INTRODUCTION TO

COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS
ELE 2116

LECTURE III

Lecturer: Jomo N. Gill

CONCEPTS TO BE EXAMINED

- Radio waves
- Definitions
- Radio wave propagation
- Ground waves
- Sky waves

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 RADIO WAVES

 A radio signal is called an electromagnetic

wave because it is made up of both
electric and magnetic fields. Whenever
voltage is applied to an antenna, an
electric field is set up. At the same time,
this voltage causes current to flow in the
antenna, producing a magnetic field.

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 … cont’d
 The electric and magnetic fields are at
right angles to each other. These electric
and magnetic fields are emitted from the
antenna and propagate through space
over very long distances at the speed of
light.

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 DEFINITIONS
 Polarisation - The polarization of an
electromagnetic wave is determined by
the direction of its E field component. A
horizontal antenna emits horizontally
polarised waves and a vertical antenna
emits vertically polarised waves.

 Wavefront – A surface joining all points of

equal phase.

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RADIO WAVE PROPAGATION
 Once a radio signal has been radiated by
an antenna, it travels or propagates
through space and ultimately reaches the
receiving antenna. The energy level of the
signal decreases rapidly with distance
from the transmitting antenna. The
electromagnetic wave is also affected by
objects that it encounters along the way
such as trees, buildings, and other large
structures.
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 … cont’d

 In addition, the path that an

electromagnetic signal takes to a receiving
antenna depends upon many factors,
including the frequency of the signal,
atmospheric conditions, and time of day.
All these factors can be taken into account
to predict the propagation of radio waves
from transmitter to receiver.

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 … cont’d

 The three basic paths that a radio signal

can take through space are the ground
wave, the sky wave, and the space wave.

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 GROUND WAVES

 Ground or surface waves leave an

antenna and remain close to the earth.
Ground waves actually follow the
curvature of the earth and can, therefore,
travel at distances beyond the horizon.
Ground waves must have vertical
polarization to be propagated from an
antenna, as horizontally polarized waves
are absorbed or shorted by the earth.

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 … cont’d

 Ground wave propagation is strongest at

the low- and medium-frequency ranges.
That is, ground waves are the main signal
path for radio signals in the 30-kHz to 3-
MHz range.
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 … cont’d
 The signals can propagate for hundreds
and sometimes thousands of miles at
these low frequencies. AM broadcast
signals are propagated primarily by
ground waves during the day and by sky
waves at night.
 The conductivity of the earth determines
how well ground waves are propagated.
The better the conductivity, the less the
attenuation and the greater the distance
the waves can travel.
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 … cont’d
 The best propagation of ground waves
occurs over salt water because the water
is an excellent conductor. Conductivity is
usually lowest in low-moisture areas such
as deserts. At frequencies beyond 3 MHz,
the earth begins to attenuate radio
signals.
 Objects on the earth and features of the
terrain become the same order of
magnitude in size as the wavelength of
the signal and thus absorb or adversely
affect the signal. 12
 … cont’d
 For this reason, ground wave propagation
of signals above 3 MHz is insignificant
except within several miles of the
transmitting antenna.

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 SKY WAVE

 Sky wave signals are radiated by an

antenna into the upper atmosphere, where
they are bent back to earth. This bending
of the signal is caused by refraction in a
region of the upper atmosphere known as
the ionosphere.

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… cont’d

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 … cont’d
 Ultraviolet radiation from the sun causes
the upper atmosphere to ionize, i.e., to
become electrically charged. The atoms
take on or lose electrons, becoming
positive or negative ions. Free electrons
are also present. At its lowest point, the
ionosphere is approximately 30 mi (50 km)
above the earth and extends as far as 250
mi (400 km) from the earth.

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 … cont’d
 The ionosphere is generally considered to
be divided into three layers, the D layer,
the E layer, and the F layer; the F layer is
subdivided into the F1 and F2 layers.

 The D and E layers, the farthest from the

sun, are weakly ionized. They exist only
during daylight hours, during which they
tend to absorb radio signals in the
medium-frequency range from 300 kHz to
3 MHz. 17
 … cont’d

 The F1 and F2 layers, the closest to the

sun, are the most highly ionized and have
the greatest effect on radio signals. The F
layers exist during both day and night. The
primary effect of the F layer is to cause
refraction of radio signals when they cross
the boundaries between layers of the
ionosphere with different levels of
ionization.

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 … cont’d

 When a radio signal goes into the

ionosphere, the different levels of
ionization cause the radio waves to be
gradually bent. The direction of bending
depends on the angle at which the radio
wave enters the ionosphere and the
different degrees of ionization of the
layers, as determined by Snell’s law.

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 … cont’d
 In general, the higher the frequency, the
smaller the radiation angle required for
refraction to occur. At very high
frequencies, essentially those above about
50 MHz, refraction seldom occurs
regardless of the angle. VHF, UHF, and
microwave signals usually pass through
the ionosphere without bending. However,
during a period of sun-spot activity, or
other unusual electromagnetic
phenomena, VHF and even UHF waves
may be refracted by the ionosphere.
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 … cont’d
 Reflected radio waves are sent back to
earth with minimum signal loss. The result
is that the signal is propagated over an
extremely long distance. This effect is most
pronounced in the 3- to 30-MHz or
shortwave range, which permits extremely
long distance communication.

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 … cont’d
 In some cases, the signal reflected back
from the ionosphere strikes the earth, is
reflected back up to the ionosphere, and is
reflected back to earth. This phenomenon
is known as multiple-skip or multiple-hop
transmission. For strong signals and ideal
ionospheric conditions, as many as 20 hops
are possible. Multiple-hop transmission can
extend the communication range by many
thousands of miles.
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 … cont’d
 The maximum distance of a single hop is
about 2000 miles, but with multiple hops,
transmissions all the way around the world
are possible. The distance from the
transmitting antenna to the point on earth
where the first refracted signal strikes the
earth to be reflected is referred to as the
skip distance.

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 … cont’d
 If a receiver lies in that area between the
place where the ground wave is fully
attenuated and the point of first reflection
from the earth, no signal will be received.
This area is called the skip zone.

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 EFFECTS OF THE
IONOSPHERE
 The ability of the ionosphere to return a
radio wave to the Earth depends on the ion
density, the frequency of the radio wave,
and the angle of transmission. The
refractive ability of the ionosphere
increases with the degree of ionization.
The degree of ionization is greater in
summer than in winter and is also greater
during the day than at night.
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 CRITICAL FREQUENCY
 If the frequency of a radio wave being
transmitted vertically is gradually
increased, a point is reached where the
wave is not refracted sufficiently to curve
its path back to Earth. Instead, these
waves continue upward to the next layer,
where refraction continues. If the
frequency is sufficiently high, the wave
penetrates all layers of the ionosphere and
continues out into space.
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 … cont’d

 The highest frequency that is returned to

Earth when transmitted vertically under
given ionospheric conditions is called the
critical frequency.

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 CRITICAL ANGLE

 In general, the lower the frequency, the

more easily the signal is refracted;
conversely, the higher the frequency, the
more difficult is the refracting or bending
process. The angle of radiation plays an
important part in determining whether a
particular frequency is returned to Earth by
refraction from the ionosphere.

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… cont’d

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 … cont’d

 Above a certain frequency, waves

transmitted vertically continue into space.
However, if the angle of propagation is
lowered (from the vertical), a portion of
the high-frequency waves below the critical
frequency is returned to Earth.

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 … cont’d

 The highest angle at which a wave of a

specific frequency can be propagated and
still be returned (refracted) from the
ionosphere is called the critical angle for
that particular frequency. The critical angle
is the angle that the wavefront path makes
with a line extended to the center of the
Earth.

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 … cont’d

 The figure shows the critical angle for 20

MHz. Any wave above 20 MHz (e.g., the
21-MHz wave shown) is not refracted back
to Earth but goes through the ionosphere
and into space.

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 MAXIMUM USABLE
FREQUENCY
 There is a best frequency for optimum
communication between any two points at
any specific condition of the ionosphere. As
the Figure shows, the distance between
the transmitting antenna and the point at
which the wave returns to Earth depends
on the angle of propagation, which in turn
is limited by the frequency.

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… cont’d

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 … cont’d
 The highest frequency that is returned to
Earth at a given distance is called the
maximum usable frequency (MUF) and
has an average monthly value for any
given time of the year.
 The optimum working frequency is the
one that provides the most consistent
communication and is therefore the best
one to use.

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 REFRACTIVE INDEX

 The refraction index of the ionosphere is

given by:

where n is the refractive index, N is the free-

electron density (number of electrons per
cubic meter), and f is the frequency of the
wave (in hertz). Typical N values range
between 1010 and 1012, depending on the
time of day, the season, and the number of
sunspots. 36
 FADING

 Fading is a term used to describe variations

in signal strength that occur at a receiver
during the time a signal is being received.
Fading may occur at any point where both
the ground wave and the sky wave are
received, as shown in the Figure. The two
waves may arrive out of phase, thus
producing a cancellation of the usable
signal.

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… cont’d

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 … cont’d
 This type of fading is encountered in long-
range communications over bodies of
water where ground-wave propagation
extends for a relatively long distance.

 In areas where sky-wave propagation is

prevalent, fading may be caused by two
sky waves traveling different distances,
thereby arriving at the same point out of
phase, as shown in the Figure.

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… cont’d

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 … cont’d

 Generally, fading is caused by four factors:

variation in distance between transmitter
and receiver, changes in the environmental
characteristics of the signal path, the
presence of multiple signal paths, and
relative motion between the transmitter
and receiver.

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