Radio Frequency Communications

A radio communication system includes :

freetransmitter
radio space radio receiver
communication channel

Radio transmitter consist of :

data interface modulator anpower amplifier

antenna

Encode(encoder convert analog signal to digital or bitstream) digital data onto a high
frequency electromagnetic wave.
i.e. modulation: the process of superimposing a low-frequency signal on a high-
frequency carrier signal.(or The process by which data/information is
converted into electrical/digital signals for transferring that signal
over a medium)
-A Modem is a device that performs both modulation and
demodulation processes.
Adv:
-Reduce Size of antenna: As we know that the size of the antenna
is inversely proportional to the frequency of the radiated signal
-It improves the reception quality.
-It increases the range of communication.

power amplifier

increases the output RF power of the transmitted signal to be sent through free space to
the receiver using the transmit antenna.

radio receiver

Radio receiver consist of :

Receiving antenna demodulator low noise amplifier

-collects the electromagnetic waves and routes the signal to the receiver.

-demodulator to produce digital data output from the received signal (demodulates the
wave and converts the electrical signals back into the original digital message.)

-employed to minimize thermal noise in certain frequency bands and/or increase the
received signal strength.
the functions of the modulator and demodulator are combined into a radio transceiver
that can both send and receive RF signals.

-Radio frequency communications for spacecraft are conducted between 30 MHz and 60 GHz.

-The most mature bands used for CubeSat communication are VHF and UHF
frequencies.
CubeSats are now commonly used in low Earth orbit for
applications such as remote sensing and communications

- At the higher frequencies, there is generally greater atmospheric

and rain attenuation adding to increased free space loss. This
needs to be compensated for with higher power transmission
and/or high gain antennas with narrower beamwidths. Moving to
higher-gain antennas increases the pointing accuracy required for
closing the link.

- Satellite Tracking, Telemetry & Command (TT&C) is typically conducted

over S-band.

Rain fade refers primarily to the absorption of a microwave radio

frequency (RF) signal by atmospheric rain, snow, or ice, and losses
which are especially prevalent at frequencies above 11 GHz. It also
refers to the degradation of a signal caused by the electromagnetic
interference of the leading edge of a storm front.
Satellite Rain Fade Solutions
-Apply a hydrophobic coating to your satellite dish antenna.

-Implement Adaptive Coding and Modulation (ACM).

-Uplink power controls can automatically adjust the transmission power of a

site to compensate for signal loss.

L-band (1–2 GHz)

Global Positioning System (GPS)

satellite mobile phones, such as Iridium; Inmarsat providing communications at sea, land
and air.
S-band (2–4 GHz)
-NASA used it in : Satellite Tracking, Telemetry & Command (TT&C) is typically
conducted over S-band.
-Weather radar

C-band(4-8 GHZ)
-satellite communications.
-TV broadcast.
-Commonly used in areas that are subject to tropical rainfall, since it is less susceptible to
rain fade than Ku band.

X-band(8-12 GHZ)
-used by the military.
-in radar applications as Dual-polarimetric radar transmits and
receives pulses in both a horizontal and vertical orientation. As a
result, the returning frequencies provide measurements of the
horizontal and vertical dimensions of targets (so better estimation)
- in government institutions for weather monitoring and vehicle speed
detection for law enforcement.

Ku-band(12-18 GHZ)
-Used for satellite communications.

- broadcast satellite services, such as Astra (brand

name for a number of
geostationary communication satellites)

Ka-band(26-40 GHZ)
- Communications satellites
- military aircraft.

Ku-, K-, and Ka-band communication systems are the state-of-the-art for large spacecraft, especially in
spacecraft-to-spacecraft communications, but they are still young technologies in the CubeSat world
Uplink and Downlink

 Radio or Modulator/Demodulator: on the transmit side it produces, modulates,

codes, and amplifies an electromagnetic wave to create a signal. As a receiver it
decodes and demodulates received signals.
 Mixers: RF mixers are used in communications systems to change the frequency
of the signal. If the frequency generated by the radio is not the desired transmit
frequency, then an upconverter will convert the signal to a higher frequency for
transmit. Similarly, the downconverter will down convert a receive frequency to a
lower one for processing.
 Filters: bandpass filters(BPF) are used to reject undesired frequencies, typically
before the LNA or downconverter.
 Amplifier: a power or gain amplifier(HPA) is required for a transmit system. A low
noise amplifier (LNA) is required for a receive system. LNAs, in addition to
amplifying the (low power) received signal, serve to minimize the system noise
temperature.
  Antenna: increases the strength of a signal in a specific direction, relative to the
same signal strength without directionality. Transmits signals fed to it by a
transmitter and receives signals propagated across free space. Antennas can be
low-gain & omni-directional with a broad beam, or high-gain & directional with a
narrow beam,
 Encryption: a cryptographic unit is an integrated encryptor/decryptor device that
provides secure uplink, downlink, or crosslink for satellite communication links.
 a low noise amplifier (LNA)will take the weak signal from the receive antenna and
amplify it while minimizing thermal noise. is required for a receive system

Spread-spectrum communication applies a known frequency spreading function to the

signal, which helps reduce interference from other transmitters, and provides more
secure communications; as such, it is often used for multi-way communication networks.
For example, the NASA Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS) multiple-access mode
requires spread spectrum signals to support multiple simultaneous communication links.

Design Considerations
 mission with high data rate needs would select a high frequency such as X-band
for downlink and a directional high-gain antenna.
 Based on the ground station locations available, engineers would perform
link budget analyses to determine the minimum power needed for a specific
ground station antenna.
 A few different link budget trades will be run, varying antenna size, RF output
power and data rate. Each link will return a different margin of decibels,
representing the reliability of the system. The engineers will proceed to calculate
the final mass and power for each configuration.
 A high data rate downlink may cost a high amount of mass for the antenna and
power for the amplifier and radio. Conversely, a low-power, low-mass system may
have a lower data rate.
 Another factor that is considered in the design phase is pointing. Depending on
the orbit of the satellite and whether the link is Uplink/Downlink, or Crosslink, the
system may have a specific pointing requirement.
 Large satellites frequently use gimbals--platforms that can pivot to point their
antennas. The addition of a gimbal will increase the overall mass and power
draws of the system

What is the difference between noise and interference?

 Noise is unwanted signal that can interfere with the operation of a

circuit. It is usually caused by thermal agitation, voltage
fluctuations, or other electrical effects. Interference is an unwanted
signal that interferes with the operation of another circuit.

Gain (dB): Gain is the net increase in power between the input signal and the down-converted output
signal.
Noise Figure (dB): NF is the ratio of the signal-to-noise ratio at the input and the signal-to-noise ratio
measured at the output.
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