. Chapter #1, #2 and a chapter on Yagi
antenna.

Download software nec2 (open source) and learn to simulate a Yagi antenna.

Validate the parameters obtained from simulation with us or some of your

professors

Construct a Yagi antenna with the help of your parameters.

We started with the first task by getting a basic idea about the basic antenna parameters
which we may come to use during the process of our project. The details about all the
parameters are given as follows.

Basic Antenna Parameters

Polarization

SWR(Standing wave ratio)

Antenna Bandwidth

Impedance

Directivity Of Antenna and Beamwidth

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 Radiation pattern

Gain Of The Antenna

One by one we will explain the parameters and their importance in the designing.

Polarization

Polarization is a property of certain types of waves that describes the orientation of their
oscillations. By convention, the polarization of light is described by specifying the orientation
of the wave's electric field at a point in space over one period of the oscillation. It can be
basically defined as the orientation of the electric field vector with respect to the earths
magnetic field.

Mainly there are two kinds of polarization:

1. Linear polarization:

When the direction of propagation of electric field vector is perpendicular to the

earths magnetic field then it is linearly polarised.

Here E-field vector exist in a single plane(vertical or horizontal).

2. Circular polarization

Signal having two plane waves of equal amplitude but differ in phase by 90 degree.

In our case we will be dealing with linearly polarized electromagnetic waves.

SWR (Standing Wave Ratio):

Measurement of efficiency of antenna system regarding power radiation.

Mathematically:

VSWR = Vmax / Vmin

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 VSWR = Zo / ZL ( Zo > ZL )

VSWR = ZL / Zo ( ZL > Zo)

VSWR = ( PF + PR )/ (PF - PR )

In our antenna we need SWR as close to one as possible.

Antenna Bandwidth

Pass band bandwidth is the difference between the upper and lower cutoff frequencies of,
for example, an electronic filter, a communication channel, or a signal spectrum

Range of frequency over which antenna can be used to obtain a specified level of
performance with good efficiency.

Our ground station is working at center frequencies of 145 MHz & 437 MHz .

Antenna Impedance:

Ratio of the voltage to current at any given point of antenna.

It may be either resistive or complex depending on operating frequency.

In our antenna impedance should be near to (200+0j) .

Directivity and Beam width:

Directivity is defined by direction to the radiation intensity averaged over all directions.

A more general expression of directivity includes sources with radiation patterns as functions
of spherical coordinate angles and .

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Where A is the beam solid angle and is defined as the solid angle in which if the antenna
radiation intensity is constant, all power would flow through it. In the case of antennas with
one narrow major lobe and very negligible minor lobes, the beam solid angle can be
approximated as the product of the half-power beam widths in 2 perpendicular planes.

Property to exhibit directive effect (i.e. radiate more power in some particular
direction).

Directivity is defined as a measure that takes into account only the directional
properties of the antenna and therefore it is only influenced by the antenna pattern.

Figure of merit of power radiated.

Fig: beam width of antenna.

Radiation Pattern:

Graphical Representation of the intensity of the radiation plotted against angle.

Major part of signals radiated and received are through main lobe.

Side lobes usually attract spurious noise.

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 Fig: radiation pattern of a yagi.

Gain of the Antenna:

Antenna gain relates the intensity of an antenna in a given direction to the intensity that
would be produced by a hypothetical ideal antenna that radiates equally in all directions
(isotropically) and has no losses. Since the radiation intensity from a lossless isotropic
antenna equals the power into the antenna divided by a solid angle of 4 steradians, we can
write the following equation:

Although the gain of an antenna is directly related to its directivity, the antenna gain is a
measure that takes into account the efficiency of the antenna as well as its directional
capabilities.

Combination of directivity and efficiency w.r.t a reference antenna (an isotropic one).

We are designing antenna for 10dB gain.

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 Fig: an example showing antenna gain pattern.

This was all about the details of the 1st subtask of the 1st task. Now we go into details of the
next subtask that is studying the basics of Yagi uda antenna and its various design
parameters.

YAGI-UDA ANTENNA

GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF A YAGI

The word "Yagi" is used to describe a type of antenna and is credited to very famous
Japanese antenna experts by the names of Yagi and Uda! Most hams refer to this type of
antenna as the "Yagi" rather than use both men's names.

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They discovered (1954) that by adding "elements of various lengths and spacings in front
of and behind a dipole antenna that the performance and effectiveness of the dipole could be
greatly increased and the pattern of the dipole rf energy could be "beamed" or focused in one
direction, with the resulting "effect" of making it appear that the transmitter was running lots
more power than it actually was, yielding much stronger signals both on receive and transmit!
. It is usually used at frequencies between about 30MHz and 3GHz, or a wavelength range of
10 metres to 10 cm.

A Yagi-Uda Antenna, commonly known simply as a Yagi antenna or Yagi, is a directional

antenna system consisting of an array of a dipole and additional closely coupled parasitic
elements (usually a reflector and one or more directors). The dipole in the array is driven, and
another element, typically 5% longer, effectively operates as a reflector. Other parasitic
elements shorter than the dipole may be added in front of the dipole and are referred to as
directors. This arrangement increases antenna directionality and gain in the preferred
direction over a single dipole. Directional antennas such as the Yagi-Uda are commonly
referred to as beam antennas or high-gain antennas. Yagi-Uda antennas are widely used by
amateur radio operators for communication on frequencies from short wave, through
VHF/UHF, and into microwave bands. The bandwidth of a Yagi-Uda antenna, which is
usually defined as the frequency range for which the antenna provides a good match to the
transmission line to which it is attached, is determined by the length, diameter and spacing of
the elements. For most designs bandwidth is typically only a few percent of the design
frequency.

THE ELEMENTS OF A YAGI

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THE DRIVEN ELEMENT

The driven element of a Yagi is the feed point where the feed line is attached from the
transmitter to the Yagi to perform the transfer of power from the transmitter to the antenna.
A dipole driven element will be "resonant" when its electrical length is 1/2 of the wavelength
of the frequency applied to its feed point. Feed point is on the centre of the driven element.

THE DIRECTOR

The director/s is the shortest of the parasitic elements and this end of the Yagi is aimed at the
receiving station. It is resonant slightly higher in frequency than the driven element, and its
length will be about 5% shorter, progressively than the driven element.

The director/s length/s can vary, depending upon the director spacing, the number of directors
used in the antenna, the desired pattern, pattern bandwidth and element diameter. The number
of directors that can be used are determined by the physical size (length) of the supporting
boom needed by your design.

24
The director/s are used to provide the antenna with directional pattern and gain.
The amount of gain is directly proportional to the length of the antenna array and not by the
number of directors used. The spacing of the directors can range from .1 wavelength to .5
wavelength or more and will depend largely upon the design specifications of the antenna.

THE REFLECTOR

The reflector is the element that is placed at the rear of the driven element (The dipole). Its
resonant frequency is lower, and its length is approximately 5% longer than the driven
element. Its length will vary depending on the spacing and the element diameter. The spacing
of the reflector will be between .1 wavelengths and .25 wavelengths. Its spacing will depend
upon the gain, bandwidth, F/B ratio, and side lobe pattern requirements of the final antenna
design.

BANDWIDTH AND IMPEDANCE

The impedance of an element is its value of pure resistance at the feed point plus any
reactance (capacitive or inductive) that is present at that feed point. Of primary importance
here is the impedance of the driven element, the point on the antenna where the transfer of rf
from the feed line takes place.Maximum energy transfer of rf at the design frequency occurs
when the impedance of the feed point is equal to the impedance of the feed line. In most
antenna designs, the feed line impedance will be 50 ohms, but usually the feed point
impedance of the Yagi is rarely 50 ohms. In most cases it can vary from approximately 40
ohms to around 10 ohms, depending upon the number of elements, their spacing and the
antenna's pattern bandwidth. If the feed line impedance does not equal the feed point
impedance, the driven element cannot transfer the rf energy effectively from the transmitter,
thus reflecting it back to the feed line resulting in a Standing Wave Ratio. Because of this,
impedance matching devices are highly recommended for getting the best antenna
performance.

25
 The impedance bandwidth of the driven element is the range of frequencies above and below
the centre design frequency of the antenna that the driven elements feed point will accept
maximum power (rf), from the feed line. The design goal is to have the reactance at the
centre design frequency of the Yagi = (0). (j + 0).
The impedance matching device will now operate at its optimum bandwidth. Wide element
spacing, large element diameter, wide pattern bandwidth, and low "Q" matching systems will
all add to a wider impedance bandwidth.

Yagi-Uda Antenna Design

Theoretical limits for a Yagi-Uda antenna are generally specified in most antenna theory
books. However to get the desired radiation pattern for the specific purpose of a radio
telescope is somewhat more of a trial and error process through the use of a simulation
package. This is due to the fact that antennas have various applications and an extensive
difference in the radiation pattern that needs to be produced.

The design parameters that affect the results of the simulation are:

the length of the driven element,

the length of the reflector and directors,
the spacing between all elements,
the diameter of all elements, and
the number of extra parasitic elements.

Table I. Optimal Lengths for Yagi-Uda Elements, for Distinct Boom Lengths

d=0.0085
Boom Length of Yagi-Uda Array (in )
SR=0.2

0.4 0.8 1.2 2.2 3.2 4.2

26
R 0.482 0.482 0.482 0.482 0.482 0.475

D1 0.442 0.428 0.428 0.432 0.428 0.424

D2 0.424 0.420 0.415 0.420 0.424

D3 0.428 0.420 0.407 0.407 0.420

D4 0.428 0.398 0.398 0.407

D5 0.390 0.394 0.403

D6 0.390 0.390 0.398

D7 0.390 0.386 0.394

D8 0.390 0.386 0.390

D9 0.398 0.386 0.390

D10 0.407 0.386 0.390

D11 0.386 0.390

D12 0.386 0.390

D13 0.386 0.390

D14 0.386

D15 0.386

Spacing
between
0.20 0.20 0.25 0.20 0.20 0.308
directors,

(SD/ )

Gain (dB) 9.25 11.35 12.35 14.40 15.55 16.35

Consider the table published in "Yagi Antenna Design" by P Viezbicke from the National
Bureau of Standards, 1968, given in Table I. Note that the "boom" is the long element that the
directors, reflectors and feed elements are physically attached to, and dictates the length of
the antenna.

We took the help of the above table for taking the geometrical parameters of antenna. We
cross checked the result by using the antenna maker software which is a dos based software
for designing the parameters of an Yagi. This is the next step of the task which is up next.

27
Now next subtask was to go for the designing of the antenna. For the designing purpose we
used various simulation software for obtaining the geometrical parameters of the antennas.
The rest is explained as follows.

28
NEC2 (Numerical Electromagnetic code)

Simulation of Yagi Antenna through NEC2 software

And

Antenna maker software

29
 DOS-Antenna maker Software

Before implementing the NEC2(Numerical Electromagnetic code) to design our antenna we

first implemented DOS-Antenna maker software because this software was very useful for us
in using NEC2 software, since we got a rough idea about the geometrical structure of
yagi antenna by this DOS Software for required parameter(Gain=10dB at center frequency
=437MHz) In NEC2 software ,we inputted all Geometrical parameter(like Length of
elements , Spacing between elements) of yagi antenna.

Since there is no any options for optimization so this is the main reason of not using the result
of this software for simulating our antenna. Because there will be problem in getting
optimized values. we only used this software for getting a rough idea about geometrical
parameter so that we can input these values in NEC2 software thats it .

This software is very easy to implement, here we have to mainly input three parameters-

1. Center frequency of antenna on which we want to design.

2. No. of elements according to our required gain.
3. Diameter of the element.

After entering these all above three value we can get the result. The main input interface and
output results of this software is given below as specified step wise.

30
DESIGN:

31
32
OUTPUT:

Length of elements:

33
Spacing between elements:

Using this we got all the required geometrical parameters which we simulated using the NEC
2 simulation software which is described as next.

34
 NEC (Numerical Electromagnetic Code)

Introduction:-

The Numerical Electromagnetic code (NEC-2) is a computer code for analyzing the
electromagnetic response of an arbitrary structure consisting of wires and surfaces in free
space or over a ground plane. The analysis is accomplished by the numerical solution of
integral equations for induced currents. The excitation may be an incident plane wave or a
voltage source on a wire, while the output may include current and charge density, electric or
magnetic field in the vicinity of the structure, and radiated fields.

The Numerical Electromagnetic Code (NEC-2) is a user-oriented computer code for

analysis of the electromagnetic response of antennas and other metal structures. It is built
around the numerical solution of integral equations for the currents induced on the structure
by sources or incident fields. This approach avoids many of the simplifying assumptions
required by other solution methods and provides a highly accurate and versatile tool for
electromagnetic analysis. The code combines an integral equation for smooth surfaces with
one specialized for wires to provide for convenient and accurate modeling of a wide range of
structures.

The excitation may be either voltage sources on the structure or an incident plane
wave of linear or elliptic polarization. The output may include induced currents and charges,
near electric or magnetic fields, and radiated fields. Hence, the program is suited to either
antenna analysis or scattering and EMP studies. The integral equation approach is best suited
to structures with dimensions up to several wavelengths. Although there is no theoretical size
limit, the numerical solution requires a matrix equation of increasing order as the structure
size is increased relative to wavelength. Hence, modeling very practical on a particular
machine. In such cases standard high-frequency approximations such as geometrical optics,
physical optics, or geometrical theory of diffraction may be more suitable than the integral
equation approach used in NEC-2.

35
Simulation of any antenna through NEC2 software mainly consists of
following steps:-

1. Creating geometrical structure of an antenna

2. Creating Electrical environment for antenna

3. Run the program

4. Optimization

1. Creating geometrical structure of an antenna

As we know that yagi antenna only consist of wire geometry, there is no any surface or solid
geometrical structure in it.so we are only concentrated about wire geometry.

Wire modeling :-

A wire segment is defined by the co-ordinates of its two end points and its radius.

Create an antenna model using 'Geometry

Using Inch and Feet as the basic length unit....

specify 'Geometry Edit' as the preferred Edit method using the 'Settings'
Menu on the 'Main' window
Furthermore select 'Feet' as the length-unit and 'Inch/Awg'
As the 'radius-unit' using this same 'Settings' menu, as follows.
When done, select 'Edit -> Input-file' on the 'Main' window or use the <F6> key to
start 'Geometry-edit'. A picture of the selected example file is displayed.
If not already set, select 'Options -> Set Segmentation -> Medium' on the Edit
window to set medium segmentation density

36
 Fig: settings for geometry edit.

To create a new model, Select 'File -> New' on the Edit-window. As shown in fig below.

37
2. Creating Electrical environment for antenna

For creating electrical environment we should go through following steps

Setting design frequency

Add new wire(s)
Add feed/transmission-line(s)
Add voltage source
Add wire-conductivity
Specify ground parameters
Run NEC-engine and create far-field pattern
Setting center frequency

Fig: Options available in geometry edit window to create the electrical environment.

Now one by one each step is explained below in details with examples.

38
 Setting design frequency

When starting a new model, initially on the lower right, frequency 'data' is displayed. This
because one of the first things we will have to do is specifying the antenna design-frequency.
Enter frequency (MHz) in the 'frequency' text-box on the right part of the window. When
entered, click the 'wire' button on top of the window (the one with the single line in it). Notice
the grid-size changing from .025 to .5 feet, corresponding to about half a wavelength for the
window-width. Furthermore the default 3D-display view is now set to 2 dimensional XZ
plane. (The Y-axis is pointing backwards)

Add new wire(s)

To start adding a new wire, click the 'Add' button. The mouse-pointer changes to across-
hair, indicating 'Add-mode' is activated. The Y-position text-box on the right is now
highlighted. If required you can specify a certain 'depth' position, but for now we will stay in
the XZ-plane for an Y-position equal zero. When you will try to locate a mouse-pointer
position for eg. the height Z equals 70 feet, you shouldn't succeed, because the grid-size is too
small to cover a Z position of 70 feet.

First increase grid-size to 1 feet by clicking on the left arrow for the 'Zoom' scroll-bar. When
done, point somewhere inside the picture-box (that part of the window where the antenna
structure is displayed), hold down the right mouse-buttonand move the X-axis to almost at
the bottom of the picture-box. Now you should be able to locate a position for which Z equals
70 feet somewhere in the upper region of the picture-box.

Because we want to create a line at Z=70 feet with a length of 33.7 feet we will have to locate
a point for which Z = 70 and X = -33.7/2 = 16.85 feet. However, because the 'Snap to grid'
box is checked you won't succeed in this. For now we will locate a position for which X
equals -17 feet. To start drawing the wire, click and hold down the left mouse-button and
drag the mouse-pointer to the second position for which Z=70 and X=17 feet, then release the
mouse-button. Because this is the first wire added to the model, a pop-up window is
displayed asking for the initial/default wire diameter. Use the value which you want to. On
the right of the picture-box all data belonging to this wire is listed. You can edit the end-1 or
end-2 coordinates text-boxes to further refine the end positions. You will also notice that the
number of segments is set to 25, corresponding to 'medium segmentation'.

39
Note:-Next we will have to add the feedline. But, before doing so we need some knowledge about
how wires are identified in Nec-2/4. All wires are assigned a unique tag-nr. Mostly the tag-number
equals the wire-number. Ater delete, copy or paste operations however this sequence may have
changed. Tag-numbers should still be unique. You may use 'Resequence tag-numbers' in the 'Option'
menu to make tag numbers equal to the corresponding wire-numbers again.

Each voltage/current-source, transmission-line or RLC-load (see below) is 'assigned 'to a wire using
this unique tag-number. To specify the position of the source, TR-line or load on the specified wire a
segment-number between 1 and the nr-of-segments for the wire is used. Using Geometry-edit these
tag- and segment-numbers are automatically assigned. It is allowed to change these number
manually. When doing so please note how these tag- and segment-numbers are used within Nec-2/4.

Add feed/transmission-line(s)

Adding/creating a transmission-line is done by clicking the 'TR-line' button (the one with
the ladder picture). If not in 'Add-mode', click the 'Add' button to start adding a new Tr-line.
Locate the mouse-pointer on the middle of the first wire and click and hold down your left
mouse-button and move the mouse-pointer to the middle of the second wire. When reached
release the mouse-button. When positioning was not too rude a new transmission-line is now
added. If not, try again. Note also that we did not take the velocity-factor into account, we
just used an electrical length.

Add voltage source

To prevent loosing the changes, backup the model using 'File->Save as' and choose a folder-
and file-name for your new model.The next thing to do is add a voltage-source. While still in
Add-mode, click the 'Source button' (right of the 'Wire button'). Next click and hold down
your left mouse-button somewhere in the picture-box. At the current mouse-pointer position a
new source-object is displayed. Drag the source-object to the middle of the second wire, just
between the two lower wires-ends of the feedline and release the mouse-button. When
properly positioned a new source is now added. If not try again. For now we will set a default
voltage-source of 1+j0 volt (1V @ 0 deg.) Select the 'pointer' button to switch back to select-
mode mode. The mouse-pointer changes to the default arrow-pointer indicating 'Select-
mode' is active.

40
 Add wire-conductivity

We use aluminum wire for our antenna, so we will have to include this in our model
(the default is perfect wire with zero losses). To do this, click the 'Loading button' (the one
with the RLC symbols), click somewhere in the picture-box and drag the new load-object to
any place on the first (upper) wire and release the mouse button. The new load-object is now
'connected' to the first wire.

The default load however is a lumped load. To change this to distributed/wire-load,

change the 'Par-RLC' selection for the Load-data on the right of the screen to 'Wire-ld'. The
box shape on the first wire should now have changed to a red line segment. The initial
conductivity is set to 10000 mho/m. Change this to 'Aluminum' by using the 'G (mho/m)'
selection-box on the right of the picture. To specify wire-conductivity for the whole structure,
first change from 'spot load' to 'single-wire' (see lower right) . Notice how the whole wire
becomes 'wire-loaded'.

Next change to Whole struct'. The 'Wire-conductivity' is not visible any more. This
would not deliver us additional information because the whole structure is now loaded (both
wires). To enable wire-loading display for the complete structure use 'Option > Show wire
loading' .For now we have added all required objects. Switch back to 'Select-mode'.

3.Run NEC-engine and create far-field pattern.

To run the NEC-engine and evaluate your model, click the 'Run Nec-engine' button

(the one with the calculator picture) or push <F7>. A new pop-up window is displayed asking
you for additional settings. To create a full 3D far-field pattern, select the second option 'far-
field pattern', specify 'Full' and a 5 degree resolution. Then click <Generate>.If the DirectX
based version of 4nec2 is installed, push <F9> to visualize the new antenna-structure Select
'Pattern' or push the 'R' key to see the 3D far-field pattern. You can return back to your model
by pushing <F6> or clicking the 'Geometry-edit' window. You may alter your model (e.g. set
to 'Free-space') and recalculate to see the results of your changes.

41
After running NEC-engine we will get un-optimize result which is shown below.

Fig: unoptimized result and radiation pattern.

As the above results are un-optimize(not up to desired level),desired result was as follows

Impedence=( 200+0j) Ohm

SWR=4
Gain=approx 10dB

Which we did not get, so we can not start fabrication of antenna with this results, we need to
go through a further process called optimization to get the optimized values (above mention
desired result).

4. Optimization

Optimization is the process in which we convert geometrical parameters of antenna in to

variables ,and we keep changing the variable by the help of this(NEC) software till we not get
our desired result.

Its consist of the following steps :-

Create variable

42
 Open optimizer window & select variables
Set priority
Start optimization

Create variable

After running the NEC,we can open Nec-output file in notepad as shown below,it is special
4nec2 "SY" cards are included. With this card it is possible to specify
symbols(VARIABLES), constants or mathematical expressions (equations)..

Here the first column is for wire tag no., second is for no of segment in corresponding wire
tag , next six columns are for the two end co-ordinates(x1,y1,z1 and x2,y2,z2) and last
column is for radius of each wire. As we can not set wire tag no and the corresponding
segment no as variable so we need to create only 7 variables.

We have given symbols as fl, rl, dl, rs , ds , fs and rad for length of folded dipole, length of
reflector, director length, reflector spacing, director spacing and the spacing between the arms
of folded dipole respectively.

Geometrical Parameters without creating variables :-

CE
GW 1 19 0.10976 0 0.15092 0.10976 0 -0.15092 3.e-3
GW 2 21 -0.15092 0 0.1646 -0.15092 0 -0.165 3.e-3
GW 3 19 -0.01 0 0.15778 -0.01 0 -0.15778 3.e-3
GW 4 19 0.01 0 0.15778 0.01 0 -0.15778 3.e-3
GW 5 3 -0.01 0 0.15778 0.01 0 0.15778 3.e-3
GW 6 3 0.01 0 -0.15788 -0.01 0 -0.15788 3.e-3
GW 7 19 0.21952 0 0.15092 0.21952 0 -0.15092 3.e-3
GW 8 19 0.32928 0 0.15092 0.32928 0 -0.15092 3.e-3
GE 0
EK
EX 0 3 10 0 1 0
GN -1
FR 0 1 0 0 437 0

43
Geometrical variables for optimization (after creating variables):

CE

sy fl=0.31556 : length of folded dipole

sy rl=0.32928 : length of reflector

sy dl=0.30184 : length of director

sy rs=0.1509 : reflector spacing

sy ds=0.10976 : director spacing

sy fs=0.02 : spacing between arm of folded dipole

sy rad=3.0e-3 : radius of elements

GW 1 19 fs/2 0 fl/2 fs/2 0 -fl/2 rad

GW 2 19 -fs/2 0 fl/2 -fs/2 0 -fl/2 rad

GW 3 3 fs/2 0 fl/2 -fs/2 0 fl/2 rad

GW 4 3 fs/2 0 -fl/2 -fs/2 0 -fl/2 rad

GW 5 21 -rs 0 rl/2 -rs 0 -rl/2 rad

GW 6 19 ds 0 dl/2 ds 0 -dl/2 rad

GW 7 19 2*ds 0 dl/2 2*ds 0 -dl/2 rad

GW 8 19 3*ds 0 dl/2 3*ds 0 -dl/2 rad

GE 0

EK

EX 0 2 10 0 1 0

GN -1

FR 0 1 0 0 437 0

44
 Open optimizer window & select variables
Start the Optimizer by entering the F12 key. A new window appears with a number of
selection- and input-boxes as shown below-

Fig: optimizer window.

First we set the traditional optimizer by selecting 'Optimize' in the Function-box and
'Default' in the Option-box. After this we select the variable(s) we want to optimize, by
clicking on the variable in the list-box(fl, rl, dl, rs, ds, fs) with the 'variables' heading. The
selected variable(s) will show-up in the right list-box as in above fig.

Set priority(weighting factor) & start optimization

Furthermore we must select one or more antenna properties to optimize, together with
their "Importance" (weighting factor, contributing in the total result).

45
 First we set target value by Clicking with the right mouse key on one of the property-
boxes to change the value of antenna parameter which we want to get and then after we give
the corresponding priority by setting the weighting factor.

Here we have given highest weighing(200%) to X-in, the reactive part of the
impedance because our intention is to get its value as minimum as possible so that there will
be no losses in received signal power , and have fixed target value for impedance.

R-in+X-in= 200+0j ohm(R-in=200,R=0)

The target value for gain and SWR have given as 10dB and 4 respectively and equal
weighting factor 100 % for both.

After clicking the 'Start' button the optimizing process starts and the button text changes to
'stop'.In the upper right box, the selected variables together with the direction and relative
amount in which they are changed are displayed. In the lower left box the calculated property
values are displayed for each new optimization step, together with the calculated overall
result (Res%) and the step-size used. In the lower right box the corresponding variable
value(s) is/are listed, so it is possible to follow the optimizing process.

Fig: optimizer process after completion.

46
 After some time the process should stop with the message 'Optimized in xx steps',as
shown in above fig. indicating the optimization is ready. To premature abort the process, you
may click the 'Stop' button. It is possible the process is not immediately halted. If so, please
wait till the active calculation step is ready. Sometimes it may be necessary to click the
button once more. After the process is ready/aborted, you may change the variables or
properties and continue optimization by clicking the 'Resume' button.If the optimization
results are OK, you may use the 'Update NEC-file' button to up-date your NEC-file with the
new variable value(s). Use 'Exit' to quit the optimizer without saving.

Simulation results for two antennae at center frequency 437MHz &

145MHz

After going through the successful optimization process for our both yagi antenna one at 437
MHz and another at 145MHz ,we got our desired antenna parameters and various
patterns(optimized values and patterns). Now with the help of these obtained results we can
start our fabrication work. Here we have only shown the various pattern of 437 MHz.

Fig: Output results and radiation patterns after optimization.

47
Geometrical model of 437MHzYagi obtained:

Output 3-D far field radiation pattern and smith chart:

DESIGNED ANTENNA PARAMETERS AT CENTRE FREQUENCY 437MHz

Driven length =0.3076mtr

Spacing Between Directors =0.1101 mtr

Director Length =0.2883 mtr

Spacing Between Folded Arms =0.02mtr

48
Reflector Spacing =0.1532mtr

F/B =18.79

Gain =9.85

Z(impedance) =199.59-j0.39

SWR =4.01

The same process was repeated for the 145 MHz antenna also. The variables created before
optimizations are as follows:

SY

SY RL=1.04

SY DL=0.938

SY FS=0.042

SY RS=0.45

SY DS=0.38

SY RAD=0.003

SY LD=0.88

GW 1 25 -RS RL/2 0 -RS -RL/2 0 RAD

GW 2 25 -FS/2 DL/2 0 -FS/2 -DL/2 0 RAD

GW 3 25 FS/2 DL/2 0 FS/2 -DL/2 0 RAD

GW 4 1 -FS/2 DL/2 0 FS/2 DL/2 0 RAD

GW 5 1 -FS/2 -DL/2 0 FS/2 -DL/2 0 RAD

GW 6 23 DS LD/2 0 DS -LD/2 0 RAD

GE 0

EK

EX 0 2 13 0 1 0

GN -1

FR 0 1 0 0 145 0

49
 Results and all patterns of antenna working at 145 MHz

DESIGNED ANTENNA PARAMETERS AT CENTRE FREQUENCY 145MHz

Reflector length - 1.0472m

Driver length - 0.9219m

Folded dipole spacing - 0.042m

Reflector spacing - 0.4528m

Director spacing - 0.378m

Director lengthg - 0.8586m

F/B ratio = 17.9

Gain = 7.3

50
FABRICATION

OF

ANTENNA

51
 FABRICATION

After we simulated both the antennae (one at 437 Mhz and another at 145 Mhz) on
NEC2(Numerical electromagnetic Code ver2) software. So our next task was to fabricate the
crossed yagi antenna. Since we are doing student project we were keen to fabricate with the
minimum number of elements keeping cost in mind. For the 437 Mhz antenna we have 5
elements (3 directors, 1 driven element and 1 reflector) and for the 145 Mhz antenna we have
3 elements (1 director, 1 driven element, 1 reflector).We used solid Aluminum material to
fabricate the crossed yagi antenna and also for the boom just to make yagi more rigid and
robust. There were two major concerns

1. Design of coupler
2. Making of folded dipole

Design of coupler

Since the design of the coupler was little bit tough work as there were three elements that
should pass through, the boom and the two elements of crossed Yagi. And proper gap should
be maintained to avoid any kind of interferences. The size of the coupler is 40*40*25 mm so
as to make it robust and size would be less. We also fit some screws onto the coupler to tight
all the elements.
E=6mm

C=25mm
D=6mm

A=40mm

F=20mm
B=40mm

Fig: design of coupler

52
 Although there were some errors during the design of coupler as the gap between the holes
that were slotted for the two crossed yagi feeding elements was less as compared to the
distance between the two arms of the folded dipole. However with slight change in the
distance of the elements we managed to get the acceptable figures.

Making of folded dipole

As we all know the distance between the folded arms plays the very important role in
determining gain of the antenna. It was very important for us to maintain the fix required
distance. First we had to fold from one side of the rod and to keep the driven length accurate
and then to fold from the other side. Usually while doing this length of the driven element
does not remain same. For this we made several attempts to get accurate figures.

Fig :Fully fabricated antenna at centre frequency 437Mhz

Besides this there were some small works like while cutting the elements the edge got rough
so we filed them to make it smooth so as to minimize the unwanted radiations and we need
to arrange all the elements in parallel.

Fig: fully fabricated antenna at 145 MHz frequency.

53
Coaxial Cable:

As there are various cables available in the market and their specification are different first of
all we searched for the 50 Ohm cable and the list was quite large then according to the
velocity factor and the losses in dB the most suitable cable was RG8A/U. But due to in
availability of the cable in the market we have used RG58C/U cable.. We have used RG58
cable having 50ohm impedance for the balun and for the connection.

Fig: Specifications of RG series cables.

54
Balun:

A balun is a device that joins a balanced line (one that has two conductors, with equal
currents in opposite directions, such as a twisted pair cable) to an unbalanced line (one that
has just one conductor and a ground, such as a coaxial cable). A balun is a type of
transformer: it's used to convert an unbalanced signal to a balanced one or vice versa. Baluns
isolate a transmission line and provide a balanced output. A typical use for a balun is in a
television antenna. The term is derived by combining balanced and unbalanced.

In a balun, one pair of terminals is balanced, that is, the currents are equal in magnitude and
opposite in phase. The other pair of terminals is unbalanced; one side is connected to
electrical ground and the other carries the signal.

Since in the simulation of our antenna we have kept the desired antenna gain 200 Ohm
and we are connecting it to 50 Ohm cable. To match the load of 200 Ohm with the cable we
have used balun. For the purposes we have used 4:1 balun to match the 50ohm cable with the
200ohm antenna impedance We have used RG58C/U for the balun as well as for the cabling.

Now next is the characterization of the antennae, which is described next.

55
CHARACTERIZATION
OF
FABRICATED
ANTENNAE

56
 Characterization of both fabricated antennae using
Network analyser

A characterization test is a means to describe (characterize) the actual behaviour of an

existing model. The goal of characterization tests is to help fabricators verify that the
modifications made to a reference model of a system did not modify its behaviour in
unwanted or undesirable ways. When creating a characterization test, one must observe what
outputs occur for a given set of inputs.

After we are done with fabrication of the antenna our next task is to characterize the
antenna. Since we are using 4:1 balun to match the antenna impedance, so for the
characterization purpose we have connected two n-type female connectors for each crossed
yagi.

To characterize the antennae we are using network analyser. Since we have fabricated
our antenna at centre frequencies 437Mhz and another for 145Mhz and so there are various
network analysers available with different specification in the market. There is a brief
summary about the network analyser.

A network analyzer is an instrument used to analyze the properties of electrical networks,

especially those properties associated with the reflection and transmission of electrical signals
known as scattering parameters (S-parameters).

Network analyzers are used mostly at high frequencies; operating frequencies can range from
9 kHz to 110 GHz. Special types of network analyzers can also cover lower frequency ranges
down to 1 Hz. These network analyzers can be used for example for the stability analysis of
open loops or for the measurement of audio and ultrasonic components.

The two main types of network analyzers are

Scalar Network Analyzer (SNA) measures amplitude properties only

Vector Network Analyzer (VNA) measures both amplitude and phase properties

A VNA may also be called a gain-phase meter or an Automatic Network Analyzer. An

SNA is functionally identical to a spectrum analyzer in combination with a tracking

57
generator. As of 2007, VNAs are the most common type of network analyzers, and so
references to an unqualified network analyzer most often mean a VNA. The three biggest
VNA manufacturers are Agilent, Anritsu, and Rohde & Schwarz.

A new category of network analyzer is the Microwave Transition Analyzer (MTA) or

Large Signal Network Analyzer (LSNA), which measure both amplitude and phase of the
fundamental and harmonics. The MTA was commercialized before the LSNA, but was
lacking some of the user-friendly calibration features now available with the LSNA.

Also, a category of network analyzers introduced by Agilent is a programmable network

analyzer (PNA).We have used HP 8720A network analyser for characterizing the antenna.

Fig: A microwave network analyzer (HP 8720A) showing a Smith chart

58
 PORTS, CONNECTION, OPERATION

Front Panel of HP8720es Network Analyzer

The 8720ES is a powerful S parameter network analyzer. It can be used to evaluate the
forward and reverse gain and reflection coefficients of a system. The 8720 can be used to test
systems operating from 50 MHz to 20 GHz. Care must be taken when using this device due
to its extreme sensitivity.

Specifications

Frequency Range: 50 MHz - 20 GHz

Dynamic Range (sliding load):
50 MHz - 840 Mhz : 77 dB
840 MHz - 20 GHz : 100 dB
Port Directivity (sliding load):
50 MHz - 2 GHz : 48 dB

59
 2 GHz - 20 GHz : 44 dB
Maximum Power : 5 dBm
Port Impedance : 50 ohms

For Detailed Specifications please see the data sheet for the 8720ES. It includes detailed
information concerning different cable and calibration settings:

Ports/Connections

There are two primary ports on the 8720ES. These ports are found near the bottom of the
front panel. They are labelled "Port 1" and "Port 2." See the following picture for a view of
the ports. Port 1 is used for measuring S11 and Port 2 is used for measuring S22. If S12 and
S21 are to be measured, then both ports must be connected. In this case, Port 1 is the input
port and Port 2 is the output port.

HP8720ES Ports
The back panel of the 8720es has a number of connections. Not surprisingly, one finds the
power connector on the back. In addition, the GPIB port is found on the back of the device.
Other inputs, including an external trigger, are also located on the back panel

Operation

For basic S parameter measurements, connect the Port 1 and Port 2 to the DUT. If only S11
or S22 measurements are desired, it is possible to connect only one of the ports. Be very
careful and ensure that the cables are terminated with a non open circuited termination to
discharge any residual ESD! An adaptor kit is available to accommodate male or female
connectors.
Prior to running any tests, it is important to ensure that a good calibration state is loaded. This
can be done by pressing the save/recall button on the front panel of the device. To ensure the
accuracy of your test setup, it is a good idea to calibrate the system for the chosen

60
interconnects with the included calibration kit. This only takes a few minutes and is worth
doing to eliminate unexplainable results.

Calibration

The 8720ES is a very sensitive piece of equipment. As a result, proper calibration is vital to
obtaining good measured results. The calibration process is fairly simple, and a calibration kit
can be found in the lab. To initiate a calibration run, press the "cal" button on the front panel
and follow the on screen instructions.

There is a very high probability that the cables are broken at any given time. If the device
exhibits strange behaviour, check the cables.

Protecting the input ports

To avoid damaging the input ports, make sure to short out the leads of any cables prior to
connecting them to the 8720ES. This can be done using the terminations in the calibration kit
(make sure you don't use the open circuit termination).

Damaged Input Ports

If the machine is acting strange and you've verified that the cables are fine, then it is likely
that one of the input ports may be damaged

Characterization process for the crossed yagi .

Press the start button on the network analyser and leave it for at least half an hour to stabilize.

Now connect the adapter to port number 1which ahs 50 ohm impedance.
For setting up the frequency we press the start button and set the start frequency as
387Mhz and stop frequency as 487 MHz after that press the marker button on the
network analyser and enter the centre frequency at which we want to characterize in
our case it is 437 Mhz.

61
 Lets switch to format and press the format button to smith chart after pressing this
we get the smith chart with the marker at 437Mhz on the screen of network analyser.
Now for the calibration of the network analyser we use three load one 50Ohm one
short load and one open.
Then we press cal button which is the calibration button and go to calibrated value
then we need to press port 1 where we are calibrating and characterize the antenna.
From the calibration kit we take open and short load and one 50ohm load.
Now connect the open load with the adapter and check the all the fitting are tight.
Press the open switch and done one fourth calibrations. Open this short one and
connect with the adapter and press the short button and when noise comes written it
means you can now open
Connect the 50ohm impedance and you can see the marker button right pointing on
the middle of the smith chart. Press the load and one fourth calibration now if you
want you can press the format button and get back log match.
We connect to the antenna and the plot is changing if we are changing the orientation
of antenna.
One is advised to do this characterization in the open environment to avoid noise.

This is the basic characterization process of the Yagi antenna one should follow when
characterizing the antenna. Through the similar process with change in the start and stop
frequency and the centre frequency we characterized our 145 MHz antenna too. To find a
network analyser with required specification was not easy since the cost is too high. Although
we managed to characterized it in SAMIR at IIT BOMBAY

62
GROUNDSTATION

ANTENNAE

MOUNTING

INTERFACE

63
 Antenna mounting interface

Our next task was to mount the fabricated and tested antenna on the roof of our college
building exactly above on the Advance Communication Lab. we are using rotor to rotate the
antenna. We have fixed our antenna on 30 degree elevation and have to rotate 180 degree
azimuth in order to track the Satellite. IITB students are using rotor to track the satellite and
using a rotor will easily solve the tracking issue Information about the rotor is given below:

Fig representing the rotor G-5400B

The Yaesu G-5400B provide 360 deg azimuth and 180 deg elevation control of medium and
large size unidirectional satellite antenna arrays under remote control from station operation
position. The two factory-lubricated rotator unit are housed in weatherproof melamine resin
coated die- cast aluminium. Rotor contains a thermal sensor to prevent damage from
overheating during period of high usage.

64
But the cost of rotor is around 30000 to 35000 rupees which is not in our budget and the fact
is we are making student ground station of total cost around 30000 including every
equipment and other expenditures. So we are using stepper motor instead of rotor controller
to rotate the antenna and track the satellite .Stepper motor will provide step wise rotation of
our antenna which would be fixed at 30 degree elevation and rotate 180 degree azimuthally.
We will adjust the step of stepper motor according to time period of satellite and Limits of
Visibility .When satellite will pass over our ground station under the Limit of Visibility
stepper motor will be synchronized with satellite using step wise rotation. Once a satellite
will get out of Limits of Visibility of our ground station antenna will go back to its original
position.

Stepper motor

A stepper motor (or step motor) is a brushless, synchronous electric motor that can divide a
full rotation into a large number of steps. The motor's position can be controlled precisely
without any feedback mechanism (see Open-loop controller), as long as the motor is carefully
sized to the application. Stepper motors are similar to switched reluctance motors (which are
very large stepping motors with a reduced pole count, and generally are closed-loop
commutated.)

Theory

A step motor can be viewed as a synchronous AC motor with the number of poles (on
both rotor and stator) increased, taking care that they have no common denominator.
Additionally, soft magnetic material with many teeth on the rotor and stator cheaply
multiplies the number of poles (reluctance motor). Modern steppers are of hybrid design,
having both permanent magnets and soft iron cores.

To achieve full rated torque, the coils in a stepper motor must reach their full rated
current during each step. Winding inductance and reverse EMF generated by a moving rotor
tend to resist changes in drive current, so that as the motor speeds up, less and less time is
spent at full current thus reducing motor torque. As speeds further increase, the current will
not reach the rated value, and eventually the motor will cease to produce torque.

65
Basic operation

Stepper motors operate differently from DC brush motors, which rotate when voltage is
applied to their terminals. Stepper motors, on the other hand, effectively have multiple
"toothed" electromagnets arranged around a central gear-shaped piece of iron. The
electromagnets are energized by an external control circuit, such as a microcontroller. To
make the motor shaft turn, first one electromagnet is given power, which makes the gear's
teeth magnetically attracted to the electromagnet's teeth. When the gear's teeth are thus
aligned to the first electromagnet, they are slightly offset from the next electromagnet. So
when the next electromagnet is turned on and the first is turned off, the gear rotates slightly to
align with the next one, and from there the process is repeated. Each of those slight rotations
is called a "step," with an integer number of steps making a full rotation. In that way, the
motor can be turned by a precise angle

Stepper motor characteristics

1. Stepper motors are constant power devices.

2. As motor speed increases, torque decreases. (most motors exhibit maximum torque
when stationary, however the torque of a motor when stationary is of little use, torque
is more important when the motor is actually spinning)
3. The torque curve may be extended by using current limiting drivers and increasing the
driving voltage (sometimes referred to as a 'chopper' circuit, there are several off the
shelf driver chips capable of doing this in a simple manner).
4. Steppers exhibit more vibration than other motor types, as the discrete step tends to
snap the rotor from one position to another, (this is important as at certain speeds the
motor can actually change direction).
5. This vibration can become very bad at some speeds and can cause the motor to lose
torque (or lose direction). You must pay attention to the torque of the motor)
6. The effect can be mitigated by accelerating quickly through the problem speeds range,
physically damping (frictional damping) the system, or using a micro-stepping driver.
7. Motors with a greater number of phases also exhibit smoother operation than those
with fewer phases (this can also be achieved through the use of a micro stepping drive

66
Stepper Motor Diagram:

Frame 1:

The top electromagnet (1) is turned on, attracting the nearest tooth of a gear-
shaped iron rotor. With the teeth aligned to electromagnet 1, they will be slightly offset
from electromagnet 2.

Frame 2:

The top electromagnet (1) is turned off, and the right electromagnet (2) is energized,
pulling the nearest teeth slightly to the right. This results in a rotation of 3.6 in this
example.

Frame 3:

The bottom electromagnet (3) is energized; another 3.6 rotation occurs.

67
 Frame 4:

The left electromagnet (4) is enabled, rotating again by 3.6. When the top
electromagnet (1) is again enabled, the teeth in the sprocket will have rotated by one
tooth position; since there are 25 teeth, it will take 100 steps to make a full rotation in
this example.

Mounting design

When we came to know that our antenna is working properly ,we must have to go for
antenna mounting .Since It is the main part of ground station.

Fig: mouting design interface diagram.

68
Operation of the design:

The above diagram shows the proposed antenna mounting interface which we will implement
in upcoming days. The two antennae(centre frequencies at 437Mhz and another at 145Mhz)
mounted on the top. The antenna will be mechanically fixed at 30 degree elevation and the
whole system will be rotated in 180 degree azimuthal with the help of stepper motor. The
main vertical rod which will be rotated by the stepper motor should be attached to a fix point
on the horizontal rod to provide stability to the system and the point can be calculated as
follows:

Assuming

The mass of 437Mhz antenna is m1

And the mass of 145Mhz antenna of m2

The distance form the437 Mhz antenna end is r1

The distance form the 145Mhz antenna end is r2

From the formula ,

m1*r1=m2*r2

And the another equation is,

r1+r2=r

where r=wavelength corresponds to 145MHz.

By knowing the value of masse of 437Mhz antenna and 145Mhz antenna and the horizontal
rod length we can calculate the point where we can joint our vertical rod to provide stability.

Bearing

Now to provide the stability of the system we are using two plain bearing to bear the system
so as the full load will be balanced by the bearing and we will keep the stepper motor in base
for the stepwise rotation.A bearing is a device to allow constrained relative motion between
two or more parts, typically rotation or linear movement. Bearings may be classified broadly

69
according to the motions they allow and according to their principle of operation as well as
by the directions of applied loads they can handle.

Fig: A cutaway example of a four-point contact ball bearing

Plain bearing

A plain bearing, also known as a plane bearing, is the simplest type of bearing comprising of
just a bearing surface and no rolling elements, therefore the journal (i.e., the part of the shaft
in contact with the bearing) slides over the bearing surface. The simplest example of a plain
bearing is a shaft rotating in a hole. A simple linear bearing can be a pair of flat surfaces
designed to allow motion; e.g., a drawer and the slides it rests on or the ways on the bed of a
lathe.Plain bearings, in general, are the least expensive type of bearing. They are also
compact, light weight, and have a high load-carrying capacity.

Description-Rubbing surfaces, usually with lubricant; some bearings use pumped lubrication
and behave similarly to fluid bearings.

Friction -Depends on materials and construction, PTFE has coefficient of friction ~0.05-0.35,
depending upon fillers added

Stiffness -Good, provided wear is low, but some slack is normally present

Speed -Low to very high

Life -Moderate (depends on lubrication)

Now next is the study of polarization measurement set up i.e. IC AD8302.

70
POLARIZATION

MEASUREMENT

SETUP

71
 ANALOG IC AD 8302

This is the set up used for measurement of polarization angle difference and its
intensity from the received signal from the two antennas.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION ABOUT AD8302

The AD8302 measures the magnitude ratio, defined here asgain, and phase difference
between two signals. A pair of matched logarithmic amplifiers provides the measurement,
and their hard-limited outputs drive the phase detector

Basic Theory

Logarithmic amplifiers (log amps) provide a logarithmic compression function that converts
a large range of input signal levels to a compact decibel-scaled output. The general
mathematical form is:

V OUT =VSLP log (VIN /VZ) (1)

72
where VIN is the input voltage, VZ is called the intercept (voltage), and VSLP is called the
slope (voltage). It is assumed throughout that log(x) represents the log10(x) function. VSLP is
thus the volts/decade, and since a decade of voltage corresponds to 20 dB, VSLP/20 is the
volts/dB. VZ is the value of input signal that results in an output of zero and need not
correspond to a physically realizable part of the log amp signal range. While the slope is
fundamentally characteristic of the log amp, the intercept is a function of the input waveform
as well. Furthermore, the intercept is typically more sensitive to temperature and frequency
than the slope. When single log amps are used for power measurement, this variability
introduces errors into the absolute accuracy of the measurement since the intercept represents
a reference level. The AD8302 takes the difference in the output of two identical log amps,
each driven by signals of similar waveforms but at different levels. Since subtraction in the
logarithmic domain corresponds to a ratio in the linear domain, the resulting output becomes:

V MAG =VSLP log (VINA /VINB) (2)

where VINA and VINB are the input voltages, VMAG is the output corresponding to the
magnitude of the signal level difference, and Unlike the measurement of power, when
measuring a dimensionless VSLP is the slope. Note that the intercept, VZ, has dropped out.
quantity such as relative signal level, no independent reference or intercept need be invoked.
In essence, one signal serves as the intercept for the other. Variations in intercept due to
frequency, process, temperature, and supply voltage affect both channels identically and
hence do not affect the difference. This technique depends on the two log amps being well
matched in slope and intercept to ensure cancellation. This is the case for an integrated pair of
log amps. Note that if the two signals have different waveform (e.g., different peak-to-
average ratios) or different frequencies, an intercept difference may appear, introducing a
systematic offset. The log amp structure consists of a cascade of linear/limiting gain stages
with demodulating detectors. Further details about the structure and function of log amps can
be found in data sheets for other log amps produced by Analog Devices.2 The output of the
final stage of a log amp is a fully limited signal over most of the input dynamic range. The
limited outputs from both log amps drive an exclusive-OR style digital phase detector.
Operating strictly on the relative zero-crossings of the limited signals, the extracted phase
difference is independent of the original input signal levels. The phase output has the general
form:

73
 VPHS =V[(VINA) (VINB)] (3)
where V is the phase slope in mV/degree and is each signals relative phase in degrees.

STRUCTURE:

Fig: General Structure

The general form of the AD8302 is shown in Figure. The major blocks consist of two
demodulating log amps, a phase detector, output amplifiers, a biasing cell, and an output
reference voltage buffer. The log amps and phase detector process the high frequency signals
and deliver the gain and phase information in current form to the output amplifiers. The
output amplifiers determine the final gain and phase scaling. External filter capacitors set the
averaging time constants for the respective outputs. The reference buffer provides a 1.80 V
reference voltage that tracks the internal scaling constants.
Each log amp consists of a cascade of six 10 dB gain stages with seven associated detectors.
The individual gain stages have 3 dB bandwidths in excess of 5 GHz. The signal path is fully
differential to minimize the effect of common-mode signals and noise. Since there is a total
of 60 dB of cascaded gain, slight dc offsets can cause limiting of the latter stages, which may
cause measurement errors for small signals. This is corrected by a feedback loop.

74
The nominal high-pass corner frequency, fHP, of this loop is set internally at 200 MHz but
can be lowered by adding external capacitance to the OFSA and OFSB pins. Signals at
frequencies well below the high-pass corner are indistinguishable from dc offsets and are also
nulled.
The difference in the log amp outputs is performed in the current domain, yielding by
analogy to Equation 2:

I LA = ISLP log(VINA /VINB)

Where ILA and ISLP are the output current difference and the characteristic slope (current) of
the log amps, respectively. The slope is derived from an accurate reference designed to be
insensitive to temperature and supply voltage. The phase detector uses a fully symmetric
structure with respect to its two inputs to maintain balanced delays along both signal paths.
Fully differential signalling again minimizes the sensitivity to common-mode perturbations.
The current-mode equivalent to Equation 3 is:

IPD= I[(VINA) (VINB) 90] (5)

Where IPD and I are the output current and characteristic slope associated with the phase
detector, respectively. The slope is derived from the same reference as the log amp slope.

PIN CONFIGURATION

75
 PIN DISCRIPTION

Pin no Mnemonic Function

1,7 COMM Device Common. Connect to
low impedance ground
2 INPA High Input Impedance to
Channel A. Must be ac-
coupled
3 OFSA A capacitor to ground at this
pin sets the offset
compensation filter corner
and provides input
decoupling.
4 VPOS Voltage Supply (VS), 2.7 V
to 5.5 V
5 OFSB A capacitor to ground at this
pin sets the offset
compensation filter corner
and provides input
decoupling.
6 INPB Input to Channel B. Same
structure as INPA.
8 PFLT Low Pass Filter Terminal for
the Phase Output
9 VPHS Single-Ended Output
Proportional to the Phase
Difference between INPA
and INPB.
10 PSET Feedback Pin for Scaling of
VPHS Output Voltage in
Measurement Mode. Apply a

76
 setpoint voltage for
controller mode
11 VREF Internally Generated
Reference Voltage (1.8 V
Nominal)
12 MSET Feedback Pin for Scaling of
VMAG Output Voltage
Measurement Mode.
Accepts a set point voltage in
controller mode.
13 VMAG Single-Ended Output. Output
voltage proportional to the
decibel ratio
of signals applied to INPA
and INPB
14 MFLT Low Pass Filter Terminal for
the Magnitude Output

FEATURES

Measures Gain/Loss and Phase up to 2.7 GHz

Dual Demodulating Log Amps and Phase Detector Input 60 dBm to 0 dBm in a
50 _ System

Accurate Gain Measurement Scaling (30 mV/dB)

Typical Nonlinearity < 0.5 dB

Accurate Phase Measurement Scaling (10 mV/Degree)

77
 Typical Nonlinearity < 1 Degree

Measurement/Controller/Level Comparator Modes

Operates from Supply Voltages of 2.7 V5.5 V

Stable 1.8 V Reference Voltage Output

Small Signal Envelope Bandwidth from DC to 30 MHz

APPLICATIONS

RF/IF PA Linearization

Precise RF Power Control

Remote System Monitoring and Diagnostics

Return Loss/VSWR Measurements

Now we will go to the next task that is to study about ionosphere and total electron count of
ionosphere and its applications which is the main application of our project.

78
 TEC

TOTAL ELECTRON COUNT

OF

IONOSPHERE

79
1. Introduction

The ionosphere is a complex part of the atmosphere, lying from about 60 km of altitude up to
several hundreds of kilometres. The ionising radiations of the sun and energetic particles
transported by the solar wind produce concentration of free electrons especially in the 250-
400 km high layer known as the F-region. Our aim is to calculate total electron count there.

TEC refers to the Total Electron Count of the Ionosphere. It refers to the total number of
electrons in a cylinder of unit area of cross section extending from the ground station up to
our satellite in space. Total electron content (or TEC) is an important descriptive quantity for
the ionosphere of the Earth. TEC is the total number of electrons present along a path
between two points, with units of electrons per square meter, where 1016 electrons/m = 1
TEC unit (TECU). Total electron count (TEC) is a measure used to characterize the
conductivity of the ionosphere, which consists of ionized layers of the upper atmosphere.
Free electrons in the ionosphere affect the transmission of radio waves by absorbing and
reflecting, which slows the propagation of radio signals through the ionosphere.TEC values
are one of the most prominent sources of information for understanding the structure and
dynamic behaviour of the ionosphere. However, since there is a fraction of the ionosphere
(about 5%) above the altitude of our satellite, what we wish to measure is known as the
Ionosphere Electron Count. Estimates of the TEC can be used to correct for transmission
delays in GPS signals, which can be incorporated in GPS receivers for more accurate location
estimates.TEC is significant in determining the scintillation and group delay of a radio wave
through a medium.

Ionospheric TEC is characterized by observing carrier phase delays of received radio signals
transmitted from satellites located above the ionosphere, often using Global Positioning
System satellites. TEC is strongly affected by solar activity.

80
2. Importance of TEC

2.1 Error correction for GPS systems

These days GPS satellites are used on many fronts and their use for position determination
has proved to be important and useful for not only navigation but also several other research
applications. But in order to achieve a high level of accuracy from GPS (of the order of
millimetres), one must correct the carrier phase advance and pseudo range group delay that
are caused when GPS signals pass through the ionosphere. Free electrons in the ionosphere
affect the transmission of radio waves by absorbing and reflecting, which slows the
propagation of radio signals through the ionsphere.If we have a dual frequency GPS receiver,
we can then deal with this error by taking into account ionosphere's dispersive nature. But if
we are using a single frequency GPS receiver then we need some other method for getting rid
of this error. Most GPS companies provide an inbuilt GPS model that predicts TEC values on
the basis of previous history sheets. But the fact that we are situated near the equator makes
life a bit difficult for us because most of these models are based on data points obtained
predominantly from mid latitude regions and have very sparse data of equatorial region.
Further, the equatorial region is highly susceptible to fluctuations in TEC values due to
various reasons. So these models fail to deliver a satisfactory performance. An increase in
data points in this region can be used by GPS manufacturers for correcting this Ionospheric
error. The currently used global Ionospheric models can only model the monthly mean total
electron content to about 10 percent. These models cannot tell us about the day-to-day
variability of the TEC which can be 20 to 25 percent (1 sigma) of the monthly mean value.
So, even if the monthly mean TEC is modelled perfectly using one of the global Ionospheric
models, TEC predictions can be off by 20 to 25 percent. If the bias between the monthly
mean TEC and the predictions provided by these models is 10 percent of the monthly mean
values, then the performances of these models are considered to be excellent. The combined
effect of the error in the monthly mean predictions and the day-to-day variability of the TEC
will result in an overall performance of these models to be at about 22-27 percent (RMS) of
the Ionospheric delay. The performance can only be worse if we take into account the
potential effect of a solar or geomagnetic storm during medium or high solar activity times.

81
This is in addition to the fact that most of these single frequency GPS receivers use data
models that use values obtained from South American & African Stations. So anyways the
data for equatorial region is very sparse, so to have better accuracy of GPS in India we will
have to device methods that can give us additional information of day to day variability. We
wish to do it by supplementing the current database and the ongoing Indian projects for TEC
measurement with our TEC data.
After integrating the group and phase delay along the GPS signal path we will obtain a range
between satellite and receiver that is different from geometrical distance between them. This
difference is known as ionospheric error. Error is negative for carrier phase (phase is
advanced, measured range is shorter than the geometrical range) and positive for pseudo
ranges (i.e. phase is delayed, so measured range is greater than geometrical range).These two
are equal in magnitude but opposite in sign.

2.2 EIA (Appleton Anomaly) & ESF:

EIA, or equatorial ionization anomaly is characterized by a depression in ionization

densities (or trough) at the geomagnetic equator and two peaks (crests) on either side of the
equator at about 15 magnetic latitudes.
Possible reasons:
It is suggested that the trough exists because plasma produced by photo ionization at great
heights over the magnetic equator diffuses downwards and outwards to the north and south
leaving depletion at the equator.
Another explanation is that the mutually perpendicular east-west electric field and north-
south geomagnetic field give rise to an upward electrodynamics (E B) drift of plasma
during the daytime. As the plasma is lifted to greater heights, it diffuses downward along
geomagnetic field lines towards higher latitudes under the influence of gravity and pressure
gradients and produces the anomaly. The EIA is also asymmetric about the geomagnetic
equator, caused by field aligned plasma flow due to factors like neutral winds.

An interesting feature in the geographic location of India is that the magnetic equator passes
through the bottom side tip of the country and the northern crest of the equatorial ionization
anomaly lies in the middle of the country, providing a unique opportunity for making studies
on the latitudinal variation equatorial ionization anomaly (EIA) which occurs at 5 25

82
geographic latitude. So as Mumbai falls in this region, we can easily get involved with this
experiment.

ESF,or equatorial spread-f

On certain nights, the spread in the width of the pulses reflected from the F-layer increases
abnormally, showing up as a diffuse trace, and this phenomenon is called Spread-F. ESF
actually refers to formation of areas in ionosphere that have abnormally low plasma density.
These bubbles are found to travel upwards in the ionosphere.

Link between EIA & ESF:

Studies have shown that ESF is closely linked with EIA. EIA as we know is intensification
of ionization crests in the late afternoon near +/- 20deg latitude. Formation of EIA is due to
flow of plasma along a fountain from the equator towards the crest, which is caused due to
Electric field generated in the atmosphere. This increase in ionization comes at the expense of
depletion in ionization of lower F layer (near the equator). So we get very steep plasma
gradients in the equatorial region, which are conducive to Rayleigh Taylor instability and
explains the relationship between EIA & ESF.

3. Variation of TEC values:

This randomness in the day-to-day variation in TEC may be attributed to the changes in the
activity of the sun itself and to the associated changes in the intensity of the incoming
radiations, and the zenith angle at which they fall on the Earths atmosphere, in addition to
the changes which take place in the Earths magnetic field and the equatorial electro jet (EEJ)
strength, added to the effects due to the dynamics of the neutral winds.

A logical explanation for day night variation in TEC can be given as:- During night time,
there is no solar radiation falling on the atmosphere, so there is nothing that is going to ionize
the atoms present in the ionosphere. But the opposite process of recombination of ions takes
place and so there is a decrease in ion density of atmosphere and hence reduced TEC is
observed. During afternoon when the solar radiation is maximum, ionization increases,
overtaking the process of recombination of ions and hence TEC value increases.

83
Variation in equatorial regions:
The daily variation in TEC at the EIA region shows its steep increase and reaches its
maximum value between 13:00 and 16:00 LT, while at the equator the peak is broad i.e. it
occurs for a longer duration of time and occurs around 16:00 LT. A short-lived day minimum
occurs between 05:00 to 06:00 LT at all the stations from the equator to the EIA crest region.
Beyond the crest region the day maximum values decrease with the increase in latitude, while
the day minimum in TEC is flat during most of the nighttime hours, i.e. from 22:00 to 06:00
LT, a feature similar to that observed in the mid-latitudes. Further, the diurnal variation in
TEC show a minimum to maximum variation of about 5 to 50 TEC units, respectively, at the
equator and about 5 to 90 TEC units at the EIA crest region.

Climatic variations in TEC:

The seasonal variation in TEC maximizes during the equinox months (equinox is that period
of time when sun passes over equator and lengths of day and night become equal , this occurs
on 21st March and 22nd September) followed by winter and is minimum during the summer
months.

Contour plots of the monthly average diurnal variation of TEC at four stations across
India (taken from the results of GPS Aided Geo Augmented Navigation (GAGAN)
project of ISRO + AAI)

84
The lack of complete understanding of the above phenomena often leads to navigational
errors and communication losses. TEC measurements are necessary to improve our
understanding of the interaction between the solar wind and the earths ionosphere, which is
very crucial for the functioning of several space borne and ground based systems and also to
increase our capability for forecasting space weather events. Our venture will shed some light
on some of the complex phenomena occurring in space.

4. Orbit

The efficacy of our endeavour depends entirely on the orbit we get for the satellite. Most of
the Ionospheric phenomena occur at specific times of the day and we need the satellite to
have a pass over the ground stations at those times for us to obtain the relevant TEC values.
A circular orbit with an inclination of approximately 24 degrees would be optimum for the
mission since it will render several passes at different times of the day and these passes would
occur at different times of the day over the course of the lifetime of the satellite. The exact
value of the actual inclination would depend on the location of the ground stations, which
depends on the efficacy of the tomography algorithms. The satellite would be launched along
with a mainstream satellite of ISRO which would invariably put it in a polar sun synchronous
orbit. This would only allow us to measure the TEC values at the same local time. Given this
limitation, a 2:30 am-pm orbit would be optimum for the satellite as it would allow us to
measure the TEC values at a time when the EIA is at its peak.

5. Techniques for measurement of TEC from LEO satellite

The various techniques that can be used to measure TEC from LEO satellites are described
below:

1. Measurement of Faraday rotation (our method)

2. Measurement of group delay of received signal

85
3. Measurement of Doppler shift of received signal due to ionospheric fluctuations

4. Measurement of amplitude scintillations of received signal.

Technique of Measurement of Faraday rotation:

When a linearly polarized radio wave passes through an ionized medium with a magnetic
field in the direction of propagation, the plane of polarization rotates. This effect is called
Faraday rotation. The relation between the rotation angle and the TEC is given by

B = magnetic field of earth,

= angle between the radio wave and line of sight,

= angle of rotation,

f = frequency of the wave.

Measurement process: In order to radiate linearly polarized waves from the satellite,a
monopole antenna is to be used. The radiation pattern of a monopole is such that the radiation is
always polarized in the direction assuming the monopole is oriented in the direction. Thus, we
know the initial polarization angle.

Measurement at the ground station: We will be measuring the angle of polarization at the
ground station by using a crossed Yagi antenna and measuring the intensities of the signals at the
two feeds.

Resolution of the n ambiguity, use of two close frequencies: A major problem of the process
is the fact that there would always be an ambiguity of n in the angle measured at the ground
station. The formula for Faraday rotation gives an angle of about 110 for the rotation at a
frequency of 433 MHz even when the satellite is overhead. The maximum angle at this
frequency comes out to be about 600 which is pretty large. We propose to resolve this
ambiguity by use of two very nearby frequencies viz. 400 and 433 MHz and then measuring the
difference between the angles of polarization of the two waves. The difference between the
angles is given by:

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This is not very large and can be easily measured without any ambiguity as the maximum value
of this angle is only about 90. We plan is to use the frequencies 400 and 433 MHz .

The following graphs illustrate the situation:

However, to measure the actual difference between the angles of rotation of the two
frequencies without any attitude data on ground will be impossible as the signals will have
some initial angle between them which will depend upon the yaw of the satellite and the
angle between the antennae. But if we keep the antennae perfectly parallel, then this initial
angle will be 0, irrespective of the yaw angle.
Advantages:
The advantages of this process are the following:
Needs comparatively less hardware on board the satellite.
Measurement is done only on carrier phase polarization angle which is an inherent
property of the signal unlike a modulated signal where errors might arise.

Disadvantages:
The disadvantages of this process are as follows:

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 The signal transmitted from the satellite must have a high degree of polarization
purity which is not so easy.
>The final result will not be directly proportional to the TEC but will depend upon the
magnetic field along the path as well. Thus this dependence will have to be accounted
for by some other way.
The angle between the antennae will have to be very small.

6. Ionospheric Tomography

By Faraday rotation method, we can measure the TEC (Total Electron Content) at various elevation
angles of the satellite. This gives us information about the integrals of electron density in various
directions. From these integrals, we can derive the values of the electron densities at various
positions of the ionosphere. This technique is called Ionospheric tomography.

Fig. 1: Geometry of the situation

Fig. 2: tomographic image

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 FINAL

GROUNDSTATION

SETUP

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Ground station diagram.

AD 8302
LNA
SETUP

ROTATING INTERFACE

USING PC
STEPPER MOTOR.

Fig: final ground station set up

The total connection of the ground station is shown in the diagram.

The signals from the antenna will be given to LNAs(4) for amplification of signals
and bringing them to an appropriate level.
Then the output will be given to polarization measurement setup which will give us
the phase difference between the signals and its intensity.
The output will be stored in a PC at regular level and at periodic time intervals and the
data will be sent to IIT-B for further calculations and processing.

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COST ESTIMATION OF THE PROJECT:

COMPONENTS QUANTITY COST (Rs.)

CROSSED YAGI 2 4000
FABRICATION
4 800
LNA
AD-8302 POLARIZATION 1 19000
MEASUREMENT SET-UP.
CHARACTERIZATION - 1500
ANTENNA MOUNTING - 2000
STEPPER MOTOR 1 1200
WIRES , CONNECTORS. - 500
EXTRA - 1000
TOTAL - 30000

The final ground station will be seen working in oct-nov 2010 after the successful launch of
the IIT-B Pratham satellite

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References:

aero.iitb.ac.in/Pratham/
www.wikipedia.org

Various project documents available on the Pratham website, like.

o Conceptual Design Report On Board Computing .
o CDR on Communication Subsystem.
o CDR on Report System Engineering.
o Overall Minutes Of CDR at ISAC.
o Project Design Report On Communication Subsystem.

Master Thesis by Anura Wickramanayake.

Antenna Theory by Balanis.

Yagi Antenna Design" by P Viezbicke from the National Bureau of

Standards, 1968

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