PROPAGATION OF WAVES

1. Ground-Wave Propagation
 It is the most important method of
propagation at frequencies up to
approximately 2 MHz.
 Ground waves are vertically polarized
waves that follow the ground and can
therefore follow the curvature of the
earth to propagate far beyond the
horizon.
 They must have vertical polarization to
minimize currents induced in the ground
itself, which result in losses.
 Nonetheless, there is a tendency for the
waves to ‘tilt’ toward the horizontal,
increasing losses, as the distance form the
transmitter increases.
 At close range, some energy is also
transmitted directly from the transmitter
to the receiver through the air.
Ground-wave Propagation
 However, this signal is often nearly
cancelled by another signal reflected
from the ground.
 At low frequencies, the earth is highly
reflective and also provides a 180 phase
shift.
 Since the direct and reflected waves are
out of phase, partial cancellation occurs,
this leaves the ground wave as the main
mode of propagation at low frequencies.
Cancellation Due to Ground
Reflections
 Advantages
 Ground waves provide very reliable
communication that is almost
independent of weather and solar activity.

 With sufficient power at low enough

frequency, round-the-world
communication is possible and some
military transmitters operates at
frequencies as low as 76 Hz.
 Applications
 There is a US government time-and-
frequency station, WWVL, at 60 KHz.
 An international navigation system
called LORAN-C operates at 100 KHz
 The standard AM broadcasting band
relies mainly on ground-wave
propagation
 Disadvantages
 Ground-waves are attenuated very quickly
above about 2 MHz, so that the usable
spectrum for this propagation mode has
only 1/3 the width of a single TV channel.
 Ground waves require relatively high
power, and their low frequencies are
associated with long wavelengths that
require physically large antennas for good
efficiency.
 2. Ionospheric Propagation
 Long-range communication in the high
frequency band is possible because of
refraction in a region of the upper
atmosphere called ionosphere, where some
of the air molecules are ionized by solar
radiation.
 The ionosphere can be divided into three
regions known as D, E, and F layers.
 The F layer itself is divided into two parts,
called F1 and F2.
Ionospheric Layers
 The level of ionization increases with
height above the earth and is greater in
the daytime.
 At night, when solar radiation is not
received, the D and E regions disappear
and the F1 and F2 layers combine into a
single F layer.
 The F layer remains during the night
because the atmosphere is so rarified at
this height that ions take longer to
recombine.
Ionospheric Layers
 Ionization levels change with the amount
of solar activity, which varies greatly over
an 11-year cycle known as sunspot cycle.

 The signal is returned from the ionosphere

by a form of refraction.

 The ionized air contains free electrons,

which can move in the presence of
electromagnetic waves.
 The higher the frequency, the more
ionization is necessary fro refraction.

 In the daytime, the D and E layers absorb

frequencies below around 8 or 10 Mhz.
Frequencies above this, up to about 30
MHz, are refracted by the F1 and F2 layers
and may return to earth.
 At night, the D and E layers virtually
disappear, allowing lower frequencies to
reach the F layer without being absorbed.

 These frequencies are refracted by the

layer, and thus propagation at lower
frequencies is better at night than during
the day.
 The higher frequencies pass right through
all layers at night, so propagation at
frequencies above about 10 MHz tends to
be better during the daylight hours.

 Large users of HF communications, such as

shortwave broadcasters and the military,
employ frequency diversity, that is, they
transmit on a number of different
frequencies that span the high frequency
spectrum, in the hope that at least one of
these will work at a given time.
Ionospheric Propagation
 Ionospheric sounding can be used to
make some measurements on which to
base propagation predictions.

 A signal is sent straight up, and the

frequency is gradually increased.

 The highest frequency that is returned to

earth in the vertical direction is called the
critical frequency.
 The highest frequency that returns to earth
to earth over a given path is called the
maximum usable frequency (MUF).

 Since absorption decreases with increasing

frequency, it would be expected that a
frequency at or just below the MUF would
give best results.

 It is usually better to operate at a lower

frequency, perhaps 85% of the MUF –
sometimes called the optimum working
frequency (OWF).
 In theory, at least, it is possible to predict
the MUF from the critical frequency.
 The frequency is sometimes called the
secant law:

fm = fc sec 1

 where fm = MUF
fc = critical frequency
1 = angle of incidence
Example
 The critical frequency at a particular
time is 11.6 MHz. What is the MUF for
a transmitting station if the required
angle of incidence for propagation to
a desired destination is 70 ?
 For frequencies above the critical
frequency, there may be a region
relatively close to the transmitter
where the signal cannot be received,
even though it can easily be picked up
at much greater distances, called the
skip zone.
 Advantages
 It allows communication over great
distances with relatively simple
equipment and reasonable power levels.
 Most commercial transmitters range in
power from about 100 W to a few
kilowatts.
 Radio amateurs have achieved worldwide
communications with very low power
levels, sometimes less than 1 W.
 Disadvantages
 HF communication via the ionosphere is
noisy and uncertain.
 It is also prone to phase shifting and
frequency-selective fading.
 For instance, the phase shift and signal
attenuation may be different for the
upper and lower sidebands of the same
signal.
Applications
 It is still in use to a limited extent for
telephony and quite extensively for
ship and aircraft communications,
international newswire services,
military communication links,
communication with outlying
settlements, and amateur radio.
3. Line-of-Sight Propagation
 Also referred to as space-wave, line-of-sight,
direct wave, or tropospheric propagation.

 This type of propagation is commonly used in

the VHF range and higher.

 It is also the basis for satellite

communication.

 Its practical communication distance is

limited by the earth’s curvature.
 The maximum distance is actually greater
than the eye can see because refraction in
the atmosphere tends to bend radio waves
slightly toward the earth.
 The effect varies with weather conditions,
but it usually results in radio
communications being possible over
distances approximately 1/3 greater than
visual line of sight.
 With LOS propagation, height above
ground is important, the higher the better.
LOS Propagation
LOS Propagation
 An approximate value for the maximum
distance b/w the transmitter and receiver:

d = 17 ht +  17 hr

 where d = maximum distance in km

ht = height of the transmitting
antenna (m)
hr = height of the receiving antenna
(m)
 Example:
 A taxi company uses a central dispatcher,
with an antenna at the top of a 15 m
tower, to communicate with taxi cabs.
The taxi antennas are on the roofs of the
cars, approximately 1.5 m above the
ground. Calculate the maximum
communication distance:
 (a) b/w the dispatcher and a taxi
 (b) b/w two taxis
 The LOS range can sometimes be
extended by diffraction, particularly if
there is a relatively sharp obstacle, such as
a mountain peak, in the way.
 Diffraction, however, greatly reduces the
signal strength, requiring more powerful
transmitters and more sensitive receivers.

 The attenuation of free space is the most

important factor in determining the signal
power at the receiver.
 Although LOS propagation uses a direct
path from transmitter to receiver, the
receiver can also pick signals that have
reflected or diffracted.
 When the surface is highly reflective, the
reduction in signal strength can be 20 dB
or more, and this effect is called fading.
 If most of the path is over a reflective
surface such as desert or water, fading can
be reduced by using either frequency
diversity or spatial diversity.
 Frequency Diversity – in this method
more than one frequency is available for
use; the difference in wavelengths, b/w
the direct and reflected path lengths is
different for the two frequencies.

 For spatial diversity, two antennas are

usually mounted one above the other on
the same tower, so that the difference
b/w the direct and reflected path length
is different for the two antennas.
Spatial Diversity
 Problems can also occur when the signal
reflects from large objects like hills or
buildings.
 There may be not only phase cancellation
but also significant time differences
between the direct and reflected waves
causing multipath distortion.
 Multipath reception – a situation in
which a signal arrives via two or more
paths
Multipath Reception